Fishy Noob

[queketth]

Hey all,
 
Ive signed up here to try and make sure that I don't mess up my first tank setup so I've been browsing the forums for a couple of days now and thought that it would be rude not to introduce myself.
 
I haven't even purchased the tank yet and have been just planing out and budgeting everything so would be keen to get some proper advice from others that don't have a vested interest in selling me specific products.
 
After looking around for a while I think my chosen tank is a 'Juwel Lido 120', but keen to seek as much advice from you guys as possible to get things right!
 
Thanks for having me kicking around,
 
Henry

 

[AmtotheBurr]

Welcome! And great job researching first before things go wrong everyone here is very helpful, I think you'll love it

 

[AmtotheBurr]

Also I love that tank. Its about 31 gallons I believe, a good size! Were you wanting to do freshwater or saltwater?

 

[queketth]

As much as I would love a salt water tank I don't have the time for the upkeep etc and will stick to fresh for now!

 

[AmtotheBurr]

I agree whole heartedly there. Plenty of freshwater sets look just as cool.
Do you know what kind of water you have there? A water quality report or something online that will tell you whether your water is hard, soft, etc?
Some local pet stores can test your water in the US, not sure about the UK

 

[queketth]

I've actually just been down to the LFS and after seeing the tanks ended up being myself a 'Juwel Rio 125', as felt that it would give more swimming room than the Lido with similar litres.
 
In terms of the water I'm not actually 100% sure because I'm in the process of moving at the moment, although as a rule of thumb which hopefully someone can verify my LFS guy told me that the water down south in the UK tends to be harder than up north ?
 
Can anyone verify this as want to start thinking about what live stock I will eventually hold so I can design the aquascape accordingly.

 

[LyraGuppi]

I don't live in the UK, sorry, so I wouldn't know. But welcome!

 

[betta fish]

Hi, I am in the UK in Kent which is South and we do have hard water so you are probably right in general the South is hard and the North soft lol, Mollies and Guppies love it here 

I would highly recommend Mollies after recently discovering them and would have a tank full of them if I could I just love their personalities and colours 

 

[benthyer]

Hi and Welcome!
 
I'm also from the South of the UK in Bath and we have hard water!
 
If you go on google and search 'Water Report xxx' it will take you to the relevant site. Just looked at mine again and got the following report.
 
Keep us updated on what you pan to do and make sure you look at the thread about cycling your tank

 

[ShinySideUp]

I owned a Jewel Lido 120 for several years, it is an excellent tank and accessory pack (filter etc) although the light unit gave me problems once and I had to replace it (not cheap). My Clown loaches started their life with me in that tank, although it is far, far too small for such fish, even in the medium term. My loach collection for the also consisted of five zebra loaches which are still going strong after ten years and I think they would have been fine in the Lido as they only grew to about three inches.
 
Because of the Clowns I moved to a four footer and then to a six foot, 640 litre jobby.
 
Where is the Lido now? In my garden.
 
I drilled several holes in the bottom and now use it to hold my collection of carnivorous plants. Good tank all round.

 

[Goggy]

Doesnt the UK have like the best tap water in the world?

 

[benthyer]

Not a clue, it's good for drinking but not necessarily for keeping fish