At around 50 to 60 litres, the tanks in those pictures are about right as a minimal first tank. They are quite small by many standards but are large enough to keep water chemistry under control fairly easily and will hold enough small fish to make a nice display. My smallest tanks only hold about 37 litres and are marginal for many of the fish that I keep. I tend to favor tanks in the 70 litres or larger range so that I have a better choice of fish.
All of the ads you posted look quite dear to me. I am not in the UK so price comparisons may not really be valid. I would expect to be able to find setups comparable to what you posted, in excellent condition for half that much or even less, on line in places like ebay.
When it comes to cold water vs tropical fish, there are many fish kept in tropical tanks that would be quite comfortable around 19C or a bit more so a heater would not be needed in a heated home. A great deal depends on the water you are working with. It would be good to know if you have hard water with a high pH or soft water with a neutral to low pH. That way we could look at stocking options and maybe help determine whether a heater is even needed.
Of my 25 tanks, only about 10 have heaters plugged in on them. I focus mainly on wild type livebearers that primarily need hard and high pH water. Even many of the commonly kept cories are quite comfortable at 19C although they are often kept near their upper temperature limits in tropical tanks instead.
All of the ads you posted look quite dear to me. I am not in the UK so price comparisons may not really be valid. I would expect to be able to find setups comparable to what you posted, in excellent condition for half that much or even less, on line in places like ebay.
When it comes to cold water vs tropical fish, there are many fish kept in tropical tanks that would be quite comfortable around 19C or a bit more so a heater would not be needed in a heated home. A great deal depends on the water you are working with. It would be good to know if you have hard water with a high pH or soft water with a neutral to low pH. That way we could look at stocking options and maybe help determine whether a heater is even needed.
Of my 25 tanks, only about 10 have heaters plugged in on them. I focus mainly on wild type livebearers that primarily need hard and high pH water. Even many of the commonly kept cories are quite comfortable at 19C although they are often kept near their upper temperature limits in tropical tanks instead.
