Help Me Please Im So Confused

[adamgaskin]

Hi there

Im a newbie to this. Iv always loved fish but never had any of my own. Im looking at spending £150 on a setup and im not sure what to get. I want tropical fish to be in my tank but im not sure on size or make etc. It also needs to look good in my bedroom

Thnx ppl

 

[Jules H-T]

Don't worry about it! Have a good read of this in the beginners section:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=88643

You'll need (after you've decided what you want to do):

A tank (go second hand if you can, as big as you want- bigger is easier to look after, and get one with a lid that takes lights)
A filter (a Fluval rated for a bit bigger than your tank will be right)
A light (neon tube type thing, from any fish shop)
A heater (look on the packet for how powerful it needs to be)
An air pump (for bubble curtain rocks that look like long pumice stones)
Substrate (gravel/sand)
Decorations (wood/rocks/divers with bubbles)

And finally, a long way down the road, some fish!

Go to a few fish shops, write down the names of the fish you like. Research them all, and work out what might work (it's unlikely you'll be able to have all the fish you want). Use adult sizes to decide on your stock levels (1 inch of adult fish per gallon is a good starting place but it's not quite that simple).

Then, and only then, formulate an idea start to finish, write it down illustrating what you've learned, and then ask in the beginner section what everyone thinks of your plan.

Good luck- with a bit of reading, a bit of forward planning, and a bit of help, and you'll be fine and have an awesome tank for that money. Have a look in the members pictures forum for some inspiration!

 

[adamgaskin]

That sounds cool. dunno how big i can go yet. my room isn't that big

Cheers

 

[rdd1952]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I pretty much agree with everything Jules said. I will add two items: a good liquid test kit so you can test your water parameters and dechlorinator to remove the chlorine and chloramine from the water. Also, an air pump isn't mandatory (but will make fishless cycling go much better) and if you want live plants, the flourescent lights probably won't give you the wattage you need.

You can probably get a everything you need for a 29 gallon for the amount of money you have set aside. I paid about $100 for my beginners kit but that didn't include a few things like the airpump, test kit, gravel/sand, a gravel vacuum/siphon, decorations, dechlorinator or of course fish. You should be able to get the 29 gallon tank and the other stuff for about £150 (about $225 to $240 I think).

 

[adamgaskin]

well ppl iv looked at the bio-orb the bio-ube, the boyu mt 40 and 50. They are a good size for the area it shall go in and a pretty good price. also they look cool too and the fish are easily visable. any comments on these and are any of them a bad idea?

cheers peeps

 

[kat and james]

i wouldn't go with the biorb or the bioube, they are over priced, and the space inside is smaller than you think.. you won't fit very much inside at all! you would be better off using the money you would use to buy your biorb or your bioube to buy a second hand tank.. i say this all the time, but there are plenty of bargains on ebay!!

i know you said you don't have very much room, and this is an auction, so the price could go up, but for less than £150 you could get this.. just an example of how much you can get for your money!!
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Huge-5-Foot-Jewel-Aq...1QQcmdZViewItem

much better than a biorb.. you could fit pretty much any sort of fish you want in a tank this size!!

 

[dwarfgourami]

With that money you can do better than a biorb. Very little oxygen in those due to the small surface area, so you can't fit in much in the way of fish. A standard rectangular tank works much better. It is also easier to keep clean and gives the fish more swimming space.

I set up 2 tanks at the same time, one 70 ltrs and one 60 ltrs (Juwel Rekord, both new), one with and the other without a stand, and it cost me 200 pounds together, exclusive of fish and plants. You may well be able to get a bigger tank for your 150, but if not 60 ltrs is not a bad starting size; you can keep quite a nice little community in there.

Apart from the tank (and fish) you will need a few items for tank maintenance:

dechlorinator

algae scraper

net for catching fish

a plastic bucket or two (best with graded measurements)

gravel cleaner

test kit for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, ph and water hardness (the liquid ones are best)

and, of course, fish food

Once you've settled on the tank, you need to decide how to get it ready for the fish. If I were you I would go for fishless cycling; there are pinned topics on this and members will be happy to advise you. Basically, it involves not buying any fish for the first few weeks but adding household ammonia (from hardware store, cheap); this means that you are not putting your fish at risk of ammonia poisoning.

Good luck and enjoy yourself- it's a great hobby!

 

[rdd1952]

net for catching fish

Actually 2 nets are better. You can herd them in much easier with 2 nets. I just finished moving all fish in my 29 gallon aout and then back in. It was pretty easy with the second net. Much easier than chasing them all over the tank with the one net.