Beginner Aquarium Advice Needed (UK)

[Wourgh]

Hello there!

My wife and I have decided it's time to get back into owning some fish. We've had some experience before with cold water and tropical set ups but on a smaller scale than we're planning for this time round. We've been to our local Maidstone Aquatics and another independent aquarium shop and have had a chat with the staff to better understand what we need. Our initial brief was to have a tropical community tank with a stand and the staff showed us a few examples. In terms of the fish, we were looking for some hardy fish that are beginner friendly. It was quite busy so couldn't take up too much of their time, hence why I thought I'd ask! I'll split it into sections to make it an easier read. There are a lot of questions, so apologies in advance!

Tank

We're looking to go between 125-175L with a stand. We were recommended the Juwel Rio 125L. It seems to fit out requirements quite nicely but we were wondering are there any alternatives that we should consider before going ahead with it? We've seen a few youtubers recommend the Oase StyleLine 125L which seems to be a bit better designed - the lid on the Juwel seems a bit flimsy and thought that might be annoying after a while. Also we've been considering the slightly larger Oase StyleLine 175 as the price difference isn't too big of a jump for the additional 50L. We have the mindset of buy once, cry once so can fork out a little extra should it be justified. Another aspect is that all of the tanks I've linked have inbuilt filter/heater/LED lights which seems pretty smart. Do these set ups need an air stone? Is it worth getting one? Any tank brand recommendations are welcome!

Fish

When we were being shown an assortment of fish, we were a bit overwhelmed as there was a lot of choice especially in the independent shop. Our main focus was on hardy fish that are friendly with other fish. The provisional list is as follows:

6-12 x Tetras - Maybe more..?
3 x Panda Corydoras - Ideally looking for a bottom feeder that doesn't get too big
4 x Rasboras or Platys
2 x Gold Honey Gourami
? x Gastromyzon or Sewellia - unsure as to how many I would need for the size of the tank

Any advice on the current list? We're open to any suggestions or substitutes to consider? Also I've seen a fair few variants of these fish. Any to consider/avoid? It's worth mentioning we were going to get these in stages. This list was made based on a 125L tank. Would anyone adjust the list if we went for the 175L instead? Would be keen to hear your thoughts and feedback!

Plants

Our chat with the staff was cut short due to in influx of customers so we didn't get to talk about this.. We ideally want proper plants as opposed to fake ones... What would you recommend? I appreciate a lot of it is down to taste and style, just wondered if there were any plants that stick out as beginner friendly and particularly beneficial to the tank/fish. If you have some photos of your tank set up to give us ideas, I'd really appreciate it!

So that's all we can think of for now. Thanks for taking the time to read this, I look forward to your replies!

 

[MattW]

I will leave answers to the tank and fish sections to other members as my largest tank is only 90L and parameters aren't known yet.

As for plants, there is a vast selection to choose from. I'll post the ones that I have used/been successful with as beginner plants. Hopefully, others can chip in with other suggestions.

Aquatic Plants​

Limnophila sessiliflora (stem)
Rotala (stem)
Elodea (stem)
Hygrophila polysperma (stem)
Vallisneria (stem)
Hornwort (stem / floating)
Anubias barteri (epiphyte)
Bucephalandra (epiphyte)
Java Fern (epiphyte)
Frogbit (floating)
Water lettuce (floating)
Salvinia (floating)
Sagittaria subulata (stem / runner)

Cryptocoryne - Crypts are known to melt when introduced to a new environment. They will look like the plant is dying and new growth will eventually follow after it has settled.

Houseplants (roots in water)​

Pothos
Peace lily
Spider plant
Philodendron

Where to buy plants​

Most local fish stores will stock them
eBay, Etsy, Gumtree , FB marketplace

Pro Shrimp UK - Aquascaping Experts, Aquarium Plants & Shrimp - Pro Shrimp

One of the leading Aquarium Plant and Aquascaping Suppliers in the UK. Your Shrimp and Aquatic Expert since 2014

www.pro-shrimp.co.uk

Horizon Aquatics | Aquascaping Specialists UK

We supply high-quality live aquarium plants and aquascaping equipment from leading brands. Horizon Aquatics stock a range of products, including fish tanks, aquarium filters, aquascaping tools, and specialist equipment, as well as shrimp, snails and fish. Stockists of ADA, Oase, Tropica, UNS...

www.horizonaquatics.co.uk

Aqua Essentials - Aquarium Plants | The Home of The Planted Aquarium

Aquarium Plants are shipped throughout the UK in record time with most orders being dispatched the same working day (Monday to Friday). Delivery is fast and all plants are in stock. Expert help is always at hand so if you're having any troubles with your plants and need a bit of support, we're...

aquaessentials.co.uk

(I've used these sites mainly but others are available)

 

[Wourgh]

I will leave answers to the tank and fish sections to other members as my largest tank is only 90L and parameters aren't known yet.

As for plants, there is a vast selection to choose from. I'll post the ones that I have used/been successful with as beginner plants. Hopefully, others can chip in with other suggestions.

Aquatic Plants​

Limnophila sessiliflora (stem)
Rotala (stem)
Elodea (stem)
Hygrophila polysperma (stem)
Vallisneria (stem)
Hornwort (stem / floating)
Anubias barteri (epiphyte)
Bucephalandra (epiphyte)
Java Fern (epiphyte)
Frogbit (floating)
Water lettuce (floating)
Salvinia (floating)
Sagittaria subulata (stem / runner)

Cryptocoryne - Crypts are known to melt when introduced to a new environment. They will look like the plant is dying and new growth will eventually follow after it has settled.

Houseplants (roots in water)​

Pothos
Peace lily
Spider plant
Philodendron

Where to buy plants​

Most local fish stores will stock them
eBay, Etsy, Gumtree , FB marketplace

Pro Shrimp UK - Aquascaping Experts, Aquarium Plants & Shrimp - Pro Shrimp

One of the leading Aquarium Plant and Aquascaping Suppliers in the UK. Your Shrimp and Aquatic Expert since 2014

www.pro-shrimp.co.uk

Horizon Aquatics | Aquascaping Specialists UK

We supply high-quality live aquarium plants and aquascaping equipment from leading brands. Horizon Aquatics stock a range of products, including fish tanks, aquarium filters, aquascaping tools, and specialist equipment, as well as shrimp, snails and fish. Stockists of ADA, Oase, Tropica, UNS...

www.horizonaquatics.co.uk

Aqua Essentials - Aquarium Plants | The Home of The Planted Aquarium

Aquarium Plants are shipped throughout the UK in record time with most orders being dispatched the same working day (Monday to Friday). Delivery is fast and all plants are in stock. Expert help is always at hand so if you're having any troubles with your plants and need a bit of support, we're...

aquaessentials.co.uk

(I've used these sites mainly but others are available)

Hey Matt, thanks for your response!

So on my introductory post, it was established that I have very hard water.

Fish keeping uses two units for hardness, fish profiles will give a species hrdness range in one otr other.
Looking at your screenshot, the numbers you need are
mg/l (or parts per million) calcium carbonate = 279.935. Call that 280 ppm
Degrees German - we call that dH - 15.9. Call it 16.

You have very hard water.

So according to Essjay, that throws a spanner into the works of the list of fish I initally put forward. Only the Platies are hard water friendly.. He gave me a website to check out to look at hard water friendly variants as I'm not messing around with RO water.

Thank you for the list of plants, when I'm with my wife we'll have a look at them. Appreciate the links too! Give me a lot to trawl through on my lunch break!

Much appreciated!

 

[Colin_T]

Aquarium Plants 1.01

AQUARIUM PLANTS 1.01 TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly. In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at...

www.fishforums.net

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?
Long tanks are better than tall tanks.

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.

Angelfish, discus, most tetras, most barbs, Bettas, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm) and a pH below 7.0.

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), rainbowfish and goldfish occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm and a pH above 7.0.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids, or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

 

[Essjay]

Hardness is 280 ppm/16 dH.

However, from Wrough's other thread it appears the house has a salt type water softener.

Something that's worth mentioning is that nearly all of the taps in the house are hooked up to a commercial water softener, similar to the ones that coffee shops use. It's the type that you put salt pellets into. My father in law installed it when we were renovating the house.

 

[Wourgh]

In terms of my tank dimensions, I haven't bought anything yet so can be flexible with that. The only restriction I have is it can't much longer than 100cm as it'd be a tight fit if it were. The dimensions of the Oase StyleLine 175 is 80cm x 40cm x 55cm so is somewhat taller than the other tanks we've looked at. I'll have a look and see if there are ones that are longer and a bit more stout. What tanks do you all recommend?

At the moment, all I know about my water is what I took a screen shot of in an earlier post. I assume there's some form of test kit I can get to establish the base line of my hardened tap water. What's the best way?

Also in response to Essjay, yeah the outdoor tap is still hard water so can get round it that way.

 

[Essjay]

The water company is the best source of info for hardness as they use much more expensive and accurate testing equipment than anything we can buy for home use. But if you did decide to use your un-softened hard water and mix it with RO to keep soft water fish, you would need a home GH tester to work out the ratio to mix.


When it comes to tanks, they need to be stocked with fish suitable for the footprint rather than the volume. Yes you can have more of them in a tall tank with its bigger volume, but it's the length which determines which fish. With 80 cm there are plenty of suitable fish.
Have you thought about a custom built tank? My main tank is custom built simply because I'm not that tall and I wouldn't have been able to reach the bottom of most 'off the peg' tanks of the length/volume I wanted.