Your current Fish tank Setups!

[ddoubleep]

Depends on what you want, what you have available locally and if you are willing to buy blind online.

For a planted tank I wouldn’t recommend anything other than a soil type substrate now but it is rather expensive. I’m using the tropica one but the ADA, JBL, Fluval etc versions are all fine. For a small tank I would get the smaller grain size for tropica it’s referred to as ‘powder’.

As for rocks/wood you really are limited to what’s available unless you want to buy online and this is typically blind so you don’t know what you are getting. In my experience most local stores are pretty poor when it comes to decent rock and wood.

Also if you are going planted I would suggest a rimless tank but again these are more expensive but the tank it’s self wont dominate the room as much because they don’t have thick bezels, lids and use clear silicone instead of black. They also make the content of the tank stand out much more.

I have a Denerle scapers tank which is nice. Aquarium Gardens also have a line of small rimless tanks which are rectangular rather than cubes.

https://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/glass-aquariums-98-c.asp

I have this kit which is a good starter kit:

https://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/dennerle-scapers-tank-complete-35l-led-1548-p.asp

It comes with a basic light and filter which are fine for low demanding plants, you just need to add a small heater. It also has a lid but you don’t need to use it, if you run it without the lid you can get creative with bits of wood and plants coming out the top.

George farmer also just did a Fluval Flex setup with everything bought from pets at home, it’s worth a watch. Search George Farmer on YouTube.

Thank you for the informative reply.

Funnily enough I watched the George Farmer video last night before bed about the Flex and Pets at Home setup. I came across his channel in the last few days of research.

I also have the Dennerle 35L you have on the shortlist so my final two choices are between the Flex 34 and the Dennerle 35L. Either one will fit into the intended space in the Kitchen.

I wasn't too sure on the lid on the Dennerle as it had gaps. It did mean I could choose my own filter and light but the kit you have referenced was also a possibility. The other rimless tanks on aquarium gardens did not seem to have any lids so haven't put them on the list. I wanted to put a tank in the kitchen for the next 6 to 12 months before finding it's home in the lounge once it has been re-decorated. I assume a lid would be a necessity?

I take your point on the rocks, wood and plants being sourced online vs the local shops. I may have to try Maidenhead Aquatics or follow George Farmer ideas.

This new setup is more for fish (Neon Tetras and maybe some Betta, Shrimp and some snails) but I'd like to decorate it with naturals elements to make it more interesting and always changing.

Thanks for the tips so far.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Personally for me the Denerle is the nicer tank, but it is less user friendly. The Flex is the safer option, I just personally no not like the black silicone.

The lid isn't great on the Denerle because of the gaps, its mostly there to stop evaporation and fish jumping out rather than to stop anything getting in but it is possible for critters to past the lid. You don't need a big filter on the Denerle, you can get away with just using an Ehiem surface skimmer or the smallest hang-on-back/internal filters available. Even the smallest external filters are far too powerful. The one it comes with is a bit low on the flow side but it shrimp safe, getting caught in the trap of buying replacement filters is mostly just that.

When you say in the kitchen, what do you mean? It's hard to imagine as my kitchen is tiny and the only place for it would be on a work top. The only thing I can think of for a kitchen is that its much more likely that you are going to be spraying cleaning products about in there. I don't think it would be a problem if you take care, don't do anything silly like spraying over the thank or on the tank (or in it!).

I see you are in London, is Aqua Depot anywhere near you? That shop is meant to be good for wood/rocks and plants.

 

[Vidar]

@b0rn2sk8 thanks mate, can you recommend any sites or youtube channels for beginners?

 

[b0rn2sk8]

These are my main 3:

George Farmer (Plants/Aquascaping)
Juris Jujajevs (Plants/Aquascaping)
The King of DIY (General fish keeping)

There are loads of others out there but the video quality/style is really varies. I find it hard watching 'amateur' YouTubers these days, completely spoilt by the quality of people like Marques etc.

 

[Vidar]

Blinking heck, I can't remember needing half this stuff when I was a kid!

So I've ordered Some Seachem Prime and Stability, got an api Freshwater master test kit for £15.99 of the jungle as it's on offer... Ordered a replacement pump and filter, believe the heater still works.

I know I need to get substrate, any brands people would recommend?

Anything else I need and may have overlooked?

 

[NoobCannon]

Blinking heck, I can't remember needing half this stuff when I was a kid!

So I've ordered Some Seachem Prime and Stability, got an api Freshwater master test kit for £15.99 of the jungle as it's on offer... Ordered a replacement pump and filter, believe the heater still works.

I know I need to get substrate, any brands people would recommend?

Anything else I need and may have overlooked?

Have a seach on AMAZON and choose one that you like.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Yes, anything with a relatively small grain (1-3mm) size is best for a small tank.

hugo kamishi and unipac have a large range and are generally good quality.

 

[Vidar]

How much do you think I will need?

 

[Vidar]

I'm thinking black or white sand atm

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Not much, for sand you only want a small layer (up to 3cm) or it can cause issues if it compacts. I would go black if I were you, white/light sand doesn't stay that way for long. It tends to go brown/green as it gets covered in detritus and algae.

They tend to come in 5kg bags, I would have thought that would be more than enough. I would wait for a second on that amount though.

 

[bainbridge]

Hi all

Just after a few tips. We have a 60 litre tank which has been up and running for 2 months, we have 6 cardinal tetras and 6 Harlequin Rasboras in there now and they seem very happy.

I want to buy a shoal of pygmy corydorus in due course but have learned that they prefer a sandy bottom, but I have gravel down there. How feasible is it to siphon out the water and move the fish to a temporary plastic storage box, swap out the gravel for sand and then refill immediately with the same tank water and move the fish back in?

 

[PiKe]

I have fine gravel in my tank with pandas and they seem fine, they haven't injured their barbels at all.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Hi all

Just after a few tips. We have a 60 litre tank which has been up and running for 2 months, we have 6 cardinal tetras and 6 Harlequin Rasboras in there now and they seem very happy.

I want to buy a shoal of pygmy corydorus in due course but have learned that they prefer a sandy bottom, but I have gravel down there. How feasible is it to siphon out the water and move the fish to a temporary plastic storage box, swap out the gravel for sand and then refill immediately with the same tank water and move the fish back in?

Done this a few times it should be fine, go light on the feedings for a week and monitor the ammonia/nitrite to give the bacteria that was in the gravel a chance to recover.

 

[sneakysnail]

might want to consider doing it in stages over a few weeks and not all at once just because of all the benefical bactaria in the gravel. Maybe keep a bunch of the gravel in a stocking or something afterwards aswell? dont suppose you have any filter spare media?

 

[bainbridge]

I have fine gravel in my tank with pandas and they seem fine, they haven't injured their barbels at all.

How fine is your gravel pike?

 

[bainbridge]

Done this a few times it should be fine, go light on the feedings for a week and monitor the ammonia/nitrite to give the bacteria that was in the gravel a chance to recover.

Thanks, glad to hear it's doable, I'll wash and wash the sand beforehand but was concerned that it would still cloud up and somehow injure the fish.

 

[bainbridge]

might want to consider doing it in stages over a few weeks and not all at once just because of all the benefical bactaria in the gravel. Maybe keep a bunch of the gravel in a stocking or something afterwards aswell? dont suppose you have any filter spare media?

That's a good idea, maybe do it in thirds with some sort of divider such as pebbles.

 

[Vidar]

Would a Betta be a good fit for my lads tank? If so what fish are a good tank mates so I can help steer him in that direction.

 

[NoobCannon]

@Spook187 or anyone else

Do you have any experience with wrasses? Loking for a colourfull fish to add to my tank and thinking of the melanurs wrass

 

[King4aDay]

@Spook187 or anyone else

Do you have any experience with wrasses? Loking for a colourfull fish to add to my tank and thinking of the melanurs wrass

Melanurus wrasse are superb. They are very active fish and at 6" need a pretty good size tank - I'd say 4' as a minimum... try and get one from Indonesia rather than Australia - better colours and should be cheaper. H. biocellatus is a good choice also. Slightly smaller with similar markings when mature, but red rather than green base colour.

I'm a bit of a wrasse addict.