130L is my current longest running tank (abt 4 years old).
155L I set up this year (2023).
Tanks I'd like to set up someday!
I am attempting my first Walstad Method tank!
Some basic info on planted tanks and why you shouldn't be intimidated by them. Also common mistakes I've learned from & general advice!
The inserts that come with filters. Trash. Throw them away. All you need (in a hang on back filter) is a sponge and some ceramic rings/bioballs.
Any tank smaller than 5 gallons/20L is animal abuse. The smaller a tank is, the more difficult it is to keep the water quality good enough for the fish. Just because a company is marketing something with the picture of a goldfish or a betta on it DOES NOT MEAN IT'S APPROPRIATE. Half the industry profit is people being tricked into buying a colorful deathtrap/torture chamber for a living thing that has a lot of specific requirements.
All In One tanks. There are a few exceptions here but when you get an all in one it's like buying an Apple product: you are ceding a large amount of control & all but eliminating your ability to customize the tank.
Fish do NOT 'grow to the size of their tank'. Fish grow to the size they are going to get and if anything become stunted by being cramped and swimming around in their own poorly filtered shit!
I've been a hobbyist for my entire adult life but rarely find people around me who are also into it to enthuse to. I love to learn - and there is so much to learn! - as much as I love to encourage/cheerlead others into trying out the wonderful world of being a fish landlord. Maybe your tenants don't pay rent but their behaviors and natural beauty are well worth their freeloading.
The point of this site is to contain all my enthusiasm, including pictures of my tanks, equipment lists and general advice I've learned through trial and error. I'll be up front: it's not a cheap hobby. Even the most basic betta (fighting fish) setup is going to set you back some coin if you want to do it correctly, but the beauty of planted tanks especially is that once you're set up, maintenance is far cheaper. Think of it like buying an expensive purebred puppy that only eats a few kibbles a day.
I am the first to admit that I'm still a total amature! I don't have the capital to do a lot of trails to learn errors from, and I also don't have the SPACE for that besides! Always do your own research. The internet is lousy with resources on every conceivable, granular topic related to fish tanks imaginable, so if anything use the information I put here as a launching point rather than a one stop shop!
While I have kept a salt water tank in the past, my main takeaway from that was 'absolute nightmare' in terms of maintenance, and I won't be going into further detail. Don't worry, nothing died, but a local fish store did wind up getting a ton of free stock in the end. This site will be ENTIRELY about freshwater tropical fish that are of a reasonable and manageable size.
I will mention that I live in Australia. A lot of the stuff I struggle to get/aren't even available here are freely available elsewhere, and often for cheaper. Australia, understandably, has intense quarantine laws. If my scope seems a bit limited, that's why! I will conclude with this: SEEK OUT A LOCAL, INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AQUARIUM SHOP. Petsmart, Petco, Petbarn, WHATEVER, rarely have people who have good advice and a lot of these chains have ALL their fish on the same sump system. If you see a tank with a sick fish, that means ALL the fish in the system have been exposed! Local fish stores (LFS is a term you might see in your internet travels!) very frequently keep each tank on a seperate system, reducing the chance of spreading diseases and allowing them to quarantine and treat them more adequately. They'll also have more knowledge, likely a better selection of products, and fuck corporations also. Ok! That's enough! Check out the links on the top of the page!
Also, if you'd like information from people way smarter than me, check out these YOUTUBES:
FISHSTORY! one of the most enthusiastic & knowledgable fishkeepers online, there is SO MUCH CONTENT for you to go through, and boy does it get GRANULAR. from discussing the nitrate cycle to keeping up to date on new species discoveries, you are gonna learn SO MUCH watching this channel!
Serpa Design. this guy does more than just aquarium stuff, including paladarium's and vivariums. EXTREMELY informative if you're more of a DIY person. his dedication to creating bioactive environments for his animals is super inspiring!