Starting Up.

[leeboy87]

Hello,

I have always been a fish lover and frequent admirer of other peoples aquariums, I have been diving for a few years now so I have basic knowledge on tropical fish. But i feel now that I am ready to take the plunge and invest in my own aquarium. Unfortunately my knowledge on starting up and maintain a tropical aquarium is limited. Can anyone recommend an aquarium and all the kit that I would need (filters etc..) that would be suitable for a novice such as myself. ideally I would be looking at a tank upto 200 litres in capacity. If you could also recommend any books that would help me progress.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[SandraNewbie]

Welcome to the hobby.

First I would say "Get the biggest tank you can afford and are willing to look after". The larger the tank, the more stable the water, the lighter the bioload and the easier it is to look after, as well as allowing you more fish.

If you're in the UK, there are usually some 200L or larger set ups on preloved for collection so you might find one in your area.
I would recommend against buying second hand filters but ymmv. And never buy a second hand heater.

At 200L You'll probably want an external filter (and they look better anyway) Tetratec EX700 would work for a light bioload tank and the 1200 for a higher bioload tank. Although they used to have some leak issues. (£80 and £105 ont he first site I saw them)
Eheim is a respected brand the 2071 Professional 3 250 Filter I've heard good things about but it's a similar flow rate to the EX700 at more than twice the price.

For a heater, I use the 1W per litre +50 rule, I've not found a lot of difference with brands, although if you do go for a tetratec ex1200 there's a great heater that clips on to the flow pipes so you don't have a heater in your tank, keeping it pretty. I'll try and find the name.

 

[alistairw]

Hi Leeboy and welcome to the forum!

Congratulations on entering into a facinating hobby!

I am fairly new to fish keeping (3 months in) and you have definately come to the right place. The majority of people here will help you out and not think anything less of you for it.

I started with a Fluval Roma 90 litre but wish I had bought something bigger! I think generally, the bigger they are, the easier it is to look after the water chemistry. The smaller ones will tend to go down hill with regards to ammonia and nitrite (both highly lethal) very quickly due to the small volume of water.

The Fluval came with all the kit I needed (fluval U2 internal filter, a heater etc), so keep your eyes open at local fish shops (LFS) in your area. I am not experienced enough to tell what brands are good or bad, but I would go with something that you like the look of, fits in your home and is within your budget. Do some research on the fish you want and makesure they will be OK in the tank you choose (I assume you are going with fresh tropical?).

Filter wise, I used the U" internal for a while, but the general concensus is that externals are far superior. I recently upgraded to a Tetra Tek EX600 and its fantastic. They are far easier to look after and less prone to break downs, plus can filter the water much better.

One of the first things I would do is check out the beginners resource centre on the forum. It will explain to you the process of cycling your tank (process of establishing the good bacteria in your filter that process the ammonia to nitrite to nitrate). It will also explain the best way to do this, fishless cycling, so that you don't harm your fish.

Bookwise, i got some from my local library and used those, plus google and visiting LFS to get an idea of the fish I would like. Research is essential!!

Good luck and let us all know how you get on! If I think of anything else, i will let you know!

For a heater, I use the 1W per litre +50 rule, I've not found a lot of difference with brands, although if you do go for a tetratec ex1200 there's a great heater that clips on to the flow pipes so you don't have a heater in your tank, keeping it pretty. I'll try and find the name.

I think the heater you are talking about is the Hydor External heater. I am looking into fitting one of those to my EX600. They come in 2 hose sizes so should fit to most external filters.

 

[Lolly123]

Hi leeboy,
I would say 200L is a great size to start off with, people have a misconception that the smaller the tank the easier it is to maintain, as someone said before, buy as big as you can manage.
First off, an external filter is definitely the way to go. I have used Eheim, Fluval and Tetratec, but I must warn, the Tetratecs are great when they are working, but some of their units are prone to leaks. I am currently running an EX1200, it's a fantastic filter but I dealt with the leaking, up until the point where I had to buy an alternative filter to use until I sorted the leaking issue out. I must say that Tetratecs customer service was fab and they sent me out a whole new filter head, which has cured the leaking issue. Don't scrimp on a filter, as I would say it is one of the most crucial items in your setup.
A reliable heater is also a must have, I have always stuck with the mainstream brands as the ones mentioned above, I currently have an Eheim jäger and it has been trouble free and reliable.
I would advise reading over the beginners section as it highlights information around cycling your tank when you get to that point. I always recommend fishless cycling, in my opinion it's kinder to the fish and is a lot less hassle. All the advice I would give for now is, once your setup, resist the urge to plonk fish straight in, despite what your LFS may advise. Take your time with the fishless cycling and once that's done you will be ready to roll. All the info you need will be found on here and there are a huge number of very experienced fish keepers to answer your questions.
Oh and get yourself a reliable liquid testing kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph. Avoid the strips or getting your LFS to test for you, the only person I trust to test my water is me.
Good luck.