7 Tips To Make: An Awesome First Aquarium!

When choosing fish for your simple/starter aquarium, generally you will have to make the initial decision of: What Type of Fish?
For example: The first decision you need to make is whether you want to look after "Cold Fresh Water Fish" or "Tropical Fresh Water Fish" (Fresh water fish are much easier to look after than Marine (salt) water fish found in oceans and seas)
Let me Explain the differences?

Cold Fresh Water Fish -
As the name suggests these fish will only (usually) live in Cold water temperatures. Natively found in countries of a colder climate. Examples include: The common Goldfish, Fancy Goldfish, Danios, Minnows, Water Snails.

PROS: Easy to set up the tank, Low maintenance, Goldfish have long life expectancies.
CONS: Goldfish make a lot of mess, Generally larger fish; so less fish per tank

Tropical Fresh Water Fish -
These types of fish will only live in warmer water conditions and found in more tropical countries... Common places include South America, India and Africa. Examples include: Neon Tetra, Guppies, Mollies, Platys and many more!

PROS: Fish are generally more colourful, Fish are usually smaller and live in Shoals, Usually less expensive to buy.
CONS: Tank requires a heater, Frequent maintenance is required, More delicate to water conditions.

Okay! so now you've decided on which type of fish you want... Lets look at tanks!

Take a look at these great books on offer to help you out!
The Kick-Butt Aquarium!
Keeping Aquariums Easy! audio and book!
How To Create a Freshwater Aquarium!

In today's competitive markets finding the ideal starter aquarium is easy! There are so many to choose from; in many different sizes and designs!
Now you've decided which type of fish you want, this selection is made easier!
For a coldwater set-up - all you need is a basic tank and a filter (i'll explain the importance of filters later) and a light; if you want to see your fish!
For Tropical set-ups - the same as above applies except you will require a water heater to maintain the perfect temperature!

Most tanks will include all the necessary equipment as a package. The main thing you need to do is decide how much you want to be spending, the size of the tank and whether you want a stand for it or not!

I would usually recommend 1inch of fish per 3-4 gallons of water, it is fairly easy to judge by eye though! make sure the fish have enough room to swim around and grow. So base your tank selection on the amount of fish that you want!

Take a look at some examples Here!

To many people decorations in tanks are essential!! Although this is just personal preference... there is no right or wrong way to decorate your aquarium!

PLANTS
Here you have two choices; real plants or artificial plants. The first thing to keep in mind is that some types of fish find snacking on plants a rather good way to spend their days, so in this case it may be better to choose artificial plants as they do not fall apart, die or need replacing. If you definitely want real plants, its a good idea to put good substrate (sand) at the bottom of the tank and use plant feed regularly to make sure the plants are getting the correct nutrition... and like all plants, they will need a good amount of light to survive!

ORNAMENTS/ROCK
As I said, this is mainly personal preference. One benefit of using rock is that it will act as a biological filter and so will keep the water in a better condition for the fish. Apart from that; most starter fish will not mind what decor you use, in fact by having more places to hide will only encourage the fish to be shy!! So get your creative hats on and make your tank personal!

This section is probably the most important of all!

Aquarium Filters take out poisonous toxins from the water (fish waste) as well as taking out more solid matter; making the tank look cleaner to the eye!
Without filtration a well stocked tank would not last any longer than a few days! The filter will also allow the fish to breath more easily as the moving water pulls down oxygen from the surface of the water.

Filters come in a few different varieties:
INTERNAL POWER FILTERS: a unit which sits inside of the tank and consists usually of mechanical sponge filters and biological ceramic/carbon filters. Uses an impeller to pull water in through the filter. PROS: Effective filtration, Quiet and Small CONS: Takes up room in tank and can be a pain to clean.

AIR DRIVEN FILTERS: usually found in budget tanks and works by pumping air through a foam/ceramic filter causing the water around to be pushed down through the filters. PROS: Inexpensive to buy, generally uses less room in the tank. CONS: Airpump needs to be outside of tank and can sometimes be noisy! Doesn't filter the water particularly effectively.

EXTERNAL POWER FILTERS: These filters are typically found on more experienced hobbyist's tanks, as they are more powerful. The unit sits outside of the tank and draws water through hoses in to the main unit and back out in to the tank again. The filters use both foam and ceramic media's usually but are very versatile as you can add what ever media you like. PROS: Excellent filtration potential, Saves room in tank, Easy to clean. CONS: Can be expensive to buy, Potential hazard of water leaks from the hoses, Units tend to be large so use up space outside of the tank.

HEATERS: Heaters are generally pieces of equipment which you place inside of the tank, they are vital if you are planning on keeping Tropical Fresh Water Fish

Below are variety of different filters and heaters available:

Right!... so you have chosen your Fish, Tank, Filtration and the Ornaments! Now its time to put it all together!

- Put the tank in a suitable position (preferably not in direct sunlight)
- Place Sank/Gravel at the bottom of the tank (if you've decided to use this)... Make sure you have given it a wash prior to adding to tank.
-Install the filter (and heater if needed usually 27degreesC)... remember not to turn on the power until the tank is full of water!
-Place all ornaments/rock in desired positions (only plant real plants after water is added)
- Slowly Fill the tank (tap water is fine)
- Turn on the filters and leave the tank in this state for ideally 1-2 weeks.

The waiting process can be reduced dramatically if you add "bio-start" products. These are generally in liquid form and helps to speed up the maturity of the filter. The reason why the tank has to be left prior to the fish being added is simply because you need to wait for "good" bacteria to build up in the filter, this bacteria is what removes all of the toxins from the water.

Click here to see relevant Filter booster products.

FEEDING
The main thing to remember when feeding your fish is to NEVER over feed them. If the food isn't being eaten then stop feeding. The main cause of fish illness and problems is because the water becomes polluted due to food not being eaten and rotting at the bottom of the tank! The easiest way to combat the problem is to feed little and often too ensure that the fish are eating the food and getting enough!

MAINTENANCE
Obviously the tank will require some degree of maintenance.... here are the main objectives:
- Regularly clean the filter (make sure you wash the filter media in water you have taken out of the tank - never wash in tap water)
- Change about 30% of the tank water roughly every 2-3weeks, this is to ensure the water stays fresh (make sure you use a good quality De-Chlorinator product when you fill the tank back up, to take out the Chlorine from the tap water) also be mindful of temperature.
- Inevitably the tank will start to grow algae on ornaments,plants and the tank glass. This can be cleaned easily using a soft clean cloth, a magnetic cleaning block or you can purchase particular fish or snails which can help keep the algae to a minimum.
- Periodically clean the gravel/sand with specific gravel cleaning products... these generally work by syphoning water out from under the gravel.

FISH ILLNESS
If you notice that the fish are not looking too healthy... the best thing you can do is take a small sample of water to your local aquarium/aquatic centre so they can test the water and advise you of what is the best treatment for the problem, most illnesses can be cured if caught early.

MORE GREAT BOOKS!!
Discus Secrets!
Tropical Fish Secrets!