Tropical Fish Keeping

Hi tigerfish,  all I can suggest is if you have a maidenhead aquatics near you might be worth a pop in, I will hold my hands up and say that a good friend is a manager for them but I always find the help and knowledge at different locations over the years have been great. Either that or a good independent.

My Son keeps tropical fish and has done so for a number of years, would guess it all boils down to how much you want to spend at the end of the day the cheaper tanks will do the same job as the more expensive ones so to me it is down to ones own preference.

I think you mean MDF rather than PDF unless you are planning making a stand from a 3D printer. 

CY  Yes you are correct!  Put it down to a "Senior Moment!"

TF

As a youth kept and bred Rift Valley cichlids and also killifish! Started with the usual suspects. It was great fun mind but too many days these days spent away in the motorcaravan.

Hi TF, I was a very keen aquarist at one time up until about 12 years ago.

The last type I kept were Lake Malawi and Tanganyika Cichlids, as you may know they are some of the most colourful other than tropical marine fish that require a different filtration system.

The type of tank is down to personal choice, I prefer all glass construction with just a wooden hood and simple stand.

One of the main changes over the years has been with the types of filtration systems and pumps. The large external pump/filter like THIS is my preferred choice.  

Good luck if you decide to go ahead.  

NAS, Thanks for the info and link.  I am going ahead and have valued your input.

TF

The principals haven't changed one iota so if you knew what you were doing before you will know now

What has changed though is the very nice Oak finished tank stands etc which help the tank to fit in with other furniture in the living room.

That has helped me to convince the DCOS that the idea is a good one.  The new filtration systems and heaters are better too.

Strangely enough The cost of the fish themselves do not seem to have risen compared to other things of 40 years ago.

TF

Do you want only a display tank or do you intend breeding the fish. I started with a display tank but a pair of my cichlids surprisingly decided to breed, Then had to set up other tanks and the whole thing just snowballed. Great fun mind!