Setting Up An Aquarium!

   Setting up an aquarium take allot of time.  Aquariums are very expensive at first but once you buy all of the equipment all you have to spend money on is new fish and food.  I hope you decide to get an aquarium because they are fun to watch and setup. Again if you have any questions please E-mail me or send me an ICQ message. 

   Ok this first thing you need to do it to buy an aquarium.  This is the most important Decision you will ever make.  How big are you going to go???  Well this depends on how much space and how much money you want to spend.  The bigger you go the more expensive it gets.  Remember you cant overcrowd the fish its 1 inch for every gallon so if you have a 10 gallon tank you cant put more that 10, 1 inch fish in it.  Most fish are over one inch so you end up with 6 or 7 fish.  I have a 90 gallon tank which has 30 or 40 fish in it.  It could have a maximum of 50 or 60. 

    The smaller the tank the more water changes are required.  for a 10 gallon tank you need to change all of the water which means you have to catch the fish and put them in a bowl.  A 10 gallon to a 30 gallon is just not worth it.  You have to change the water every 2 week.  With a 90 or 100 gallon it 50% water change every month.  Its not that hard to do.  Plus with a lager tank the is a less change of disease.  Trust me I have a 10 gallon tank too and I hate doing water changes every week so I turned it into a plant growing tank. 

So I would recommend at least a 55 gallon tank.  You will thank you self latter when you see all of the fish that require a lot of swimming space and all you have is a 30 gallon tank and you cant get the fish. 

Now that you have bought a tank you now need to set it up.   The first thing you need and is the most important is the filter.  If you have a small thank I would stay with an undergraval filter. They are plastic plates that sit on the bottom of the aquarium.  The Substrate (gravel, rocks, and sand) sit on top of the plate.  You then hook a powerhead (a device which sucks water and mixes it with air) to a plastic tube coming out of the plate.  The water being sucked draws fish waste and extra food through the substrate.  The Substrate is your filter.   Undergravel filtration is very inexpensive but it is not the most efficient.   Most small tanks (10 - 30 gallon) come with undergravel filtration.

    The best kind of filter is a canister filter.  A canister filter is best used of large tanks. (40 - 200 gallons) A canister filter pumps dirty water through as series of filter media.  First porcelain chunks.  These chunks house bacteria which help the filter.  Then it passes through carbon. This cleans the water and also makes is very clear.  When using carbon the tank doesn't even look like it has water in it.  After the carbon it goes through 2 layers of foam.  This takes out small particles that got by the carbon.  

    Canister filters are low maintenance to.  You have to change the carbon every 3 months.  That is not hard. They are very quite too.  I hate loud fish tanks.  I would go with a canister filter.  Good brand names are Fluval and Magnum.  I have a Fluval 403.  It is nice, very nice.  I recommend it. 

   Ok now you have a filter.  You are almost done.  Now you need a substrate.  Substrate is what goes on the bottom.   You know gravel, sand, and rock.  I like sand the best.  I know what you are thinking. "You cant put sand in a fresh water tank".  Well think again.   You can buy for about $.69 a pound lake sand.  It is very easy to clean.   Waste cant get down inside it.  It floats on the top of the sand and the filter sucks it up.  It is the best way to grow.  Algae cant grow inside it and turn it green like grave does.  Sand is better for plants too.  It stimulates them and it is easier to plant in.  GET SAND.

    Ok you got your substrate now you need a heater.  If you are going to keep tropical fish you need to keep them warm.  Ask your local pet store person for a good heater. 

A good temperature to keep the fish at is around 72 degrees.   If you have some fish that like warmer water 80 degrees will be okay for everyone.  

Your fish now need a place to hide so get some rock or wood.   I use Malaysian Root Wood it is very nice.  I have 4 pieces of it with Java fern growing on it.  Try and make caves and shelters for fish to hide in.  But be careful you need to make sure it is steady and it wont fall on any fish if they accidentally hit it. 

The last thing you will need is a light.  This is almost is important as the filter.  If you are going to have plastic plants then I fluorescent bulb will be enough.  But If you are going to grow live plants you need to give them more light.  Click here if you want more info on Plant Lighting.  For plastic plants a Coralife 10,000K will be perfect for showing off the fish colors. 

    That is all it take to set up an aquarium.   Easier said than done.  It take about 2 months before you can start putting interesting or exotic fish in the tank.  The key is to be patient.  Do not rush anything or it could coast you lots of money.  I hope all of this information has helped you on setting up a aquarium.  If you have any question please E-mail me.

   To help you in finding a good place to buy Aquarium equipment Mail Order Pet Shop is the best.  They have the best prices any where. You can also order online. So please check out there site.

Some of the information on this page came for "The Complete Aquarium Problem Solver."

This page is created an managed by Ben Nash