How it Started

*DISCLAIMER: I am not sponsored/endorsed/paid by anyone. Any products that are mentioned are my own personal views.

I had gotten the itch to get into fishkeeping for a good while. I have reached an age where I like to stay at home and chill with the family and I figured what could be more tranquil than watching and listening to my very own fish tank.

So in early 2025 I managed through family, to come into a Fluval Roma 240 Litre fish tank. Happy days!! This is where I truly got hooked. Originally it came with a Fluval 307 external cannister filter, but I immediately went out and purchased a slight upgrade and got the 407 model instead. The tank also come with LED lighting and and a Fluval E300 Heater.

I have to admit, to begin with I had not really done enough research, a proper deep dive into fishkeeping. I sort of knew what fish I wanted and that was about it. So originally I had the intention of keeping things easy (in my mind but not true) and basic. I stuck in a few fake plants and some hides in the form of terracotta pots which you can view in the gallery above.

But then I joined a tropical fish forum and asked a few questions (probably more like a thousand as time went on) and I realised I wasn’t particularly clued up, so that begin my obsession on researching all things fishkeeping. From reading hundreds of articles, watching many YouTube videos and constant bugging of forums members I started to gain a wealth of knowledge and understanding about what it was I was taking on.

So I whipped out the fake plants and got some real ones. I of course learned that aquarium plants play a vital role in the eco system of an aquarium. Providing a lot of good stuff as well as sucking up some of the bad like Nitrates. Plus of course the fish much prefer it. So I started basic. I got some Java Fern and Anubias which I literally glued to some rocks. Hygrophilia Polysperma was planted into the sandy substrate (with a few root tabs to kick them off) and I also got some floating plants called Amazon Frogbit which would provide the fish with some cover and make them feel safe.