How to Start a Freshwater Aquarium

If you are new at tropical fish there's no need to worry; all you simply have to do is follow these few steps:

Step 1

Pick the type of fish tank you would like. Do you want a single species tank? Maybe you would like a community tank. Read on to see the differences between these types of tanks.
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Single species tank: Single specie aquariums, as you may have guessed, are aquariums that house only one specie of fish. Single specie tanks are usually made up of fish that are not compatible with other types of fish. You can make a single species tank out of any fish specie you would like.

Community tanks: Community tanks are the most common tropical tanks. With a mixture of fish that are compatible with each other, a community tank would make the perfect touch for any home. Community tanks are not only neat to look at but are also easiest to care for out of the group of freshwater tanks.

Step 2

Now it's time to pick your aquarium. The type of aquarium you get mainly depends on the fish you'll be purchasing. The general rule for determining tank size is "one gallon of water per one inch of fish." Say you get a fish that's five inches in length; you would need to house it in a minimum of a 5-gallon tank.

Step 3

This is the fun part! It's time to choose your décor. All you need to know while picking out your décor is:
1- Give the fish plants to hide in.
2- Make sure the fish have a place in the tank to call their own.
3- Don't fill the tank too full of décor and plants or your fish won't have enough room to swim, leading to stress and illness.
4- Have fun and be creative.

Step 4

Determine where to place your tank. You can keep it virtually anywhere in your house so long as it's not directly in front of a window, which will lead to algae growth in your tank.

Step 5

You need to choose the kind of plants that would be best for you. Plants come in both plastic (made for fish safety) and real aquatic plants. If you are fixated on your plants looking real then you could still go with fake plants, there's a wide variety of plastic plants out now.

Real plants can be hard to take care of (depending on the type that you get.) Some aquatic plants take special medication and fertilizers to keep them alive. There are ups and downs to keeping real plants.

Ups: Real plants are beautiful and provided plenty of oxygen in the water for your fish.
Downs: Real plants take special nutrients to keep them alive, thus costing more money and more time.

Plastic plants require nothing in terms of care, and they still give your tank that perfect touch. Plastics, as do the real, require some sort of gravel to anchor them down. Do not fuss over what type of gravel you would need for a real or plastic plant to hold them down, it doesn't matter.

Step 6

You need a form of filtration. There are a couple different filtration systems to choose from, the waterfall filter and the underground filter.

Waterfall filtration: waterfall filters are electronic filtration systems that hook onto the back of the tank. It purifies the water in your tank by sucking the water into a tube, running it through a specially made filter, and then pushing it back out through a sponge, thus creating a small waterfall that leads back to the tank. It requires that you change the main filter once every 2 months. You do not need any air pumps if you have this filtration system.

Underground filtration: Underground filters are a little less time consuming. Undergrounds are a piece of wavy plastic that you place at the base of your tank before adding gravel. It has a couple small pipes (depending on the size of your aquarium) that stick about 1" above the gravel. You must have an air pump and install it along with the filter. Underground filtration sucks all the waste into the pipes at the bottom of the tank and traps it underneath the gravel. This is not an electronic device.

Step 7

Now it's time to set up your tank:

1: Place the tank in its designated area. Remember to keep it out of direct sunlight.

2: Make sure you tank is placed securely on its stand.

3: Add your heater, filtration systems, and air pump(s).

4: Dump your gravel into the tanks bottom.

5: Start anchoring your plants in position. Make sure you have them where you want the layout to be.

6: Start placing other décor in place: driftwood, rocks, etc.

7: If you have any above-ground air pumps such as: bubble rocks, bubble wands, or any other décor used for air supply, now is the time to add it.

8: Place a bowl, face up, in the bottom of your tank, before adding water. Use a water pitcher or water hose to add the water to your tank. Pore the water into the bowl and allow it to flow over into the tank, doing this will prevent your gravel, plants, and/or décor from dispersing and spreading from its designated area.

9: Remove the bowl from the tank after the tank is about ¾ of the way full. You can continue filling the tank after the bowl has been removed.

10: Your tank should be ready for all electronic devices to be plugged in.

11: If you're using a hood for you tank hold off on putting it on until your fish are applied.

12: Leave your fish in their pet store bags, do NOT open the bags! With the fish still in their bags place them into the tank and allow them to float for about 15 minutes. This changes the water in the bag to be the same temp. as in the tank.

13: You can release the fish after the 15 minutes are over. Don't be alarmed if they sink to the bottom at first (they're only getting used to their new surroundings) they will return back to normal in a few minutes.

14: You shouldn't feed your new fish for 24 hours after you bring them home.

Good luck with your new freshwater aquarium!