Newbie.. again

[Goody1967]

Hello everybody,

My name is Ian and I'm from Stevenage Hertfordshire UK.
I had tropical fish about 25 to 30 years ago. Seems like a hell of a lot has changed since then.
Hoping to start up again and probably going to start with a 3 foot (90 - 100cm or so} community tank.
I have moved the TV and have a space in the corner of about 45 inches (115cm).
I have been looking on ebay for a couple of weeks now but am a bit scared of buying a second hand one.
I have looked at 3 new ones. I would like to have one in dark brown/Mahogany to match the furniture and door of the front room.
I want it to come with a matching cabinet in the same colour. I have about £400 give or take to spend and have absolutely no transport.
The 3 I have looked at are Juwel Rio 180 in Dark Wood with matching stand £414, Juwel Vision 180 in Dark Wood with matching stand £515 (a little bit dearer than what I can afford to be honest) and Boyu LH810 Aquarium in Cherry with matching stand £385.
Any others out there or opinions on these?

Now that's the tank & stand out of the way. What is all this cycle, tank safe, water testing, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, bacteria etc stuff about?
Have read a lot about it and it looks like to have a nicely set up tank it's gonna take me ages to get it all looking lovely.
When I had fish years ago I had a little pump in the corner blowing out bubbles through a minuscule green plastic with what looked like cotton wool inside as a filter. Just threw some tap water in. Heated it up and hey presto, bunged the plants and fish in. A couple of deaths maybe but nothing on a grand scale I can recall. After a bit I progressed to an under-gravel filter (a white bit of plastic with some holes in it and a tube popping up with the pump blowing bubbles forcing circulation upwards. Seems like things have certainly changed over the years but so have other things for instance, I never used to have a cycling helmet when out on my bike or not being able to head the ball too much whilst playing footie!

Now, so after 14 years of maturing the water (living through another 6 pandemics or so) what about gravel or sand? Plants? big? small? easy to grow? places to hide? rocks? slate? wood? Want it to look as natural as possible. No castles or ship wrecks for me.

Lastly, certainly the main thing for me though, the fish. Would like pleasing to the eye, hardy, friendly, colourful, easy to keep, a little bit of natural breeding if possible.

Sorry about the waffle and look forward to your replies. Can't wait! Many Thanks.... Ian

 

[madmark285]

I had tropical fish about 25 to 30 years ago. Seems like a hell of a lot has changed since then.

The biggest change I see in the hobby, the arrival of the internet. There is so much info on the web. Start by googling "cycling your aquarium" or "aquarium nitrogen cycle".

The "corner bubbler" filter still exist, they just use foam instead of the cotton floss. What I remember from the old days, undergravel filters were the norm. I suggest you research canister filter for a tank that size.

For fish, pick out some you like then search for compatible tank mates. I wanted Tiger barbs so that eliminated the vast majority of fish. Just don't do stupid things like getting 2 Tiger barbs and a Betta, google is your friend. You should also think about schools of fish, many do much better with 6 or more and it make for a more interesting tank.

Now if you want " pleasing to the eye, hardy, friendly, colourful, easy to keep, a little bit of natural breeding if possible", I suggest Mbunas, an African cichlid from Lake Malawi. I once did a Mbuna tank where the entire bottom was just big rocks and had a breeding pair. Note, breeding was fun until you ask, what am I going to do with all these fish?

Good luck

Mark

 

[Goody1967]

The biggest change I see in the hobby, the arrival of the internet. There is so much info on the web. Start by googling "cycling your aquarium" or "aquarium nitrogen cycle".

The "corner bubbler" filter still exist, they just use foam instead of the cotton floss. What I remember from the old days, undergravel filters were the norm. I suggest you research canister filter for a tank that size.

For fish, pick out some you like then search for compatible tank mates. I wanted Tiger barbs so that eliminated the vast majority of fish. Just don't do stupid things like getting 2 Tiger barbs and a Betta, google is your friend. You should also think about schools of fish, many do much better with 6 or more and it make for a more interesting tank.

Now if you want " pleasing to the eye, hardy, friendly, colourful, easy to keep, a little bit of natural breeding if possible", I suggest Mbunas, an African cichlid from Lake Malawi. I once did a Mbuna tank where the entire bottom was just big rocks and had a breeding pair. Note, breeding was fun until you ask, what am I going to do with all these fish?

Good luck

Mark

Thank you very much. a lot to google then mate.

Cheers!

Ian

 

[Back in the fold]

The fish have been waiting for you. Welcome back.

 

[Goody1967]

Many thanks Back in the fold

 

[Retired Viking]

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