First Time Buyer!

[pipkin]

Hi,

I would like to buy my husband a fish tank (for tropical fish) for his 40th birthday, which is in September. I know nothing about keeping fish, other than the little gold fish that never lasted longer than a year that I had as a child!

I just want some advice really as to where to go (shop or online? - I live in the North East near Gateshead), what I can expect to pay for quite a large tank, and a few fish. Again, I don't know what sort to go for.

Do the fish need to have the water pumped/treated or whatever?

Just a few tips would be very greatly welcomed. I appreciate this almost an investment and I don't want to take it lightly!

Thanks in advance,

Pipkin

 

[strange_screams]

wow, thas so much to cover in a short period

id say if he doesnt have a tank...go to a corprate retail pet store, or even walmart and get him a tank starter kit, it has everything in it to start an aquarium, the larger the better, i would not go smaller then the 55 gallon if at all possible, in addition to the kit I would get melafix, a master test kit, two plastic buckets for water changes a couple more plants and a decoration you like, buy stand as they are the only things sturdy enough to carry the wieght.

a tank must take time to get the proper bacteria growing, so dont add it full of fish, follow the instructions and decorate lightly, allowing him to decorate it as he sees fit later,

buy 2 or three fish after you have set everything up and got it looking pretty.

i would suggest guppies or zebra danios, they are very common and should be easy to find. once the tank has cycled ( in two to eight weeks) he can add more fish, thats where the learning process can begin and you can both get a lot of enjoyment out of learning something new together....

if he i salready in the hobby, just spend your money on a nice big empty tank with stand and canopy and watch him do the rest...

*edit* a good deal is about a US dollar per gallon, for a nice set up (matching hood/canapy and stand) your going to pay anywhere from 2 to 10 dollars per gallon or even more..

a local fish store may have better advice then a chain store and will have a better variety of tanks,

if you find a kit and dont want to buy it it will still have a list of the things you need

filter, lights gravel, plants, decorations, water conditioner, heater, thermometer,net...am I forgetting anything here?

a surge protector/power strip...

prices range on types of fish, just dont add to many at once, save the expensive fish for a month or two down the line when you will be better prepared to take care of them, most just wont survive the first few weeks of an aquarium

 

[fishbone]

I just want some advice really as to where to go (shop or online? - I live in the North East near Gateshead)


Hello. & welcome. I'm new to tropical fish myself and just waiting for my tank to cycle before I can add some fish!
If you've got Maidenhead Aquatics near you, then go take a look. (Our local shop is in a Wyevale garden centre near York) Picked up an ex shop display, Juwel trigon 190, it's a corner tank which usually sells for £450ish(I paid £150) Take a look on ebay as well, as there are always tanks and cabinets for sale there(some brand new), it's just finding one locally so you can pick it up. Pets at Home also do some lovely tanks.
You're probably best to have a look at the tanks in the shops first, decide what you want and then look on line to see if you can get it cheaper. Decide what gravel/substrate you want and again shop around, I've found some of the smaller shops ask over the odds for basic items. I bought a few plants from Maidenhead Aquatics, which are really nice, but having seen the plants a neighbour just picked up off ebay, I think I'll get the rest from there. SO much cheaper and good quality.
test kit always a must to check your water parameters, gravel cleaner, heater, filter, thermometer, lighting dependant on how well planted you want the tank. Aquasafe or similar to make your tap water safe for the fish.
Think about where the tank is going to be situated in the house, How much direct sunlight it's going to get, is it too close/far from a radiator, how close to wall sockets etc(to run your filter, heater, air stone, lights etc)
I can't think of anything else off the top of my head.
I'm sure those more experianced will come up with a list as long as your arm!
BE WARNED it's very addictive!
(Mrs) fishbone

 

[catxx]

what i would do would be get the tank and all the equipment necessary for his birthday + a big book on tropical fish.

a good fish tank should come with the filter and filter media so you won't need to worry about buying that.
what you will need as extra:

+ Heater (wattage depends on tank size, tropical is easier and more colourful than a coldwater set up)
+ Thermometer (you need to know how warm your water is! or cold...)
+ Dechlorinator (for new water, gets rid of baddies like chlorine)
+ Tank Decor (gravel or sand, plants etc. this will entirely rely on your own personal taste! live plants will need extra care, so maybe stick with silk to start with, you can always upgrade later)
+ Fish Food (this will depend on what fish you decide to get, theres dozens and dozens of different types of food, pellet based is better than flake i think)
+ A Syphon (this will make cleaning a piece of cake!)
+ A water test kit (API Master Test Kit is probably one of the best, get liquid over test strips. Test strips tend to be inaccurate)
+ 2 Buckets (1 for clean water, 1 for dirty water!)

I think those are most of the basics.

get the biggest tank you can afford, the bigger it is the more fish you can have, and surprisingly, the easier it is to look after! a 55 US gallon is a good starter size for a nice mixed beginner community.

then while the tank is cycling, you can look through the book together and research what kind of fish you want to go for, there are hundreds of different things you could go for!

i second Pets at Home for tanks, as they usually come up fairly cheap. But I would not use Pets At Home for fish.

You can use the fish shop finder here: http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...tory_search.php
to find shops local to you. maybe take out a sunday afternoon to go on a fish shop tour, and take a pen and paper to write down any fish in particular that take your fancy, come back home and check it out with the great big interweb!

 

[pipkin]

Wow, thanks CatXX, Mrs Fishbone and Strange Screams!!!!

You have all been very helpful. There is such a lot to think about (when you're new to it) and I'm glad I have until September to be paying for all of this stuff. But I suppose once you have set it all up, then after that the costs are minimal.

Definitely, the book sounds a good bet. I am even starting to get excited from reading all this. I will let you know how I get on!

I will start to have a look round - we have a Pets at home nearby and our local garden centre has a big fish-type department.

Thanks again!

Pipkin

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah the initial outlay is the worst bit, after that costs are pretty low on most average set ups. as with anything if you want to spend money you easily can, there's always bigger better equipment etc that you want, but the actual costs of what you need are fairly low.

i'd second the comments about getting a fairly large tank for a couple of reasons
1 - a larger body of water is more stable and therefore less likely to have problems, while routine maintenance may take a little longer than on a small tank the amount of 'emergency' maintenance and messing around sorting problems out should be significantly less.
2 - choice, particularly as it's not a tank specifically for you but for a present for someone else, if you get a small tank you limit what and how many fish he can have and he may not be able to do what he really wants with it. Obviously there will be limitations with virtually any tank but the bigger you go the less there are.

go for the biggest tank you have room for and can afford.

I'd definately second the suggestion to get him a good reference book too, I'd also print off the article's people linked too earlier about fishless cycling and give him those too. It may not be the most fun part but it'll put him on the best possible road to sucess.

Like others have said, browse in store, buy online. there's always deals to be had so go see what you want and get the make/model and then find it half the price on ebay if your unsure about anything or any equipment just post back here and we'll help you out as much as we can.

bear in mind with a lot of package deals you get the filtration is not much cop and you may find you want to upgrade it later, you may be better putting together a package yourself rather than get an off the shelf all in one type jobby.

good luck

 

[tmack]

Hi. I guess we're all assuming you want a freshwater tank, and not a saltwater tank? Saltwater tanks require a lot more care and I'd suggest going with freshwater if you're new to the hobby.

 

[pipkin]

Thanks Tmack and Miss Wiggle.

I too think a bigger tank would be best, and was thinking fresh water - he will be new to the hobby!

You have all been exceptionally helpful.

Cheers