Hi Guys

I'm hopefully going to pick up my fishtank later today and i'm hoping to get it set up within the week.

I believe the tank comes with a filter and heater, what else will i need to buy to get set up (not including the fish) and roughly how much will i be needing to spend on set up?

Im hopefully going to go for a fancy goldfish if the tank is big enough, if it isnt i will use the heater and buy a couple of tropical fish instead.

Just want to know how much money i need to put aside for the setup, any other advice would be good too!

Thanks

Sarah

You will need...

A liquid master test kit (for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) - approx £20
Gravel siphon - approx £5-7
Net - £2
Food - Anywhere from £3-20 (depending on what and how much you buy)
Decor - Price varies, budget around £40 for a small tropical aquarium.
Algae scraper - £5
Lighting (necessary if you intend to grow live plants) - £30-800
Dechlorinator - £5
Household ammonia - £2-3

lovely, thank you

with regards to the testing could i not just take a sample of water to the fish shop and have them test it for me?

also with the plants, can i just buy live plants from the fish shop and plant them in the tank? i think the tank does come with a light so that should be fine shouldnt it?

You could take a fresh water sample to an aquatic store for testing, however they would probably charge a fee. I've heard of a few scams where unscrupulous stores tell their customers that there is something wrong with their water to entice them into purchasing something they don't need and when the water is perfectly fine. It is much better to invest in your own test kit.

As for the plants, simply placing them in the tank is one of the main causes of why they die so easily. If you decide to go with goldfish, you probably won't be able to keep the majority of live plants as they will simply be torn up and consumed. In a moderately planted tropical tank, a small amount of weekly maintenance (such as pruning and the removal of dead leaves) will go a long way towards keeping things healthy. A good liquid fertiliser such as Tropica Aquacare + would enhance growth when dosed properly.

It's worth bearing in mind that a few tropical live plant species (i.e Java Moss, Anubias, Java Fern) can't be inserted directly into the substrate, but must instead be attached to hard decor. The reason behind this is because all of the afformentioned plant species have rhizomes from which the roots diverge. If the rhizomes are buried in the substrate, the entire plant will start to rot.

ok thank you

once i have had a look at the tank i can make up my mind what type of fish to keep in it, im properly gonna go for tropical as OH would prefer that.