How to buy a tank for a beginner?

[Jazzable]

I've had my gerbs in a bin cage for about a year but they've always chewed the plastic and I think it's time to give in and accept that I have to get a tank for them. I've been doing some research but it's really difficult to know what's the best thing to get. I have three males so I want about 30 US gallons / 120 litres (I'm in the UK).

I looked at Critter's Choice tanks with shelves, which look good because they come with a mesh lid and ready-to-use, but they are really expensive and I'm not sure I could afford one. Then I've tried looking for fishtanks, but there's a lot of fishy things that I don't understand - like they all seem to come with big complicated plastic lids which I'm assuming are no good for gerbils. And anyway, first-hand fishtanks are not any cheaper so if I was going to get something brand new I'd get a Critter's Choice. So then I looked for secondhand but there doesn't seem to be anything quite right, especially not near enough for me to get to. Argh!

I'm thinking I will probably give up and buy a large Critter's Choice for £120. Is it ridiculous to spend that much? :/

[PurpleSheep]

I'm in the UK and around here, the only really suitable type of aquarium we've found are Clearseal - they are just plain aquarium and you'll probably need to make our own mesh lid. They have one aquarium which is 36 long, 15 high and 12 wide, which is around 30 gallons. I'm not sure how much hey are, but I am fairly sure it's under a £100.

Alternatively, you could look for a better, nibble-proof bin cage. We were looking for a cage for 3 last year and actually ended up getting a massive "Really Useful Box". There is a 145 litre one, which was brilliant for our three. The Really Useful Boxes are completely flat on the inside, so can't be nibbled (and believe me, they have tried). Ours was around £60 incl. delivery.

[Jazzable]

Sept 21, 2014 3:22:04 GMT -8 PurpleSheep said:

I'm in the UK and around here, the only really suitable type of aquarium we've found are Clearseal - they are just plain aquarium and you'll probably need to make our own mesh lid. They have one aquarium which is 36 long, 15 high and 12 wide, which is around 30 gallons. I'm not sure how much hey are, but I am fairly sure it's under a £100.

Alternatively, you could look for a better, nibble-proof bin cage. We were looking for a cage for 3 last year and actually ended up getting a massive "Really Useful Box". There is a 145 litre one, which was brilliant for our three. The Really Useful Boxes are completely flat on the inside, so can't be nibbled (and believe me, they have tried). Ours was around £60 incl. delivery.

Thanks for the reply. Do you know where you got the Clearseal one from? I looked up their website and it has no prices on (which looks like a hint that they will be really expensive!).

Now I'm trying to look for a cheaper tank than the Critter's Choice, one that's just plain without shelves - but everything I can find seems to be even *more* expensive for the same volume. Especially because loads of them seem to come with stands and cabinets which I don't want. :S

[emmalr]

Can't really help you with getting a cheap plain tank but if you do end up buying a more expensive one I'd suggest the falco cages available on zooplus, the smallest one is really quite large and I think bigger than the critters choice tanks

[PurpleSheep]

We got our Clearseal tank from Pets at Home, although that was a while ago so not sure if they sell them anymore. I've also seen them in specialist aquatics stores.