Newbie confession: overstocked my first tank on LFS advice — is a R5,500 180L upgrade worth it?

Hey everyone,

I feel like such an idiot, and a cliche. My daughter wanted a fish tank for her birthday, and being a responsible pet owner, we talked to the guy at the pet store extensively about our plans. He recommended a 15L tank as a "starter" setup for our planned neon tetras or betta. The guy helping me seemed to know his stuff, we had a good rapport, and I trusted him completely — which in hindsight was the mistake. He knew this was my first tank, so I didn't realize that something was wrong when he sold me a betta, 6 neon tetras, 4 lemon tetras, 3 corydoras, and a snail.

Fourteen fish plus a snail in 15 litres. Yeah.

It went about as badly as you'd expect. During a water change the temperature dropped and shocked the tank — lost 3 neons, and the survivors have been stressed since (hiding, some erratic swimming). The lemons started bullying each other, they nipped one's fin until it couldn't swim anymore and it died, and I ended up taking out the lemons altogether. I'm taking them back to the store today. Things seem to be settling now, but the neons are still hiding and the corys don't seem happy.

I've done a lot of reading since and I feel like such an idiot. That stocking list needed close to 10x the water volume I have. I also understand that a bigger tank is easier for newbies - more water is more forgiving for stupid newbie mistakes.

Current plan: I'm getting a 100-180L tank at the end of the month, cycling it properly, and moving the neons/corys over once it's ready. Betta and snail are staying behind in the 15L, which works fine for a solo betta, right? He seems very happy at least - I added floating plants for him to hide in, and he loves that. I haven't seen him get near the other fish, but I am keeping a really close eye on him to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone.

I've looked on FB Marketplace, etc. for a new tank that I can afford right now, but there's nothing suitable. I can only afford to buy a proper tank at the end of the month - single mom, one income, and all that.

What I'd love input on:

• Is R5,500 fair for a 180L, or should I shop around more? (Happy to share the exact brand/specs if useful.) This particular tank was recommended by McMerwe and the glass is really thick. It's a beautiful tank - 225L in total, 900mm x 50mm x 50mm.
  
• Stand - I'm getting a pine workbench and painting it acrylic paint so it'll last.
• Anything to prioritize on filtration or lighting for a tank this size? I'm trying to decide between the Zetlight MS Series LED light (freshwater series) and the Chihiros WRGB II Slim.
• For filtration, I am thinking the Dophin C1000 will be good enough since I'm doing the Warstadt method. The guy at McMerwe recommended the Oase Biomaster, but it's a bit outside my price range and honestly, it's all a bit overwhelming, but I want to make sure that the filtration is good enough for the fish.
• Any obvious gaps in the plan before I commit?

I would love to do the Warstadt method with a planted tank, and then schools of small community fish like the neon tetras, but I don't know if this is too ambitious.

Appreciate any wisdom — clearly I need it.

 

Get a 4 foot tank.big but not to large to plant out is best. or calculate what you willing to spend as Warstadt needs you to plant out 70 odd % of the tank on the start to out compete algae growth.I spent alot on plants that died off.... you can go wild on swords. val and then spend the big bucks an anubias and bucephalandra moss and java fern wood and stone.