Help with equipment

[icecannon]

Hi looking to get in the hobby, just starting my research.
The tank I have my eye on is a Dennerle 60cm by 35, 30cm tall, looking to do a planted tank with a bunch of green neon tetras {15?}… my questions are as the tank I can only find in a bundle with filter and light and substrate, I would prefer to buy separate but as said can only find the bundle, the filter I have no name for as it’s not listed, guess its a Dennerle? but the light is a Daylight onex led only 2cm wide. I can not find much info on it, anyone know if this light will be suitable? and the substrate is deponit pro black, and shrimp gravel, any comments welcome about this setup? all seem good options on the info I have found?

 

[bgarthe21 39]

Welcome to TFF.

If it were I, I would look around more. You will be happier in the long run if you get exactly what you want. Most package deals are a waste….imo. Btw…..the fish you’re wanting to get are a great idea along with the grouping size of 15. You might want to test out your water parameters prior to getting fish as well. You’ll want to know your pH, KH, and surely the GH in order to successfully keep the GNTs. Also read up (there are many sources here at TFF) on ‘cycling’ your tank as GNTs need absolute ammonia/nitrite free water. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Essjay 135]

For GH, look on your water company's website. Hardness, or GH, is usually found in the water quality report. Tell us the number they give and the unit of measurement - there are several units for hardness, but fish keeping uses just two of them. There are on-line calculators to convert between units if yours gives a unit which is not one of those two.
If they list 'alkalinity' in the report, that's what we call KH. Not all companies give this; if yours does, again tell us the number.
They may also list pH, it may be listed as 'hydrogen ion'.
Another parameter it is useful to know is nitrate, again in the water quality report.

The reason we ask for GH in particular is that fish should be kept in water similar to that in which they originate. If kept in the 'wrong' hardness they are more susceptible to disease and won't live as long as they should.


bgarthe mentioned cycling - this explains what that is and the various ways of cycling.

Cycle Your Tank! A Complete Guide For Beginners

Fishless cycling https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/ Silent or plant cycling https://www.fishforums.net/threads/planted-silent-cycling.470400/ Fish-in cycling...

www.fishforums.net

 

[GaryE 135]

I've always assembled tank set ups on my own - I buy the tank and lid for the dimensions I want, and then add the lights, filtration etc. It's often cheaper than packages, but even when it costs more, I get better quality gear.

Brand names like Dennerle don't cross the Atlantic, but package set ups in my North American market tend to have gear that simply doesn't last. I've noticed more of a focus on such set ups from UK members who post here, so maybe availability differs. With the weird exception of 37litre/10 gallon tanks, I've found brand names to matter very little for aquariums. My no name ones are 15 years old, just as old as many of my brand name ones. Cheap 37 litre ones in the Canadian market have thin glass for some reason!

 

[Essjay 135]

Swell make a tank-only 60 x 30 x 35 aquarium, both their own site and eBay. But it doesn't have a lid.

Swell Aqua Oasis Aquarium 60cm - 63L

Crystal‐clear 5mm glass on all sides Completely customisable Ideal for freshwater or marine setups

www.swelluk.com

There may be lids which would fit, or it's possible to make your own.

We have a few members who praise Diversa aquariums. These are available in a few options.

Shop < MB Store

mbstore.uk

These tanks give the option for filters, heaters etc of your choice.

 

[MattW 136]

Dennerle seem to have reduced the number of tanks available for UK vendors. Their Nanocube range is very popular but, until recently, was quite hard to come by. Even the 30L cube was a hard find. I have the 60L cube ordered from Olibetta. They do have a UK store page, but all orders come from their Austrian warehouse. I had no issues with delivery when I got my 60L.

They do have a listing for the tank you're after. The issue is that UK delivery is not available. You could contact them and see if they can ship it over.

Nano Tank 60 L

Get started straight away & design your unique nano aquarium. Price: £54.97. Sizes: 25 L - 60 L. Delivery in 5 days.

www.olibetta.uk

SwellUK, which Essjay mentioned is local to me and I've never had a bad experience with them. Another one I use a lot is Aquacadabra, they have a great range of tanks to choose from.

 

[FattyFish]

Amazon 60x30x30 Aquariums.
When you buy aquarium kits, you will always want to upgrade the equipment it comes with, as most of the time it's not capable of meeting the needs of your tank.

 

[icecannon]

Wow very good replies and info…I’ll get those numbers from my water company and post, I have found a supplier for the tank I listed and probably should have said the price, £250 for the tank, 2 lots of substrate, filter and the onex light…first I’ve seen mentioned a lid is required so that’ll go on the list too.

 

[MattW 136]

£250 for the tank, 2 lots of substrate, filter and the onex light…

Wow Yep, much better to buy everything separately!

 

[icecannon]

Hardness Total as CaCO3

96. mg CaCO3/l

Alk	57.8 CaCO3

Hydrogen ion (pH)

7.00

Here are all the number I think I was asked for sorry about the messy format at work atm doing this on my phone.

 

[Essjay 135]

GH - the two units used in fishkeeping are ppm and dH. Fish profiles give a hardness range for a species in one or other of those two. Just to make it more complicated, ppm is also called mg/l CaCO3 and dH is also called German degrees.

Your hardness is 96 ppm and 5.4 dH. It is softish, many soft water fish are suitable for this hardness, though you'd need to avoid those which need very soft water.



KH - yours is 57.8 ppm and 3.2 dH. This is quite low. KH stabilises pH. The natural processes in a fish tank make the water more acidic and KH prevents the pH from dropping. But when it is low, KH can get used up leaving nothing to keep pH stable. Weekly large water changes will top up KH and prevent a pH crash (I know this from personal experience having had pH crashes when I first started keeping fish pre-internet and believed the library books which said water changes should be done once every few months!)



pH - you will probably find that your tank water pH changes slightly throughout the day especially since you plan to have live plants. The water company's value is a starting point but things in your tank can cause it to drift away from that level. The actual pH is of less importance than GH.




The two best resources for fish are Seriously Fish and FishBase - the first gives more information on how to keep the fish, the second is mainly concerned with water.

Knowledge Base — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

https://www.fishbase.org

And of course members on here have experience keeping a lot of fish so ask as many questions as you need

 

[anewbie]

Your water is fine for green neon tetra and similar. They would not object to softer water but they should do ok. Guppies and similar should probably be though they would not object to harder water.
-
As for equipment each region is different and i know nothing about uk market so will (as they have) let uk folks comment. It is interesting to read if kits are as much of a rip off in uk as they are usa.
-
Good luck.

 

[Jennet 58]

@Essjay Thanks for the links - yet more information to get my half a brain cell around.

 

[icecannon]

GH - the two units used in fishkeeping are ppm and dH. Fish profiles give a hardness range for a species in one or other of those two. Just to make it more complicated, ppm is also called mg/l CaCO3 and dH is also called German degrees.

Your hardness is 96 ppm and 5.4 dH. It is softish, many soft water fish are suitable for this hardness, though you'd need to avoid those which need very soft water.



KH - yours is 57.8 ppm and 3.2 dH. This is quite low. KH stabilises pH. The natural processes in a fish tank make the water more acidic and KH prevents the pH from dropping. But when it is low, KH can get used up leaving nothing to keep pH stable. Weekly large water changes will top up KH and prevent a pH crash (I know this from personal experience having had pH crashes when I first started keeping fish pre-internet and believed the library books which said water changes should be done once every few months!)



pH - you will probably find that your tank water pH changes slightly throughout the day especially since you plan to have live plants. The water company's value is a starting point but things in your tank can cause it to drift away from that level. The actual pH is of less importance than GH.




The two best resources for fish are Seriously Fish and FishBase - the first gives more information on how to keep the fish, the second is mainly concerned with water.

Knowledge Base — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

https://www.fishbase.org

And of course members on here have experience keeping a lot of fish so ask as many questions as you need

Thank you for this break down really makes it a lot clearer, I do have an RO unit would I be wiser to use ro water or is it not need?

 

[icecannon]

Your water is fine for green neon tetra and similar. They would not object to softer water but they should do ok. Guppies and similar should probably be though they would not object to harder water.
-
As for equipment each region is different and i know nothing about uk market so will (as they have) let uk folks comment. It is interesting to read if kits are as much of a rip off in uk as they are usa.
-
Good luck.

" they should do OK" comment has me a little nervous, as above I have a RO unit would it be worth using that, tbh I would like this tank to be lower maintenance but not at the cost of the fish...as for kits, yeah the chain pet store here is expensive but the bundle I mentioned which is not from them I thought was a reasonable price considering the equipment but someone posted it wasn't? so not sure.