“This post in dedicated to my brother Rob and my nephew Wiktor, on they fish tank aficionado journey”
1. Plan ahead ..
– freshwater:
Unlike oceans, most freshwater environments experience cyclical changes, such as flooding and drying, which impact the chemical composition and temperature of the water. The inconsistency of freshwater environments means that freshwater fish are a bit more hardy and able to survive in a variety of water conditions (5 to 9 pH).
A freshwater tank can be a glass or acrylic of any size. For beginners, start with a simple tank, a good filtration system, and a fish-only environment. Implementing live plants into a freshwater environment can make managing the tank a bit more complicated.
– saltwater:
Think of your saltwater aquarium as your very own slice of ocean. The condition of ocean water (pH, salinity, chloride) does not change much as these bodies of water are known for their consistent and stable water chemistry. Your home tank requires the same consistent environment, which means you will need to change the water and clean the tank more often than you would a freshwater aquarium.
While saltwater tanks are roughly twice as expensive to set up as a freshwater tank, you will reap the rewards. Filtration is the key to a healthy saltwater aquarium, so they require more equipment, such as powerheads, protein skimmers, and live rock. For more tips on how to maintain a saltwater tank, read our guide to saltwater beginner setup.
– which fish do I want:
From the multitude of fish to choose from, saltwater or freshwater, you have to figured out , which ones you like, and which ones you want in your fish tank. You must thoroughly consider, at the very beginning, what kind of environment you want to create. What’s kind of food you are going to feed your fish; do you want them to be more aggressive toward each other, territorial, or living in harmony; do you want them to be in large groups, or have stunning individual specimens; do you want predatory fish; do you want poisonous fish; there is so much to consider…
2. Choosing the right fish tank ..
It is obvious that you need some kind of container to set up a home fish tank. Well, after all, your fish will need a new home. Some people somehow feel that they can go around this problem. Believe me, Gallon glass jar, will DO NOT do the trick. It is not a good idea to use anything but a real fish tank of ideal size. Because otherwise, they will die soon.
Not only it is hard to keep the water temperature, PH, and hardness in stable conditions when the body of water is too tiny. But it is also impossible to install the rest of the necessary equipment in a jar or a tint fish bowl.
-size
The general recommendation is to get a fish tank of at least 5 US gallon (almost 19 liters). Anything smaller will have a hard time to keep a constant temperature, PH, and hardness. Fish does not like large swings in these readings. They can die from shock. All of it of course depends on your available space, the budget, and the types of fish you are planning to get.
The size of a fish tank is more important than most people think. For the well-being of aquarium fish, a bigger tank is better with good reasons:
Swimming Room
For obvious reasons, if a fish tank is too small, the fish will have a hard time to swim. No one should live in a room where movement is restricted. It is extremely uncomfortable and unhealthy even for a fish.
The amount of dissolved oxygen
Fish needs oxygen just like us. However, they can only use the dissolved oxygen in the water which is less readily available in a fish tank than in the open water. The more water you have, the more dissolved oxygen the water holds.
Stable Water Conditions
More water means more stable water conditions. If the water conditions such as water temperature, hardness, PH, etc. become unstable, it will make fish uncomfortable and even become sick and die. When there is more water, the changes will be more gradual instead of a sudden massive swing.
Water hardness, PH, and water pollution
The more water there is, the smaller and slower the change will be if something happens. In conclusion, it is best recommend getting the biggest fish tank you can afford, with other cost included in consideration of course.
– material
1. glass.
While most fish tanks are made of glass, there are also other types of fish tanks such as acrylic. Glass tanks are relatively cheap. However, they are heavy and easy to break. If you just want something on the cheaper side and do not want to worry about scratches and high price, a glass tank is the one for you.
2. Acrylic.
Acrylic is half the weight of glass, and it is a lot stronger. With an acrylic tank, breaking it by accident is highly unlikely, and it is a lot easier to move it. However, the acrylic tank has two downsides. They are expensive. They cost 3~5 times the price of a glass fish tank of the same capacity. And they can be scratched easily. I found out first hand even a regular paper towel can scratch an acrylic fish tank when I tried to clean the outside of it. Paper tissue and 100% cotton cloth are fine though.
3. Necessary equipment
– aquatic filter
No one should keep a fish in captivity without having an aquarium filter running 24/7. To make it clear, fish will die for certain in captivity without a filter. It is just the matter of time. It might be days or weeks, but the fish will eventually die an unnatural death. A filter is for biological filtration. Without it, toxic ammonia released from fish waste and leftover fish food will pollute the water and kill the fish. Make sure you get the right aquarium filter. It is a filter, not a pump. A filter has filter media, unlike a pump which only pumps water.
-air pump
In most cases, an aquarium air pump is a must for promoting gas exchange between the water and atmosphere. Without it, the fish will not get enough oxygen. They will die. There are exceptions. When you use a hang on the back power filter, the waterfall from the filter outflow already creates enough surface movement. As a result, you do not need an air pump if the filter creates a waterfall.
-Aquarium Water Conditioner
Aquarium water conditioner is required if you use tap water for your aquarium which is more than 99% the scenario. Tap water is the easiest source of water you can use for your home aquarium. However, tap water has chlorine and chloramine in it. Both chemical compounds are harmless to us, but they can and will kill the fish. Aquarium water conditioner can neutralize both chemical compounds and make tap water safe for the fish. Most of the aquarium water conditioners on the market are in liquid form. A few drops in a bucket will do the trick almost instantly. Just get a bottle of commercially available aquarium water conditioner, it will last you for months at least.
– heater
Most fish species in the aquarium trade is, in fact, tropical fish. Unless you live in a tropical area yourself, you must get an aquarium heater for your aquarium. It will keep the water temperature constant, and it will automatically turn itself off once it has reached the targeted temperature. Very few fish in the aquarium trade does not need a heater. Goldfish is one of them.
– light
Light serves two purposes. It highlights and shows off your fish’s colors and provides (critical) energy for plants (if present). Unfortunately, the two purposes conflict somewhat. In a fish-only tank, a single low-wattage fluorescent bulb serves and does a good job of showing a fish’s true colors (most fish do not like bright lights either). If you want to grow plants, however, more light is needed, and the bulb’s spectrum becomes an issue (e.g., special plant bulbs are useful).
Whether or not you will be growing plants, fluorescent lights are the way to go. Luminescent bulbs give off too much heat, causing your tank to overhead in the summer. Fluorescent bulbs run cooler and use less electricity for the same amount of light. Note that in the summer time, even fluorescent lighting can produce enough heat to lead to tank overheating problems, if your house gets warm (e.g., you live in the south and do not have air conditioning.
Unfortunately, light grows not only plants, but algae. If your tank contains lots of the kind of light plants desire, and there are no plants, algae quickly fills the void. Thus, the ideal lighting for fish-only tanks differs significantly from that for a plant tank. Two components of light are of particular importance: intensity (e.g., wattage) and spectrum. Plants require intense light and certain spectral ranges produce more growth than others.
-Lid or Hood
Tanks are sold with lid separate from the light, or the lid and light may be joined into one unit referred to as the “hood.” The lid portion covers the tank and serves to prevent fish from jumping out of the tank. It also reduces evaporation and protects the light from getting wet. If the lid is combined with the light, it is often made of plastic, which is less expensive, weighs less, and is not as easy to break. Glass lids are easier to clean, provide a tighter cover, and allow more outside light to enter the aquarium.
– thermometer
You will need a thermometer to verify that your tank stays at its proper temperature. Two types are commonly available. The traditional bulb thermometer works the same way as the ones you can buy for your house. They either hang from the top edge of your tank, or float along the surface. The second common design is a flat model that sticks to the outside of the glass. Temperature-sensitive chemicals activate at a specific temperature, either highlighting the numerical temperature or a bar that slides along a scale.
– Fish food
Like all animals, fish must eat. They also have their special diet requirement. Commercially available fish food is the easiest to use. There is a large selection of them too. Depending on the variety of fish you are planning to get , you will have to research and understand their eating habits. Some fish will be happy with dry granules or petals, some other will require meat or live food. That is the lesson you have to learn.
-Live Bacteria seeding Product to establish Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle (for new aquarium)
If you are setting up a new aquarium, it is uncycled. Once there is a fish in the fish tank, ammonia is produced continuously. In a well-established aquarium, there are lots of good bacteria feeding on the toxic ammonia. An uncycled aquarium will have ammonia quickly build up and kill the fish. It usually takes weeks to over a month to build up the necessary quantity of good bacteria. In most cases, fish will be long dead before a new aquarium is fully cycled. Fortunately, commercially available live bacteria products have made life so much easier to cycle a new aquarium.
– test kits
Test Kits are essential for monitoring important aquarium water parameters such as pH, ammonia, and nitrite. Regular routine testing lets you know if the aquarium water is within an acceptable range for healthy aquarium inhabitants. Some test strips measure multiple water parameters to provide fast and convenient test results for the beginning hobbyist.
-Chlorine Remover
Most tap water is not suitable for aquarium use without the addition of aquarium water conditioners. Tap water may contain chlorine, chloramine, or other chemicals harmful to aquarium fish. Before tap water is used for aquarium purposes, condition it with a chlorine or chloramine remover.
-An aquarium gravel vacuum
A gravel vacuum comes in handy for aquarium maintenance. You can use it to do a partial water change for your aquarium. Since you can use it to suck the way out of the fish tank, it can also remove debris such as fish poop from the bottom of the fish tank at the same time. Without it, you might find it much harder to do partial water changes and to keep the fish tank clean.
-A Fishnet
A fishnet comes in handy when you try to remove some floating debris from the fish tank. It might be leftover fish food, or algae, or even a dead fish. No need to get your hands wet when you have a fishnet.
-Cleaning sponges
magnet cleaning sponges are extremely helpful for removing algae. A scraping block on the inside of the tank is held in place by a magnet held on the outside of the tank. Moving the outside magnet moves the scraping block, removing algae without having to your entire arm in the tank. The best magnet cleaners are those that with a strong magnetic field (e.g., larger magnets), and they work best on smaller tanks, which have thinner glass.
4. Location, location, location …
An aquarium cannot stand in a random place or on a random ground. Once, a novice aquarist needs to take care of the base, which is usually a cabinet. Here, attention should be paid to its surface, which will come into contact with water during care, which may result in its destruction. It must also be adequately durable because a liter of freshwater weighs about a kilogram. A special aquarium cabinet that is water-resistant is therefore a good solution.
For example, a 50-gallon tank weighs around 100 pounds when empty, and once filled weighs around 600 pounds.
This is another good reason to have you tank in the correct position before filling it, because it will be exceedingly difficult to move afterward filling.
Once your tanks in the correct position, you need to make sure it is level. You can do this one of two ways. You can either use a spirit-level, or you can fill it with an inch or two of water and see if it is level by eye.
Remember that the aquarium needs proper lighting, which does not mean that it should be placed by the window. On the contrary, such a location can be equivalent to an algae plague. So, the best solution is to place an aquarium cabinet deep in the room.
5. Substrate
Your tank is now clean, in the right position and level. Now it is time to prepare your substrate and add the water.
The type of substrate you choose is down to your personal preferences but will sometimes be determine by the type of fish and plants you want to keep. For example, a lot of Catfish need a sandy substrate.
The amount of substrate you need depends on how thick you want it. A good rule of thumb to follow is 1lb of substrate per gallon of water; this will be enough to make a 1” thick bed. If you want it thicker, 2lbs per gallon will create a 2” bed of substrate.
Draw a table here –à à à à à
| Aquarium Size in Gallons | lbs. of Substrate Needed |
|---|---|
| 10 Gallon | 10 – 20 |
| 20 Gallon | 20 – 40 |
| 40 Gallon | 40 – 80 |
| 50 Gallon | 50 – 100 |
| 75 Gallon | 75 – 150 |
| 90 Gallon | 90 – 180 |
| 125 Gallon | 125 – 250 |
| 150 Gallon150-300 | 150 – 300 |
Remember different substrate weighs different amounts so the weight you will need varies
Rinse your substrate in a bucket
Although substrate normally comes prewashed, it will most likely be very dusty and need to be rinsed so it does not cause your tank to be really cloudy.
6. Decorations
Popular decorations include stones, rock fragments and roots. In aquarium shops you can also buy artificial ornaments – e.g., figurines of ships or castles. Their use is a matter of taste. It must be remembered that these are details that reduce the natural appearance of the aquarium. The cultivation of aquatic plants is especially important for a proper ecosystem – and therefore the health of the fish.
There are two kinds of plants: real and plastic. Both kinds provide decoration and hiding places for fish. Plastic plants are (obviously) easier to maintain. Although it is possible to grow real plants in an aquarium, it is not always so easy to do ( some plants have special lighting requirements)
When choosing species, you need to pay attention to their height (small ones are planted in the front, tall ones in the back) and the optimal growth temperature. The most durable are anubias, characterized by thick leaf blades. Plants are planted carefully, preferably in a tank partially filled with water.
7. The Nitrogen Cycle
When you set up a new aquarium, it is essential that you cycle the tank before you put fish in it.
Your aquarium filter contains mechanical and biological elements, and some have a chemical element too.
The biological part of the filter system contains certain species of beneficial bacteria that process the harmful substances that are released during the decomposition of fish waste, uneaten food, decaying plant matter, and general detritus. The Nitrogen Cycle, as it is called, can take up to six weeks to kick in properly, and is absolutely crucial for a safe, healthy tank.
8. the fish ..
The choice of species that will inhabit the aquarium is best made before buying the tank. However, it is worth buying when the aquarium is already set up and the water is standing still (for a few days). Individual species have specific requirements. In addition, some species should not be combined with each other (e.g., barbs often attack smaller fish). It is also worth choosing animals so that they inhabit different zones of the tank (both the top and the bottom). The species worth recommending to beginners include: guppies, neon lights, danios, goldfish, gladioli, and lawn mowers.
Definitely check the next two posts for more information, and overall ideas.
best choices of freshwater fish
best choices of saltwater fish
9. Acclimating New Fish
All species of fish are sensitive to sudden temperature and environmental changes, and for that reason, it is essential that you acclimate your fish before putting them into your tank. Also, fish are highly susceptible to stress.
Little happy boy holding a plastic bag with new fishes he bought at the zoo store for his home room aquarium feeding and taking care of pets
By the time you buy new fish from a fish store, those little guys have endured the stress of transport, been kept in crowded conditions in a store display tank, and then been bagged up and taken back home with you.
Before you add the fish to your tank:
- Switch off the tank lights.
- Float the bag containing the new fish on the water surface for ten to 15 minutes so that the water temperature equalizes. During that time, open the top of the bag and fold it open to allow air in so that the fish do not suffocate.
- Check the pH of both the tank water and that in the bag. If the difference between the two is less than 0.3, add a half cup of aquarium water to the bag every 15 minutes for one hour. If that difference is .4 to 0.8, continue to do that for two hours.
- Remove the fish from the bag using a net, and carefully put them into the tank, discarding the water in the bag.
10. Maintaining the aquarium
A regular duty in fish farming is feeding. It is worth choosing food for a specific species. However, you cannot overdo it with the amount of food thrown – this is a common beginner’s mistake. Too much food causes disease (e.g., they will swim belly up and die quickly) and pollutes the water. The tank must be cleaned at least every few weeks (windows are cleaned of algae and 1/3 of the water is replaced). Plants need to be fed with fertilizers and intensively illuminated. Artificial light is even more important than natural light and does not cause such a significant growth of algae. Therefore, it is not worth placing the aquarium next to the window. The above aspects are the most important in setting up and maintaining an aquarium, but they are not exhaustive.
Wiele cennych wskazówek i porad. Dziękujemy.
ciesze sie bardzo, i mam nadzieje ze sie przyda.:)