Decisions Decisions - Choosing My First Tank

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FingersofFish

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Hi There Everyone,
 
Recently became interested in keeping fish. I have never done this before but am fascinated by many aspects of it and can't wait to get started. I'm a biologist, so some of the technical stuff I understand, but there's no substitute for experience and that's why I'm here.
 
I've been researching for about a month and am now ready to purchase my first tank, I have some in mind so here goes.
 
The Basics:
  • I'm looking to have planted aquarium, and am keen to purchase a tank with decent/LED lighting.
  • Really my aim is to form a nice community tank, with lots of color and general splendor.
  • I'm on a budget, so my upper maximum for a tank + a stand is £150 - £175 pounds but the cheaper the better (without scrimping) - also maintinence costs/power costs can't be too unreasonable.
  • The space I have available for the tank to go is 75cm wide and 40cm deep (height is not an issue).
  • I'm looking for an experience, i don't mind a bit of work (part of the experience) but i'm a pretty busy guy so not anything ridiculously intensive in terms of maintenance. 
The Tanks I Have In Mind?
 
- Aqua One AquaNano 40 (51L at fill level, PL lighting)
 
  • Is this big enough for a first tank/community tank?
  • What realistic stocking capacity for small/medium sized fish would be possible?
 
- Aqua One EcoStyle 61 (70L, LED lighbar)
 
  • Will the sheer water volume make heating particularly expensive? (would this be negated by LED lighting anyway?
 
*What are the general pro's and cons of each tank? 
*Whats the best option in terms of tank size/lighting etc etc. for someone who has never kept fish?
 
Thanks to anyone who helps me out,
 
Regards,
 
Jacob.
 
Hello Jacob!
 
I'd recommend as large of a tank as you can fit. This allows more room for error and opens up your stocking options a lot.
 
I think the most you'll be able to do in the area you mention is a 25g (~94l?)
 
Heating shouldn't be too expensive as the heaters only come on when the tank water gets below what you have it set at. It'll depend on the usual temperature in your house too.
 
I'm sorry I don't have experience with either of those tanks.
The Aqua One EcoStyle 61 looks lovely though, and is longer than the other which seems to be a cube. This is good as it gives the fish more room to swim back and forth.
 
Have you looked at secondhand sites? There are usually good deals on tanks.
 
welcomeani.gif
to the forum btw! I hope you enjoy it here.
 
i got my tank from a buy and sell site on facebook for £70 (its 170l so bit big for you) but in the shop the same tank is £250 so just look around before devoting yourself :)
 
As already mentioned by Ninjouzata, try to aim for the largest tank you can fit in your allocated space and budget, by sounds of things tank is going to be around 60 to 95 litres which for starting out with is fairly decent size.
 
The reason we say the bigger the better for beginners, is the larger the volume of water there is means can cope better with any fluctuations in water parameters, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, so its take longer for these to have any effect on stocking.
 
In small tank volumes, these fluctuation takes place much quicker and therefore the risk of affecting stocking is far greater.
 
And there are good second hand tanks available from a number of sources, eBay, Gumtree and Craiglist UK as well as Facebook forums, are all examples of where these can be purchases for a fraction of new prices from fish stores.
 
However if its piece of mind you want with new tank, along with warranties and guarantees in event of something going wrong. 
i would say full set up deals tend to be slightly better value than purchasing separate items. 
 
I bought my first tank, a Fluval Roma 90 litre tank from Pets at Home for a fairly decent price (think it was around £150)  since it was on a sale at the time, this was a good learning tank for me and the filter Fluval U2 is fairly decent with T8 lights, so not a bad tank to start with.
 
Those are just suggestions to give you ideas where you may want to start off with.
 
Starting a first new tank is exciting thing to do and is worth it. 
smile.png
 
Hi FingersOfFish!  Welcome to the site.
 
I agree with the others, try to get as big a tank as you can fit.  Most tanks come in a standard size of 60cm - there are very few options for exactly 70/75cm.   The Fluval Roma 90 which Charlie mentioned is a good option which will make very good use of that space.  Most fish will appreciate a longer length of space to swim so try to get as long a tank as you can fit and this will open up your options for more types of fish.  A 40cm tank would restrict your stocking options an awful lot.
 
Don't worry too much at this stage about decent lighting options - if you start out with easy plants then they will be perfectly happy with standard lighting.
 
I agree with the others that a second-hand tank can be a very good cheap option.  As a rough guide many second-hand tanks are available on Ebay for about a third of the full retail price so you can get some real bargains.  Watch out for scratches though.  On the other hand I recommend buying equipment such as filter and heater brand new, as a novice it can be hard to tell if equipment is in good condition until you get some experience so when starting out it's useful to have brand new equipment with full instructions etc.  That's just my experience, I've bought several great bargain tanks on Ebay and had some really duff equipment come with them! :lol:
 
Heating should not be expensive - the heater will only draw power when it switches on.  Filters can actually be more expensive to run than heaters.  For your sort of size tank it shouldn't be a problem.
 
The EcoStyle 61 is a nice sized tank but I don't like the open-style stand it comes with.  You need somewhere to keep your equipment hidden so I prefer a cabinet with doors!  A cabinet is also useful if you decide to get more advanced equipment like external filter later on.
 
Okay, Thanks for all the advice, You've all been brilliant!.
 
I decided to go with the larger tank (AquaStyle 61) in the end, purchased one new and awaiting delivery next week.
 
Didn't like the open stand with no cupboard, but managed to pick an alternative stand (Perfect dimensions) up off gumtree for £20, put it up tonight and looks brill. Now just for the tank.
 
Now a little bit more help is required!
 
- What equipment do I need to start out (Apart from the obvious)
 
So far on my shopping list is:
 
- Water Test Kit
- Ammonia
- Net
- Gravel Cleaner
- Siphon
- Background & Fixer
- Substrate
- Gravel
- Decorative items
 
*Anything major I have missed for starting up?
 
The website I looked at showing that tank says a heater is not included, if that was the case with yours you'll want to pick up a heater too :)
 
You may want some buckets as well. Make sure you get a liquid test kit and that the ammonia doesn't have any additives in it.
 
You might want to do some research on what type of substrate. There are specialised ones for plants, but others can work fine with them too. It will also effect which fish you can have. Some bottom dwellers only cope well with sand or very fine, smooth gravel. Corydoras being an obvious example. They're very cool btw...

Welcome to the forum and the awesome hobby :)
 
Water conditioner, unless it already comes with the tank!  The most cost effective water conditioners are those that are concentrated such as Seachem Prime.  Check the dosage instructions as some conditioners are so dilute that you'll burn through a bottle in no time.
 
Gravel cleaner and siphon tends to be the same thing.
 
Likewise substrate and gravel - gravel is a kind of substrate - unless you were planning on getting an additional specialised planting substrate.  I prefer sand in my planted aquariums.
 
With regards to decorative items, obviously you can buy whatever you want, but give some thought to how natural you would like your tank to look.  Plants often look best with natural wood and rocks.  In my opinion wood is the only decoration you need for most tanks!
 
I'd recommend testing your waters pH level beforehand - get an idea of what you're naturally contending with before you start thinking about what plants you want in there.
 
Substarte is another issue, you'll want to research the best frot eh plants/fish you want.
 
In my experience heating is relatively cheap (especially as it's a relatively small tank, and if your house has a warmer temperature).
 
LED lighting is definatly more expensive to start, however seems to be a lot better for the fish/plants in some cases, as well as being incredbly efficient.
 
the API test kid (around £35 in the UK) is fantastic also.
 
Just the main things i feel i have experience with.
 
Linear said:
the API test kid (around £35 in the UK) is fantastic also.
 
The API master test kit costs £35 in most retail shops, but you can get it for more like £20 if you shop online, e.g. Amazon ;)
 
daizeUK said:
 
the API test kid (around £35 in the UK) is fantastic also.
 
The API master test kit costs £35 in most retail shops, but you can get it for more like £20 if you shop online, e.g. Amazon
wink.png

 
Recently been to the shop and looked for the price so it was the only one i can remember, Amazon is of course has an amazing price for almost everything.
 
Thanks for the help again,
 
I plan on getting the API master kit for water testing. As for water conditioner I hadn't even considered that, will go with the Seachem Prime as again it seems more cost effective.
 
I'm going to Fishless cycle before I even consider fish, but planting/decoration is the first consideration.
 
I plan a fair variety of plants. I was considering sand but my partner is keen on gravel so I will let her off. I was going to go with a specialist plant substrate topped with gravel - does this set up work well? I also want some driftwood or resin driftwood and probably not much else in terms of decor.
 
Regarding the pH testing and ammonia adjustment done during cycling (every day etc.) ... does this continue once the fish are in? or am i right in thinking that it should remain stable, but water used for water changes must be adjusted?
 
P.s - 2 months ago I walked into a fish shop, me and the partner looked at the fish and decided we wanted some... I thought... this seems a cheap hobby. How wrong was I! But we are enjoying it and we haven't got the fish yet!
 
FingersofFish said:
Thanks for the help again,
 
I plan on getting the API master kit for water testing. As for water conditioner I hadn't even considered that, will go with the Seachem Prime as again it seems more cost effective.
 
I'm going to Fishless cycle before I even consider fish, but planting/decoration is the first consideration.
 
I plan a fair variety of plants. I was considering sand but my partner is keen on gravel so I will let her off. I was going to go with a specialist plant substrate topped with gravel - does this set up work well? I also want some driftwood or resin driftwood and probably not much else in terms of decor.
 
Regarding the pH testing and ammonia adjustment done during cycling (every day etc.) ... does this continue once the fish are in? or am i right in thinking that it should remain stable, but water used for water changes must be adjusted?
 
Great to hear that you are planning a fishless cycle! :good:
 
Plant substrate topped with gravel will work fine, I use Tropica planting substrate under sand in two of my tanks but it will work under gravel too.
 
I advise real driftwood.  I've had some resin driftwood and the colours faded rather quickly.  Maybe that's just me, I'm not a fan of fake ornaments, they gave me problems so threw them all out.
 
Ammonia must not be added to the tank once fish are in.  You add water conditioner to water used for water changes but this has nothing to do with cycling.  The water conditioner is mainly to remove chlorine from the water.  Did you mean something else by adjusted?
 
This link should hopefully answer all of your cycling questions: http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/
 
I will probably go for the real driftwood - a bit limited with decoration so far due to money but i'm sure things like that can be added later on if needed? I am right in thinking new plants can be added once the fish are in etc. (I will be starting with a few plants before the fish anyway)
 
And thank's I get the cycling thing now - I was unsure about why the ammonia is used but now i understand!
 
Regarding British tap water - is Seachem Prime sufficient? I know they add chlorine to the water and it does mention something about needing additional treatment online?
 
One further question - Stocking Options!  I know it's a long way away for me yet (4 weeks from now at least I reckon :().
 
As mentioned previously i'm aiming for a nice colorful community tank with generally smaller fish but maybe 1/2 slighty larger to add some interest.
 
Working on 70L (about 18 gal), working on the 1" fish per 1 gal rule I was hoping to stock with around 10 - 12 fish *Eventually* - I know this won't happen for a while as i plan on adding in slowly as i'm a novice.
 
Me and my partner were looking today and this is what we are liking, I have checked compatibility with tank size/aggression and really we would want a mix of some(not all obviously) of the following list:
 
- Cardinal Tetra
- Diamond head Tetra
- Rasboras (Golden harlequin)
- Danio (Glowlight/Celestial)
- Pineapple Platy
- Bleeding Heart Platy
- Killifish?
- Fancy Guppy  (e.g Blue cobra) - My partner is very keen to have one of these!
 
Could anyone suggest which ones of these fish would work nicely in my tank size... and which would work well together/which need groups etc. It would be very helpful for making an informed and realistic decision.
 
 
Thanks again!
 

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