Getting a complete setup, where ?

[gkbe]

Hi all it's my wifes birthday next friday and I know she has always wanted a tropical fish tank, she has had cold water ones in the past so this year she's getting one !!

I know there is a local one in cranbourne plus the usual pet stores. If anyone can suggest some good places in the S.E suburbs in melbourne it would be greatly appreciated.

Should I have a list of things that I "Must" get

It'll be a suprise so I can't ask her what I need but I also don't want to get stuff I don't need because they saw me coming !

Any help would be great !

Thanks ^_^

[Beano]

What kind of tropicals does she want? Depending on the fish, you'd need a tank big enough for how many, filter, substrate for the bottom, decorations/plants/real plants, water conditioner/ager, and some medications on hand in case they get sick. Not a bad idea to buy some aquarium salt too.

Also, if it's a fresh tank started from scratch, cycling it is usually a good idea. For that you can do a fishless cycle or use fish to do it. If you're going to use the fish to do it, it's a good idea to start with less fish, as if you put too much of a bioload in there at once into a non-cycled tank, then you'll run into problems with ammonia spikes, etc. Your wife will probably know all about this.

So are you just wanting to buy her the setup and let her pick the fish?

The store might try and sell you something called cycle or biospira. It's supposed to have live bacteria in it to kick start the biological filter. I've always been told these products are crap but there's people on this forum that use them - I've personally never tried so I can't give an educated answer on the matter. They aren't that cheap though. Also, if your going to use fish to cycle the aquarium, then you should try to get a water conditioner that has an "ammonia detoxifer" in it (or you can buy stuff called Ammo-lock).

I hope I haven't bombarded you with too much info. Sounds like you like your surprises!

[Beano]

Also check this out - I have this small 18.5L tank that has the light and filter built into it. It was $65 at BigW which isn't bad for a tank like that. I had to return one already, but I'm hoping it was just a fluke. They also sell larger 2 foot ones now for pretty cheap too. It might be worth going down the "all in one" tank path.

http://ausaqua.net/forum/index.php?s=&...ost&p=64527 <----look here

[gkbe]

Wow thanks for the fast reply ! No idea what the cycling thing is but i'll pass that on I'm just guessing here but we may start with some el cheapo ones just in case !

My budget will be around 5-600 but that will have to include everything she will need. I won't be buying fish at the time as I assume it'll take a day or so for the water temp to stabilise ?

Plus I'd rather let her pick what she wants. Personally I like angel fish so I'll get one of those for me

Appreciate the advice and so will my wife. Will give her my account on here so we can both login and post lots of annoying beginner questions :)

[Avalon_Princess]

$500-$600? Lucky wife LOL, you could get an awesome tank for that. What size are you looking at? I'd go for a standard 90cm one, it's a good size, not big enough for the really large fish but most community fish can go in there. They retail about a hundred for one around here, might be different where you are, then if you want them theres the stand and hood, then a 50-60 for a good filter and heater the rest would go on lighting and decorations, if you're not planning on getting plants just get a small light ie if it's for a three foot just get a two foot light with a standard wattage.

If you'd prefer you can get an all in one tank, but often the filtration aint that great and I've never been really impressed with them, I prefer setting up a tank with the equipment I like.

You'll have to get at least a 120l tank if you want an angelfish, either an extra tall 75 cm tank (47 cm tall) or a three foot, though if you do want an all in one tank theres the Aquaone 620T but it might be a bit too expensive...

You'll need to cycle before you get fish, cycling usually takes about a month....

Just some suggestions

Emma

[y2jdaze]

oh in melbourne for a tropical tank you'd almost certainly need to get a heater for the winter months otherwise the water temp will drop too low for the tropical fishies. depending on the size of the tank you decide to get you'll need between a 50W-300W Most likely ^_^

[Beano]

oh yeah! I can't believe of all the stuff I listed, I forgot the heater!!!

[Bren MacFish]

If you're in Melbourne then you have to check out the Boronia forums. If you're after new tanks then the Boronia Aquarium Shop has the most consistently reasonable prices and a large range, BUT a forum operates off their website for trading second hand gear... and for 600 schmakers you can pick up a fully-stocked live coral marine tank at least!

Your $600 will go a long way in the second hand market. You may have to sign up to the Yuku forum to access anything, and it's only for Melbournites but choof on over to: http://boroniaaquarium.com.au/ and click on "forums and more" and read thru the classifieds. There's some real bargains to be had.

[malignau]

umm some other good stores are keysborough aquarium, hi-fin in syndal, and coburg aquarium (even if it isnt S.E. suburbs and pretty far). Oakleigh aquarium fish importer looks good, going to check them out next week but dont know if their good or not yet. heard their pretty good though.