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Aquarium design and maintenance
Nothing goes in for six weeks.
A new tank has to grow the bacteria that keep fish alive, and that takes about a month and a half. Shops sell you fish on day one because they can. We install, cycle and test — which is why our tanks are dull for six weeks and alive for years.
The six weeks, in full
Week 0 — Tank, stand, filter, heater and lighting in. Water in. Nothing alive
Week 1 — The ammonia source goes in and testing starts. Still nothing alive
Weeks 2–3 — Ammonia peaks and falls, nitrite rises. This is the part people give up on
Weeks 4–5 — Nitrite falls to zero and the plants go in. Still no fish
Week 6 — Two clean tests, two days apart. Then the first small group of fish
After that — New fish in small groups, weeks apart — never everything at once
Week 1 — The ammonia source goes in and testing starts. Still nothing alive
Weeks 2–3 — Ammonia peaks and falls, nitrite rises. This is the part people give up on
Weeks 4–5 — Nitrite falls to zero and the plants go in. Still no fish
Week 6 — Two clean tests, two days apart. Then the first small group of fish
After that — New fish in small groups, weeks apart — never everything at once
If that sounds slow, it is. Every shortcut in fishkeeping gets paid for by something living in the tank.
What we won't put in your tank
Fish that outgrow the tank — The ones sold small and cheap that reach a foot. We'll tell you which they are
Goldfish in anything small — They're pond animals. A bowl is a slow way of killing one
Anything we can't source properly — If nobody can tell us where it came from, it doesn't go in
A shoaling fish on its own — They're sold singly because singles sell. They do not live well that way
Something purely because it looks good — A tank is a room something lives in, not an ornament with fins
Goldfish in anything small — They're pond animals. A bowl is a slow way of killing one
Anything we can't source properly — If nobody can tell us where it came from, it doesn't go in
A shoaling fish on its own — They're sold singly because singles sell. They do not live well that way
Something purely because it looks good — A tank is a room something lives in, not an ornament with fins
We'd far rather build a beautiful tank of ordinary fish than an unhappy one of unusual ones. If your heart is set on something we've ruled out, ask — sometimes the answer is a bigger tank rather than a no.
What a visit does, and what stays with you
Water change and gravel clean — Ours, every visit
Filter media rinsed, never all replaced — Ours. Replacing it wholesale throws the tank back to week one
A full water test, written down — Ours — and you keep the log
Glass, algae and equipment check — Ours
Feeding between visits — Yours, and less than you think. Overfeeding is the commonest problem we see
Topping up evaporation — Yours, with fresh water — not more salt water in a marine tank
Telling us something looks wrong — Yours. Ring on the day rather than waiting for the next visit
Filter media rinsed, never all replaced — Ours. Replacing it wholesale throws the tank back to week one
A full water test, written down — Ours — and you keep the log
Glass, algae and equipment check — Ours
Feeding between visits — Yours, and less than you think. Overfeeding is the commonest problem we see
Topping up evaporation — Yours, with fresh water — not more salt water in a marine tank
Telling us something looks wrong — Yours. Ring on the day rather than waiting for the next visit
Setups, installed and cycled
Freshwater
$680 installed
- Tank, stand, filter, heater, lighting
- Six weeks of cycling and testing
- First stocking included
- A written log you keep
Planted
$1,150 installed
- Everything in freshwater
- Substrate, CO2 and planting
- Plants established before any fish
- Trimming on every visit
Marine
$2,400 from, installed
- Sump, skimmer and return
- A longer cycle than six weeks, honestly quoted
- Livestock added over months, not weeks
- Fortnightly maintenance strongly advised
Maintenance is quoted separately by tank size and visit frequency. We won't install a marine tank without a maintenance arrangement — it isn't upselling, it's that an unmaintained marine tank is a very expensive way to lose animals.
Tanks in offices
An office tank needs either somebody in that office who genuinely cares about it, or a maintenance contract. With neither, it dies quietly over a summer while everybody assumes somebody else is looking at it. We'll ask which of the two you have before we quote — it isn't a trick question and there's no wrong answer.
★★★★★
“Six weeks of an empty tank in reception and two people asked whether we'd been sold something that didn't work. Three years on, nothing in it has died.”
Facilities, city office
Planted, 400 litres
★★★★★
“They talked me out of the fish I came in for and explained why in about two minutes. Then found me something better that stays four inches long.”
Ravi S.
First tank
Ask for a quote
Tell us the room and roughly what you'd like to look at. We'll come back with a size, a price and an honest timetable.
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