What Tank Brand Would You Recommend?

[NewBea]

Hi,

I've only had our existing tank for about 4 months and I haven't even fully stocked our tank yet but I've got so into tank/fish keeping that I'm already thinking that it would be lovely to have an even bigger tank which I could set up differently all together. Loads of people suggested sand as substrate (I currently have gravel) and I had my eyes on loads of fish that really need a bigger tank.

So what do you guys use? What's worth buying? What is good value on the market?
I've seen brands like Juwel, Fluval, Aqua One - are they all fairly similar? Does any of these stand out?

I'm thinking of something that's at least 200-250 litres

Also do you guys have any place/shop you could recommend for large tanks?
Or would you say it's worth having it made - but then you need to add all the accessories separately (stand, filter, heater etc)?
How about second hand tanks? Any place you could recommend for those?

Thanks,
B

 

[Mikey1]

any brand, as long as it doesn't leak water....they are all pretty much the same, glass and silicone

 

[KuronoEnyo]

I've started with Aqueon and enjoy many of there products.

 

[NewBea]

Do you reckon local fish stores who sell second hand ones are sell at good value or it's better to go on ebay for second hand tanks?

 

[KuronoEnyo]

Do you reckon local fish stores who sell second hand ones are sell at good value or it's better to go on ebay for second hand tanks?

Ah no clue on the Uk area but a lot of the fish places around here in CA carry Aqueon brand aquariums.

 

[Flute]

Juwels are gorgeous tanks, but pricey. You can have custom made ones done by companies by ND Aquatics, heard very good things about their tanks. If you're on a budget then the All Pond Solutions tanks are a nice alternative- mine is gorgeous looking, but beware; because of the cheaper price there are a few quality issues with it, such as messy silicone work on small parts, a few scuffs on the lid, etc. But considering I only paid £200 for it brand new (discounts are a brilliant thing to look out and wait for, btw) it's great. If you have the money to spend though I would go for something like a custom build or a Juwel

If you're after a second hand tank then ebay is the best place to keep an eye on, then again some of them could be £200 or more (although you can get some fantastic bargains), so it might be worth looking into an All Pond Solutions tank :3

 

[NewBea]

Well, at the moment on a budget (2 kids eat up all the money I used to have for hobbies or gadgets ) I will look into All Pond Solutions I think.

So you reckon fish tanks are just the same as anything else - sometimes you just pay extra for a good brand that doesn't really provide you with anything more than a standard make would?

 

[KuronoEnyo]

Yeah kinda why I recommend aqueon if you get the chance, I was lucky enough to nab a 20g long for 20 bucks when a petco had a sale. BUT I also notice my local aquarium that i go to named "Jojo's Aquarium" sells them at a very cheap price as well.

Here's a pic of my aqueon tank, http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/410560-my-5050/ both the 20glong and the 10g are aqueon tanks, the only thing I guess someone might complain about is the corners but that's about it there very cheap on the price and haven't sprung a leak on me once.

 

[dbanner]

Juwel gets my vote every time. Iv had a juwel rio 125 and 180, iv also had a juwel vision 180 and vision 260. Now I have a Rio 400. Each 1 i never had a single problem with and they are excellent looking as well as very good quality. Iv said time and time again, if juwel made a tank bigger than the rio 400 (5ft 450 litres) that I have now then I'd definitely buy it. For this reason my next tank is going to be custom made by ND Aquatics.

Juwel tanks can be expensive if bought new. Although I bought mine 2nd hand. It came with the stand,
a fluval fx5 external filter (which I sold straight away), a fluval 405 filter (sold that too), 2 x 300 watt internal heaters (sold them), sand, bogwood and a few other bits, all with receipts of purchase for £200 delivered as well. So, there are definitely bargain to be found out there.

 

[NewBea]

Yeah kinda why I recommend aqueon if you get the chance, I was lucky enough to nab a 20g long for 20 bucks when a petco had a sale. BUT I also notice my local aquarium that i go to named "Jojo's Aquarium" sells them at a very cheap price as well.

Here's a pic of my aqueon tank, http/www.fishforum...410560-my-5050/ both the 20glong and the 10g are aqueon tanks, the only thing I guess someone might complain about is the corners but that's about it there very cheap on the price and haven't sprung a leak on me once.

Thanks for the tip, I checked their site and they look good - and cover a good variety of sizes as well. I'm just not sure how available they are in the UK. I spotted a few on Amazon but they were on the smaller side. I will keep my eye out for them on other sites as well.

 

[KuronoEnyo]

Alright wish you the luck on finding a great affordable aquarium :3

 

[NewBea]

Juwel gets my vote every time. Iv had a juwel rio 125 and 180, iv also had a juwel vision 180 and vision 260. Now I have a Rio 400. Each 1 i never had a single problem with and they are excellent looking as well as very good quality. Iv said time and time again, if juwel made a tank bigger than the rio 400 (5ft 450 litres) that I have now then I'd definitely buy it. For this reason my next tank is going to be custom made by ND Aquatics.

Juwel tanks can be expensive if bought new. Although I bought mine 2nd hand. It came with the stand,
a fluval fx5 external filter (which I sold straight away), a fluval 405 filter (sold that too), 2 x 300 watt internal heaters (sold them), sand, bogwood and a few other bits, all with receipts of purchase for £200

delivered as well. So, there are definitely bargain to be found out there.

I love the look of the juwels as well and they are definitely pricey brand new. This would be one of the brands then that's worth buying second hand due to it's good quality then. Where did you sell the extra bits that you didn't need, ebay? Did you end up replacing them with new stuff?

 

[Mikey1]

Do you reckon local fish stores who sell second hand ones are sell at good value or it's better to go on ebay for second hand tanks?

refer to my first post

 

[panda_cory]

If your looking for a second hand one check gumtree, ebay ect. my MA has a load of big tanks in all the time.

 

[yfaris67]

choose a topfin aquarium. i love them. they have a life time warrenty and they almost always come with all you need. i suggest sand especially if you will be having live plants or bottom feeders. the only problem with sand is that when your vacuming your aquarium sand tends to get up the hose and you dont get much of the yucky stuff out. one of the reasons i like gravel too is because it comes in amazing colors.