Starting an Aquarium

Having an aquarium in your home can be an enlightening experience for the whole family. It's been proven scientifically that having fish significantly reduces stress in an individual who takes the time to observe them in their natural environment. An aquarium would also add beautiful décor to your home, and you can customize it to fit your individual taste.

To begin an aquarium, there are a few things that need to be purchased. If you can find an aquarium that already comes in a kit, with a filter, fish food, and other fish-related items, that's great. But keep in mind that you'll have to purchase a few extra things to keep your fish content and healthy. You need to buy a tank. A good sized tank for beginners is ten gallons. Ten gallons is easy to maintain and can hold a good number of small, tropical fish. Then you'll have to pick up a filter. A filter is extremely important because it collects impurities in the water using carbon as well as a mesh which acts as a net. Try not to buy a very cheap filter. These won't do you much service in the long run, and they'll give you more problems than a more upscale one. If you can find a filter with a "wheel" device, those are excellent because they help provide beneficial bacteria to the fish's water. If you do have a wheel, remember that you don't have to clean it off, even though it looks dirty.

Tropical fish usually require heaters. Most tropical fish prefer a water temperature that is between 75-80 degrees. Also, when you buy a heater, make sure to also purchase a thermometer for the aquarium. There are simple thermometers would are actually stickers that you apply on the outside of the aquarium and those accurately measure the water temperature. Keep in mind that quick water changes in temperature can kill fish, so they need a constant source of heat to be comfortable.

Lighting is important to a fish. If you decide to have aquatic plants in your aquarium, the lighting with help with the plant's growth process. (If you do decide to have plants, make sure to also obtain aquarium plant food to keep the plant green and vibrant.) Aquarium lighting helps provide a source of heat as well for the fish, and will enable you to see your tropical fish better. Of course, when you choose the lighting, you'll also be looking for an aquarium hood...if you're aquarium tank doesn't already have one. And aquarium hood serves to hold the lighting in place, as well as avoid any outside contaminants from entering the tank. The process of evaporation is also avoided when you use an aquarium hood. Sometimes if evaporations happens too quickly, you'll find that you will have to add water more frequently to the tank. If this were to happen, make sure to have the water at room temperature so that the fish won't be startled. And always pour the water in as a steady stream. Don't dump the water in the aquarium. This act can easily kill you tropical fish.

An aquarium isn't complete without gravel. You can buy gravel in many colors. I actually use glass beads in my aquariums. They are beautiful and you can purchase them in the craft section of your store. The beads and gravel's varied colors can be mixed and matched to match your home furnishings. Get enough beads/gravel to provide 2 inches of 'ground' to your aquarium.

Something important to know is that when you have tropical fish, or any fish for that matter, you can't just put water in the tank and throw fish in there. You have to purchase chemicals to add to the water to remove nitrates, ammonia, and other harsh minerals and impurities that water has which may cause harm to the fish. If you can find Tank Buddies at your store, I would recommend these. They come in tablet form and dissolve like Alka-Seltzer in the aquarium water. I always add a tablet of the ammonia-reducing tablet, as well as the Water Safe Tank Buddy tablet, which also removes chlorine from the water. Even though you may be very excited about adding fish right away, keep in mind that you can't buy any fish when you are buying your aquarium parts.

Although quite pricey, it's recommended that you buy aquarium testing kits. These kits will tell you the levels of ammonia, nitrate, chlorine, and other harmful substances that are in your aquarium. They can even measure the PH to make sure that's it's up to the fish's standards. Also, buy a form of a 'bubble' making device...it could be an aquarium stone, or piping which attaches to the inside of the aquarium using little plastic suction cups. These bubbles are going to provide adequate aeration for your fish. It helps oxygenate the fish and the beneficial bacteria.

The reason for this is simple: Once you completely set up an aquarium, the aquarium has to cycle. Cycling allows for beneficial bacteria to enter and settle in the aquarium. This bacteria helps break down the ammonia that will be naturally produced by the fish. Ammonia can actually be produced when fish excrete any kind of waste. Ammonia is extremely deadly to tropical fish, which is why you must keep ammonia at bay with the tablets and with the cycling process. To cycle a tank, you must keep it running normally for six weeks. You'll notice that there's a terrible clouding period that your aquarium will experience. It may fog up so much that you may not even be able to see through the tank. This is the bacteria being produced. If you put you fish in now, they are surely going to die.

As a personal note, I actually made a mistake when I purchased my first aquarium. I was so eager to see my new aquarium in action, that I bought fish before I even let the aquarium cycle. I didn't know anything about cycling, even though a Pet Smart employee tried to explain to me what it was. Well, I didn't care! I bought my fish, and they looked great in the tank. The next morning, that hideous fog engulfed my fish tank...and killed my fish! Needless to say, I was pretty traumatized. So I'm letting you know right now, CYCLE! CYCLE! CYCLE! There's no if's and's, or but's about it. And those chemicals that promise to speed up the cycling process are nothing worth investing in. Just let nature take it' course in your little aquarium.

But...to be fair...if you MUST have fish RIGHT AWAY, buy two very tough fish. I would recommend Danios. They can survive a tremendous amount of changes. And even if (big IF!) these fish survive the cycling process, they won't lead good lives because of all the nitrates and ammonia that harmed them during the process. An advantage of having these fish in the tank is that the beneficial bacteria process will be expedited. I don't like witnessing fish deaths myself...much less causing them.

Well, setting up the aquarium itself is relatively easy. Fill the bottom up with the gravel/glass beads. Add plastic plants, or firmly root in the real plants. Decorate with little caves, and add the bubble stone or piping underneath the gravel. If you bought a fish background by any chance, apply it inside the fish aquarium at this time. When you're pleased with the layout, add water. After the water is added, drop in you tablets. The Tank Buddies tablets are for a ten gallon tank. If you bought anything bigger, like a twenty gallon tank, drop in two tablets of each water medicine. Set up your filter. All filters are different, so carefully follow the instructions for the filter that you chose. Once it's set up, you shouldn't be able to hear a loud sound, just a very low murmur.

At this time, your fish tank is complete. Just remember to let the aquarium run for several weeks, or if you decide to have fish in there (the strong hardy ones!), give them a chance to produce the beneficial bacteria in the tank. Remember not to feed the fish too much, just a little add a time. And when adding new fish, always place the bag of fish you received from the store in the aquarium, and let it float there for 15 minutes. The purpose of this is to help the new fish get used to the new water temperature in a gentle way. Never choose fish that are aggressive, always keep the tank tropical-friendly. If you see water evaporation or low water levels in your aquarium, slowly add room temperature water to the aquarium. Make sure that water is treated with your water medicines. Also, periodically check your fish tank levels using your testing kit. You'll always want to know if you're fish are content and healthy! If you follow all these steps, you'll have a beautiful aquarium full of beautiful fish in no time. Happy viewing!