Hello, and where to buy in Stockholm

[ceg4048]

Hello,
A Swedish colleague of mine on an English forum suggested it might be OK to post in English on this forum. If this is not OK then please accept my apologies. I just recently moved to Stockholm and I'm having difficulty finding cheap sources of CO2 and aquascaping materials such as plants, wood and rocks.

I would appreciate any information regarding where to buy, either locally or via internet, and again I do apologize for posting in a foreign language. I've posted several tutorial articles for UKAPS, which started out as a sub-forum of Tom Barr's website, but is now a separate forum, so I'm happy to contribute and share any knowledge I have in return for your kindness.

Cheers,
Clive

[Mr_Ewing]

Hello Clive,

Plants is easy to buy on this forum - usually there is a lot of species on sale here.
I'm not from Stockholm but i know a few places anyway - Akvarielagret in Bromma (very nice place)
Södermalms akvarieaffär (recommended by a lot of forum users).

English is usually not a problem here - most users speak good english.

[corz]

what i have noticed is that it should be no problem posting on english in this forum, however i dont think i could help you sence i have no clue about stockholm

Good luck tho!

[Fanbyalperna]

I am not situated in Stockholm, but can say that the shops with the largest range of fish and accessories are Akvarielagret in Bromma, Akvarieteknik in Sundbyberg and Södermalms Akvariaffär in södermalm.
There is also a large shop called Bromma Zoo in Bromma, but of them I have heard several different opinions.
I myself buy a lot of stuff from a german internet shop Aquaristic.net. Their prices are very compatible and usually around 20 to 50 percent lower than prices in swedish shops.

[Karl Holm]

Hello Clive!

Welcome to Stockholm and Sweden! I've been meaning to make a list of all the aquarium stores around Stockholm for some time now, so I can keep track of them and thanks to you I got a reason to finally do it. Google the address' to locate the stores on the map, some are a little "off" the main streets. Google streetview have helped me plenty a times. So here are the stores I've visited and would recommend to you:

Södermalms akvarieaffär, Krukmakargatan 3, Södermalm.
Subway station: Mariatorget
Website: http://www.sodermalmsakvarieaffar.se/
Comment: My absolute favorite aquarium store. The owner is very passionate and knowing about more of less everything there is to know about aquaristics. You won't encounter the usual, commercial rubbish in this store. Here you'll find truly amazing species. You can also buy fishes from European professional breeders through this store. This is where you will want to pay a visit asap.

Fridhems akvarier, Drottningholmsvägen 1, Kungsholmen.
Subway station: Fridhemsplan
Website: http://www.fridhemsakvarier.se/
Comment: A good aquarium store with nice, helpful staff. Mostly the most common fishes, but a few nice ones as well. It's a very well maintained store with most supplies in stock and you should check it out.

Akvarielagret, Lövåsvägen 40, Bromma.
Subway station: Stora mossen
Website: http://akvarielagret.se/
Comment: This store would be something of a Mecca for all aquarists in Sweden. You'll be stunned when you walk in the door, and it's not just due to the tropical heat and moisture. They have a HUGE selection of aquarium fishes, very cunning staff and more or less about anything you will ever need to your hobby. A bit expensive though, but well worth the experience you get just by visiting.

CRT Zoologiska, Söderbymalmsvägen 2a, Handen.
Bus station: Bussgaraget (Haninge)
Website: http://www.crtzoo.se/
Comment: If you're bored and you want to go for a ride out of the city you should move towards this store, or warehouse as it really is. It's located in an industrial area. Lots of aquariums with many species and a good stock of supplies. It's not the tidiest or most organized store you'll visit, but I think you'll like it nevertheless. (Grizzly zoo is another store a few hundred meters away that you also could check out. They've got some nice species too.)

Sofo'r pets, Östgötagatan 26, Södermalm.
Subway station: Medborgarplatsen
Website: http://www.soforpets.se/
Comment: Decent aquarium store if you want to visit something central. Nothing extraordinary here though.

Djurmagasinet Farsta, Farstavägen 105, Farsta.
Subway station: Farsta
Website: -
Comment: An organized store with a nice range of species next to a grand mall, which means that an eventual Mrs will have something to do as well while you're staring at fishes.

Furthermore there is Bromma Zoo, probably the largest aquarium warehouse in Sweden (though Akvarielagret probably have a lot more species). I've never been there since I've only ever heard bad stories of it. What I've heard is that the staff will say about anything to get your money, no matter if it's completely false or even a lie. From what I've gathered about the place I would not visit it, the aquarium stores above fulfill my needs completely.

Good luck with your aquarium store exploration!

[ceg4048]

Hi,
Thank you all very much for your help. It's good to know that people are not offended by English and that. An extra thanks also to Karl for such a detailed list. Happy to help give you the motivation for build the list. I'll have to start using my GPS navigator immediately (even though the tiny lady inside the box does not pronounce the street names correctly).

Karl, may I ask if these shops are the best place for CO2? In other countries I've lived in normally I search for welding supply shops. Is it the same here? Can you own your own cylinder and get refills, or is it possible to rent the cylinders and exchange empty for full?

Cheers,

[Raven]

Can you own your own cylinder and get refills, or is it possible to rent the cylinders and exchange empty for full?

A common solution is to go to a company working with fire and safety to buy a modified fire extinguisher, some of these companys can also fill bottles themself others have to send them away to have them filled somewhere else.

For smaller aquariums you can use the same bottles used for soda streamers and those are exchanged instead of refilled.

[ceg4048]

Hi Raven,
Many thanks for responding. I'm familiar with both the Fire Extinguisher and soda stream methods, but my tanks are all very large, 600L and above so my CO2 consumption is also typically high. Are there any industrial gas suppliers that distributes the gas to local shops on a larger scale? This would work out better for me if at all possible.

Cheers,

[Karl Holm]

I've not yet invested in a full scale CO2 solution, so I'm sorry to say that I wouldn't know. The cheapest way would of course to be to buy parts from ebay from China and then get your cylinder from a fire department as mentioned above. If you're looking for anything greater than that I'm unfortunately unknowing. The lads on this forum will probably know and will hopefully give you an answer soon. Good luck in your search though!

[ceg4048]

OK Karl, Thanks. I'll let you know what I find!

Cheers,

[Chandler]

Hi!

You have probably found your CO2 supplier by now but just in case I post anyway. Go to

Södertörns brandtjänst, Doktorsvägen 5, Tumba.

Just call them first to make sure they are there when you come: 0853033588

The price is SEK 200 for a 6 litre refill.

Cheers,

Mattias