Anyone have a fish tank?

 

Im interested in buying a fish tank but have never owned one, anybody any tips or hints?

 

Pics of tanks or fish?

my mate has a marien tank, what a pain in the ass to keep right

Im a newbie to it all so ill start with the easy ones

I've got a 400l tropical tank and it's infested in beard algae, looks bloody awful and is a right pain to keep.

You're best bet is to work out what type of fish you want and buy a small complete setup from petsmart or the like.

pete you are better starting off with goldfish as they are very hardy, and they will start your tank filter off.

I built my own set up.

 

Pics of tanks or fish?

 

Pics of Tanks

 

 

 

 

 

Pics of fish.

 

 

 

 

 

I had 2 fish once. 'Sharky and George'. Original erh! They found their way down the toilet though unfortunately.....

I've got a 150 litre tropical tank and a 16ft by 6ft pond in the garden with a decent filter system.

Had 6 nice Koi that had grown to about 40cm long but cats have had them all in the last 4 months :cry:

Found one still alive on my step and a neighbour found one in her garden 4 houses away up the street again still alive.

I'm amazed a cat can claw such a big fish out the water and carry them so far.

Both died from infected wounds not long after :(

Must be £400 worth. Anyone got a shotgun :mac1:

Edited April 29, 200916 yr by ChrisC

I built my own set up.

 

You need to get that lot chromed and polished! :D

surprised it doesnt have led blue lighting and chrome valves Vinz....nice set up though

couple of grands worth there i bet

Anyone have a fish tank?

 

Im interested in buying a fish tank but have never owned one, anybody any tips or hints?

 

Pics of tanks or fish?

 

Hi mate as said i'd say cold water fish are the easier to start off with and most local pet shops ie: pets at home etc, carry all the stuff you need including a reasonable sized tank, always liked Black Moore's,my self

 

Pics of Tanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

lmao, Si you crack me up :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Anyone have a fish tank?

 

Im interested in buying a fish tank but have never owned one, anybody any tips or hints?

 

Pics of tanks or fish?

 

Hi Pete,

 

I got started with a tropical fish tank about 5 years ago. The most important thing is to set it up correctly and "cycle" the water & filtration system before introducing fish. "Cycle" refers to the nitrogen cycle whereby fish waste is turned from Amonia to Nitrate into Nitrite. You need to keep these levels under control as this could be poisonous to the fish. You cycle a fish tank by letting it sit for approx. 6 weeks (with the filters running and all decorations in place) and monitoring the various chemical levels. You'll notice the amonia concentration will spike before going down again. This will cause so-called "friendly" bacteria to establish themselves and start breaking down the Amonia. You are looking to create a happy equalibrium. pH level stability is also very important. This takes time to settle and is sensitive to the type of substrate and decorations you use in the tank. You can buy so called pH-buffer solutions but these only temporarily level off the pH level. After a few days the pH level will spike again. These spikes are not good for the fish and can cause all sorts of health issues. Basically, when you have a stocked aquarium you are managing water quality not so much the fish themselves. Once you have cycled the tank and are sure the water chemical composition is in equalibrium then you can start to introduce fish - a few at a time. By adding a few fish at a time you will not "shock" the "cycle" and throw it out of whack again. I started out with a 60L hexagonal shaped fish tank. It took 6~8 weeks to cycle and then another 8 weeks to stock the tank. I now have about 20 community fish happily living in it and also keep a pair of snails and some shrimps to keep the algae growth under control.

 

Anyway - I could go on forever ... If you want to discuss this further I'm always happy to dispence information so give me a call.

 

Good luck!

 

Dan

Perfect reply Dan, thanks mate.

 

Ive been offered a 65litre tank for free to start me off, just need to buy the filter etc.

 

Ive been off to buy a book about it all, mainly the tank and am very looking forward to it all.

 

Vinz, that is a mega fishtank mate, crazy bloke.

 

And Finally, Si, Tut, Tut, Tut

Hi Pete,

 

My pleasure - hope you'll enjoy the experience. I certainly do! Had to clean the tank today and do a part water change (as you do every 2 weeks) and had a hell of a time trying to find all the baby snails! Should have 12 but could only find 10! I use a battery powered "hoover" to clean the gravel and if I were to accidentally suck up a baby snail then that'll be it - the propellor will crush it ... :( They're only about the size of a small pea and grey shelled to boot so almost impossible to spot on the gravel! Found them all in the end and removed them before commencing my "hoovering"! :)

 

In any case, have a look at the following forum:

 

http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/

 

I frequent that and it gave me all the info I was looking for when I first got started. Friendly and helpful bunch of people too!

 

Cheerio!

 

Dan

 

PS - if you're going for a tropical setup make sure you get a decent (adjustable) heater and put a plastic guard around the element as (warm-blooded) fish won't realise when they burn themselves (if they touch the element) ... You can get the heater covers from most aquatic shops that also sell heaters. I've got a 150W heater in my 60L tank and it keeps the water temp perfectly constant at 24.6C.