The History of John Allan Aquariums
The company was founded in 1963 by John and Allan Riley making angle iron aquariums and hoods in their garage and garden shed. Demand for the products was so great that within nine months they moved to a new 2500sq. ft factory in Bury St Edmunds, where they were joined by their good friend John Ransom.
In July 1966 they met up with two brothers from Germany who were developing a new aquarium with an aluminium frame, anodised in a light bronze finish. At that point in time, it was the most beautiful aquarium imaginable and it was aptly named 'The Juwel Aquarium’. A strong relationship developed and the two companies worked closely together for the next 30 years. In 1970 John Allan Aquariums LTD were appointed UK distributors of Eheim power filters which they were the main importer up until Allan’s retirement in 2022. Over the years John Allan Aquariums were distributing products all over the UK and supplying key brands including JBL, Sera, Juwel and bIOrb.
John Allan Aquariums manufactured an entire pet, aquatic, reptile and small animal range of livestock units in their own factory and could make bespoke units that are still in use today throughout Retail Stores, Zoos and Public Aquariums in the UK and Ireland.
Today
In 2022 on Allan’s retirement the brand was acquired by Filter Foams Ltd and we are working on bringing some great new products to the hobby under the John Allan Brand. We hope to bring the John Allan Shopfitting systems back again in the future when we have the time and facilites to dedicate to them. We do have spare parts available for the Fish Units if you need anything so please do reach out to us.