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If you're buying a tank make sure it's 30 litre + for goldfish. They'll very quickly outgrow the smaller beginner tanks. Especially true if you intend on getting more than one fish. We had a comet (common breed of goldfish) that got too big for a 32 litre tank after 8 months or so. He's in the pond now!

 

Before you hoy the fish in it's best to set up the tank and then get a starter culture of bacteria to keep the water habitable. After the fish is in, you'll have to change 2/3 of the water once a week. Most importantly, you can't just fill it up from the tap as the chemicals in tap water can harm the fish. You'll need a further water treatment that you add to the water to make it suitable. You can get this stuff from any pet shop/aquarium and they'll know what you need.

 

Worth getting a vacuum pump to hoover up all the shit that will gather in the gravel/sand at the bottom. There's a stingray motor you can get too that helps filter the water so the fish aren't swimming in their own shite.

 

Setting up will probably cost you upwards of £150 without even getting a fish. Or you can skimp, get a shitty cheap tank and then replace the fish every 3 months when it dies.

 

As far as CT fads go, this one will be a very pricey one methinks. :lol:

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If you're buying a tank make sure it's 30 litre + for goldfish. They'll very quickly outgrow the smaller beginner tanks. Especially true if you intend on getting more than one fish. We had a comet (common breed of goldfish) that got too big for a 32 litre tank after 8 months or so. He's in the pond now!

 

Before you hoy the fish in it's best to set up the tank and then get a starter culture of bacteria to keep the water habitable. After the fish is in, you'll have to change 2/3 of the water once a week. Most importantly, you can't just fill it up from the tap as the chemicals in tap water can harm the fish. You'll need a further water treatment that you add to the water to make it suitable. You can get this stuff from any pet shop/aquarium and they'll know what you need.

 

Worth getting a vacuum pump to hoover up all the shit that will gather in the gravel/sand at the bottom. There's a stingray motor you can get too that helps filter the water so the fish aren't swimming in their own shite.

 

Setting up will probably cost you upwards of £150 without even getting a fish. Or you can skimp, get a shitty cheap tank and then replace the fish every 3 months when it dies.

 

As far as CT fads go, this one will be a very pricey one methinks. :lol:

 

Cheers Brock.

 

This ones not a CT fad but is a possible Xmas gift for the wife!

 

She has always said how much she would like a tropical fish tank but has never got one. (Doesn't have my impulsive nature).

 

I've read up a bit online (haven't joined a fish forum yet) ;) but prefer to hear first hand advice from someone like yourself.

 

Had a goldfish in small tank for the kids growing up and quite often seemed discoloured too quickly and constantly needed changing.

 

I'm hoping that with a big aquarium combined with all the filters you can get these day they can be fairly easy to look after.

 

Also are they pretty quiet? Aquariums not the fish. If not, what would you compare the noise too?

 

Some of these fancy dan looking tanks called biorbs have caught my eye

 

u4y3adad.jpg

 

Are these any good?

 

Cheers

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Cheers Brock.

 

This ones not a CT fad but is a possible Xmas gift for the wife!

 

She has always said how much she would like a tropical fish tank but has never got one. (Doesn't have my impulsive nature).

 

I've read up a bit online (haven't joined a fish forum yet) ;) but prefer to hear first hand advice from someone like yourself.

 

Had a goldfish in small tank for the kids growing up and quite often seemed discoloured too quickly and constantly needed changing.

 

I'm hoping that with a big aquarium combined with all the filters you can get these day they can be fairly easy to look after.

 

Also are they pretty quiet? Aquariums not the fish. If not, what would you compare the noise too?

 

Some of these fancy dan looking tanks called biorbs have caught my eye

 

u4y3adad.jpg

 

Are these any good?

 

Cheers

 

Never kept tropical fish - you'd need a heater to keep the water at the right temperature. At least with cold water fish you can save a few bob there. ;)

 

With the filter running there'll be a low hum but it's fairly unnoticeable unless you have everything turned off and listen out for it. Probably best to have the tank in the living room rather than the bedroom though as the sound might be annoying if you need perfect silence to sleep!

 

The water treatment stuff you get is a little pricey but it makes a world of difference to the water. I first had this fish (Bellis the comet) at uni in a shite tank with just tap water. After 2/3 days the water would be cloudy and he ended up getting quite ill. Moved him to the 32L tank with the chemicals in and you could change the water fortnightly. You can get a decent balance so that the water is fine but you'll still have to clean out the tank, change the filters etc to stop algae and shite building up. Best to be careful with feeding them too as letting the food sit there will also cock the water up.

 

Never been sold on the Biorb - they're pretty gimmicky and the fish don't get much room given the extra cost (they don't seem to go up to a very high volume either - 60L isn't much given it's crammed full of plastic shite with a tube up the middle). If you're keeping tiny fish like the one in that pic though it wouldn't be such a problem. I'd say your best bet is to get down the local aquarium/garden centre and see if they're getting rid of old display tanks. Usually they're perfectly fine and have been used to keep their own fish for selling.

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Never kept tropical fish - you'd need a heater to keep the water at the right temperature. At least with cold water fish you can save a few bob there. ;)

 

With the filter running there'll be a low hum but it's fairly unnoticeable unless you have everything turned off and listen out for it. Probably best to have the tank in the living room rather than the bedroom though as the sound might be annoying if you need perfect silence to sleep!

 

The water treatment stuff you get is a little pricey but it makes a world of difference to the water. I first had this fish (Bellis the comet) at uni in a shite tank with just tap water. After 2/3 days the water would be cloudy and he ended up getting quite ill. Moved him to the 32L tank with the chemicals in and you could change the water fortnightly. You can get a decent balance so that the water is fine but you'll still have to clean out the tank, change the filters etc to stop algae and shite building up. Best to be careful with feeding them too as letting the food sit there will also cock the water up.

 

Never been sold on the Biorb - they're pretty gimmicky and the fish don't get much room given the extra cost (they don't seem to go up to a very high volume either - 60L isn't much given it's crammed full of plastic shite with a tube up the middle). If you're keeping tiny fish like the one in that pic though it wouldn't be such a problem. I'd say your best bet is to get down the local aquarium/garden centre and see if they're getting rid of old display tanks. Usually they're perfectly fine and have been used to keep their own fish for selling.

 

Cheers Brock, a visit to the local places is on tomorrow's agenda.

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