Spec me a tropical fish tank

[ShotInTheAss86]

Girlfriend had a couple of Angelfish in a tank on the kitchen windowsill. All going well till they started to get their funk on and now we have 45 little Angelfish growing up all to quickly to the point where this tank is not going to be suitable. She's asked for a cabinet style fish tank to go in the living room to better accommodate the new members of the household.

I've got little to no idea about Fish so looking for some help so I can have everything ready next month as a Xmas present to her

so GD pour forth with your knowledge on aquariums and recommendations!

TIA
Rich

 

[Haggisman]

Take a look at the huge fish tank thread

Not kept angels myself, but I have read they can be pretty aggressive, they also get quite big, so you're going to need a pretty huge tank for 45 of them! Maybe better trying to sell/donate at least some of them to a local fish shop?

In terms of tanks, I've always quite liked the Fluval Roma range, and I think they have an offer on where you get the cabinet free at the moment

 

[ShotInTheAss86]

Yes I think we'll sell some of them if possible and perhaps keep the pair in the tank in the kitchen to see if they want to continue breeding

I'll take a look at the Fluval Roma range. Is there any kind of easy guide as to what size pump and thermometer are required per volume of tank etc? or are they built in to most bigger tanks?

The biggest issue I have with having this setup in the living room (apart from the flood risk) is the potential noise the pump etc could make - any good makes to look out for that are known to be quiet?

 

[kaptainmarc]

Angelfish can get really territorial and require a lot of space per fish.

for that many angel fish you would need a spare house I imagine a lot of them will just get killed my mum and dad.

you want around 100ltr tank for 2 angel fish of a decent height.

I had an external fluval pump in my 300ltr tank, sat around 2 foot away from it in my flat and couldn't hear it when watching TV.

 

[Raggs]

had a couple of internal filters an interpet one was very loud so avoid fluval range u3 filter very quite, had two externals all pond solutions one not bad but impellers kept going bad, right now i have terta tec 800 plus on my 120L really good silent can't hear it unless i stick my head in the cabinet. ehiem fluval all considered good filters you get a filter with the fluval range of tanks and a heater i think.

aqadvisor.com for stocking levels it's a good guide.

the angels will keep multiplying nightmare had the same with platys started off with a couple ended up with loads. maybe try to re home some on gumtree or similar or even a local independent fish shop may take some off your hands.

 

[ShotInTheAss86]

the Fluval units do seem to come with everything included for heater/lighting/filter. I look to see if they'll have any on display and in use in local pet stores so I can get a better idea for the quality, style and noise levels

will look at the terta range after lunch

So far no fighting in the tank but as they grow I can imagine that could change. Got quite a big shop in Armley that sells lots of fish which might be interested in buying some off us. It's where we got the first 2 from

 

[Haggisman]

Can give a other vote for the fluval u3 filter being very quiet! Had one in our tank before we converted to marine, and it was completely inaudible, the fans in the light unit were louder!

Quite a few of them will come with everything, e.g. filter, heater, lighting etc. I'd advise to make sure you get LED lights - bit more expensive up front, but a lot cheaper to run, dont need to worry about them pumping a lot of heat into the tank, and no need to replace bulbs every 6 months

 

[boxman2000]

Clearly you have a breeding pair - these need a tank of their own otherwise they will invariably harm the other fish.

Personally I would never have more than two in a single tank and they make terrible community tank mates anyway. I've kept tropical fish for 30+ years so have made most of the mistakes.

If you're going for a cabinet style tank then I would highly recommend an external canister filter - way easier to maintain and technically gives you a bit more capacity for adult fish stock.

 

[ShotInTheAss86]

soooooo it's been awhile since I asked for your help on what to buy. That's because it's been a bit of a roller-coaster of a ride!

Found a great online deal on a Fluval tank+cabinet from a well known Pets store early Dec. Ordered it thinking it would be a speedy delivery - No. 7-10 days with their choice of courier, no option for collect in store as apparently item too large/heavy.

Not to worry though it arrived towards the end of the week before Xmas - Great timing for the misses present! Just enough time to give it a cycle before moving the fish into their new home over the festive break.

Opened the cabinet box up to start assembly and they've sent the wrong colour

Time to sit on hold for nearly 30 mins before the first customer services team member i speak to hangs up on me after saying hello, maybe she could sense my temper boiling before I had chance to speak? Back to the end of the queue again with customer services and eventually get through 5 mins before they close at 8pm. She apologies and offer to re-deliver the correct item this time.

Roll on yesterday thanks to all the bank hols over the festive break and wkends for there standard courier delivery time frame and the parcel finally arrives. Misses is keen to not let the couriers leave until she has quickly opened the box to check the contents for correct colour and it's what we ordered. I get home from work last night and start to assemble the cabinet, first i notice 1 of the hinges is wrong but no worry still got the other cabinet boxed up so quickly swapped it for the correct hinge and proceeded. Get right near the end of the build and discover this box contains 2 matching side panels so I can't complete it

Customer services was closed by this point last night so have had to call them today to complain and request another delivery. This time customer services offer me a different courier service which is a lot quicker apparently and should have been offered the first time I had this problem. They also offer me 20% refund on the full order amount. Starting to feel like i might be getting somewhere again now. Quicker delivery and some cash back. Then they send me this email...

"I have just gone into the transaction in order to process your 20% refund and unfortunately it looks like there has never been any payment taken therefore not allowing me action the refund."

I've checked my credit card statement transactions and online transaction history - no payment taken

So GD what should I do:
1. Let them take payment again with the 20% reduction and then proceed with sending me another cabinet
2. Tell them to come collect their mess and go to another supplier
3. Ignore them now they've told me I've not actually paid for anything and make do with the pieces I have. Not sure where I stand legally on this one?

Good and silly advise always appreciated

PS - all fish are still doing OK and happy

 

[Unicorn]

soooooo it's been awhile since I asked for your help on what to buy. That's because it's been a bit of a roller-coaster of a ride!

Found a great online deal on a Fluval tank+cabinet from a well known Pets store early Dec. Ordered it thinking it would be a speedy delivery - No. 7-10 days with their choice of courier, no option for collect in store as apparently item too large/heavy.

Not to worry though it arrived towards the end of the week before Xmas - Great timing for the misses present! Just enough time to give it a cycle before moving the fish into their new home over the festive break.

Opened the cabinet box up to start assembly and they've sent the wrong colour

Time to sit on hold for nearly 30 mins before the first customer services team member i speak to hangs up on me after saying hello, maybe she could sense my temper boiling before I had chance to speak? Back to the end of the queue again with customer services and eventually get through 5 mins before they close at 8pm. She apologies and offer to re-deliver the correct item this time.

Roll on yesterday thanks to all the bank hols over the festive break and wkends for there standard courier delivery time frame and the parcel finally arrives. Misses is keen to not let the couriers leave until she has quickly opened the box to check the contents for correct colour and it's what we ordered. I get home from work last night and start to assemble the cabinet, first i notice 1 of the hinges is wrong but no worry still got the other cabinet boxed up so quickly swapped it for the correct hinge and proceeded. Get right near the end of the build and discover this box contains 2 matching side panels so I can't complete it

Customer services was closed by this point last night so have had to call them today to complain and request another delivery. This time customer services offer me a different courier service which is a lot quicker apparently and should have been offered the first time I had this problem. They also offer me 20% refund on the full order amount. Starting to feel like i might be getting somewhere again now. Quicker delivery and some cash back. Then they send me this email...

"I have just gone into the transaction in order to process your 20% refund and unfortunately it looks like there has never been any payment taken therefore not allowing me action the refund."

I've checked my credit card statement transactions and online transaction history - no payment taken

So GD what should I do:
1. Let them take payment again with the 20% reduction and then proceed with sending me another cabinet
2. Tell them to come collect their mess and go to another supplier
3. Ignore them now they've told me I've not actually paid for anything and make do with the pieces I have. Not sure where I stand legally on this one?

Good and silly advise always appreciated

PS - all fish are still doing OK and happy

Not option 3. Whilst it's there fault your still liable likely.
Probably option 1 is best. Ring bank first though to be sure no payment has ever been taken

 

[ShotInTheAss86]

@Unicorn I guess you are right. I'll call them in the morning and squeeze them for more discount before they take payment - cant hurt to ask, and I do have some slight leverage given the circumstances.