All in one aquarium kits

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danielb

AC Members
Jul 1, 2004
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www.danielb.org.uk
I'm looking to purchase my first Aquarium, something on the small to medium size. I've seen Juwel and bioSphere aquarium kits at my local aquarium store. I like the idea of getting a proper kit with all the bits included as I'm still new to the hobby so would not know what gear I needed. Is there any other alternative kits that I can get mail order?

I've seen pictures of Nano-Cubes online and they look very pretty too. Does anyone know if there are any UK mail order companies that sell them?

I really want to have live plants in any aquarium I get so that rules out the bioSphere I think.

Cheers.
 
What you need, aside from the tank (of course ;) ):
heater
filter
thermometer
some source of light for the plants (try to shoot for about 1.5-2watts per gallon (wpg) of normal fluorecence (NO) with a 5500-6700K rating)

For heaters, I'd go visitherm, they seem well recomended. I think that 5wpg is the reccomended, but don't quote me on it.

My filter of choice is aquaclear, again depending on the size of tank. However, if you've the money, go for a canister filter, they seem more suited to a planted tank setup. Both Eheim and Fluvial seem reasonably well reviewed, the latter being the better thought of, in general, I think.

Thermometer is easy, go with the lcd stick on the tank side type. They're easy to read and unobtrusive. They're slightly less accurate than the in tank variety, but they're sufficient and the most important thing is a stable temp. more than a perfect one.

For the top, you've got a whole range of setups from the cheapest: piece of hinged glass with fluo. shoplights on top. To a more elegant homemade hood with power compact (PC) lighting (like those offered at www.ahsupply.com )

It's a little more legwork than a kit, but I guarantee that you'll get a better setup and one that you'll be much more satisfied with.
 
The Juwel aquariums are excellent as an introduction to everything to do with the world of aquaria.

I know a lot of people here probably slate them, but I think as an introduction, they are a great way of getting started. You can always rip out the built-in filter box at some stage and upgrade the filter etc. when you have a bit more experience.
 
I am not familiar with the juwel kits, but essentially find out what's in the kit. figure out if you need it all, or want to go a different route, and then see if the items you will use are a good value compared to buying seperately. Almost any kit will have things you don't need, but in some cases the kit is still a good buy so it's worth it. Anything you don't need sell at the annual yard sale.
 
My aquarium is a 33gal Jewel Rio 125. I think it's great, the filter is easy to clean and everything is available off the shelf at the LFS.

Do the Nano-Cubes come in anything bigger than 12 gal?

My advice is to buy the biggest you can afford, because you will quickly grow out of anything smaller and become a multi-tank household.
 
My advice is to buy the biggest you can afford, because you will quickly grow out of anything smaller and become a multi-tank household.
Click to expand...

Hehe! I agree, but the bigger tank won't help prevent that! Only delay it a little!
 
Originally posted by happychem


Hehe! I agree, but the bigger tank won't help prevent that! Only delay it a little!
Click to expand...

Tell me about it, mines only been running for two months and I'm already overstocked! Those pesky guppies....:D
 
The kit highly recommended here at our Pet store is Eclipse. Considering how much it is it should be good.
However we bought a regular 10g aquarium kit and were disappointed in the quality of things added to it outside the tank itself. We had to later on go out and buy another pump/filter, heater and even another thermometer, in the end spending more money. The reason why we went with a kit was because we didn't know anything at that point about keeping a tank and wanted to have everything ready. With our new 80g we decided to buy everything separately. Often when you buy a kit they throw in cheaper equipment, so I'd check and read about every item included in the kit before deciding on buying it. :)
 
I've never bought a "kit" aquarium. I have always done it piece by piece. I dont like the quality of the equipment thats included in those kits for one thing and call me old fashioned but the "gimmick" type tanks dont thrill me much either. Do some research on good equpment and make a set up thats reliable as well as functional
 
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