No, it is not true. Fish will grow to the size that nature intends so please bear this in mind when purchasing fish.

The purpose of the UV light on a pond is to combat green water by killing free floating particle of algae. They can also help destroy pathogens within the water.

Many pond water treatments exist to combat blanket weed and prevent its growth, there are also blanket weed brushes however for manual removal.

It is likely to be blanket weed and we would advise customers to be pro-active in its removal.

It is likely that your water has become cloudy because of free floating bacteria that has not settled into your filter yet and is occupying the water column. You can experience this if the tank is new and has started cycling. You may also experience this if you have performed a large water change and it has affected the filters or there is a tendancy to overfeed. We would advise customers to get their aquarium or pond water tested if this is happened or call or email for more information.

Initially we advise deciding on if you are going to keep smaller fish (e.g Goldfish, Shubunkins) or larger fish (e.g Koi, Grass Carp). For smaller fish smaller filter systems or all-in-one filters may be sufficient. For larger fish, a solids handling pump and large filter box combination is highly recommended.

We recommend at minimum a week before adding two or three smaller fish (but it really is pond size dependant). The best advice would be to get a water test before you add fish to ensure them a safe environment.

In the UK, it is advisable to start feeding you pond fish 'Wheatgerm' when the water temperature is below 10°c consistently. Likely from late autumn to early spring.

Not 'necessarily' but it is high recommended. There are techniques of marine fish keeping that will not use a protein skimmer, the 'Berlin' system being one. We believe for the novice to intermediate marine fish keeper a protein skimmer is a big help.

We would not say it is 'harder', but more time consuming. Unlike a freshwater tank which will mature fairly quickly and become stable, a marine tank will go through 'phases' and may take many months to stabilise. You will also need to be willing to research the 'events' of your marine tank through its evolution and seek answers to any issues you may find.

It is worth keeping in mind that many treatments contain 'formaldehyde' which will treat fish but can cause serious damage to invertebrates (e.g Shrimps and Coral). Please feel free to email or call if you require help with treating your marine aquarium.

This is a topic of debate, some will say 10 - 15 times your tanks overall capacity should be pumped around and through filters per hour, some say over 30+ times. It will depend on application but for soft coral and fish we would recommend around 20 times per our.

You should keep in mind that you do not want to be harbouring 'nitrates' as these are believed to affect invertebrates, and the growth of corals. With this in mind you could use a tropical freshwater filter providing you use coarser foams and remove fine foams. You do not want to be using fine foams long term as water polishers.

It is commonly accepted that 1kg of live rock per 10 litres of water is a suitable ratio.

This will be defined by the size and shape of your aquarium and by the quantity of fish your pump and filter can support. You do not want to overload your aquatic environment with fish as this can cause stress and health issues for your fish.

Please only use coral sand or a specific marine gravel as it will help to buffer the pH of a marine tank towards 8.2

It is our opinion that you should leave your marine tank cycling for 4-8 weeks before you add fish or coral. (Providing a water test shows a suitable environment). You can however add live rock after 1 -2 weeks.

pH level will shift throughout the day, but an average of 8.2 is ideal.

We recommend a salinity level of between 1.024 - 1.026 (at 25°c/78°f) in a reef tank.

Our marine tanks are set to 25°c.

Between 6 - 8 hours a day is our recommendation. Much more than this can cause excessive algae within the tank.

This will be defined by the size and shape of your aquarium and by the quantity of fish your pump and filter can support. You do not want to overload your aquatic environment with fish as this can cause stress and health issues for your fish.

Yes, definitely. We would not recommend keeping fish without the use of a pump and filter.

20% is the maximum percentage of water we recommend changing at any one time.

You should perform a small water change on a weekly or fortnightly basis. You can reduce this by using products such as 'Tetra - Waterbalance' however.

We would recommend a ranging diet for all fish. It is not only because different foods will have different mineral and vitamin contents but imagine how boring it would be to be fed the same meal everyday!

Ideally more than once with mature tanks, but great care should be taken that your filters can handle the extra organic load. If the tank is newly set up it is best to stick to once a day.

It is likely that your water has become cloudy because of free floating bacteria that has not settled into your filter yet and is occupying the water column. You can experience this if the tank is new and has started cycling. You may also experience this if you have performed a large water change and it has affected the filters or if there may be a tendancy to overfeed. We would advise customers to get their aquarium or pond water tested if this is happened or call or email for more information.

We recommend at minimum a week before adding two or three smaller fish (but it really is tank size dependant). The best advice would be to get a water test before you add fish to ensure them a safe environment.

You can add plants within two to three days of setting up your aquarium. However, we do recommend the use of a plant fertiliser product or the use of plant substrate which will really help the plants grow.

Generally, the accepted temperature for a large selection of 'Tropical' freshwater fish is around 24°c, and for 'Tropical' Saltwater (Marine) it is 25°c. There are exceptions to this rule however (e.g. Discus, whom like temperatures around 30°c). Whichever fish you choose, we would recommend it best to research what their ideal conditions are via books, or the internet.

Tropical 'Freshwater' fish, such as Tetras, Guppys, Barbs, Discus etc are generally from freshwater river or lake environments. (E.g The Amazon River or Lake Malawi). Tropical 'Marine' fish however are from a tropical saltwater environment. (E.g The sea's around Thailand, Indonesia etc)

As a general guide the 'wattage' of a heater will heat up a volume of water to the equivalent number in litres. (E.g. 100w heater should sustain level temperature within 100 litres of water).