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All you need to do, is to get yourself the right supplies and follow these simple steps and before long, you'll have a great looking aquarium that's right for your fish.
There are some things you ought to be ready for with a freshwater aquarium setup though, because it does come with responsibility.
First off, there is a cost element.
You'll have the one-off cost to set it up, and you'll regularly be buying supplies and fish food.
You'll also need to maintain it on a daily basis at least to feed the fish, and then every two weeks or every month.
It's like having any other pet - the better care you take of them, the more rewarding it is.
Let's start with the equipment that you'll need.
You'll have to buy most of this especially if you are a beginner - a more experienced aquarium keeper may be able to improvise for one or two items.
- A fish tank or aquarium that will take the number of fish you want.
- Substrate and a substrate vacuum
- An aquarium filter and filter replacements for future maintenance
- A heater and a thermometer
- Plants - these can be real or fake, but if you can get real ones, they are much better for your freshwater aquarium setup.
- An aquarium test kit to help you test the salinity of your aquarium
- A sizeable bucket
- A net and a big-holed strainer
- The size of tank that you choose will be determined by the number and size of fish that you want to keep.
You don't want fish that are overcrowded, or that grow too big.
The best way to start is to get a 10 gallon tank and then stock it with small fish that don't grow too much.
When you become a bit more experienced, you can experiment with other species and a bigger tank. - Look for a place to keep your aquarium that is stable and safe.
It needs to be away from children and other pets that can upset it.
If it's near a window that lets in sunshine, this could raise the water temperature.
Too much direct sunshine means that you have to deal with increased algae.
Think of the weight of the aquarium as you choose a stand for it.
To know how much it weighs, multiply the number of gallons of water in it by 10. - Consider the equipment: filters are varied and come at different prices.
Some fish also produce more waste than others and they will need special kinds of filters.
Think about the heater too in relation to the size of the tank.
You also will consider substrate, plants and any other decorations that you will be putting into the tank. - Washthe aquarium with water - a rinse of all the parts that will go in there will do.
Do not use soap as it will kill your fish.
Set up your filter once your parts and tank are clean. - Wash the gravel and the pants in clean water and any other decorations that are a part of your freshwater aquarium setup.
The substrate needs to be washed thoroughly and you can do this using your pasta strainer.
Put is in the bucket and place it in the aquarium along with the plants and decorations. - Once you have all this in place, you can now put in the water.
To make sure that you don't mess with the way you had arranged the gravel and plants, place a saucer in the middle and run the water on it and let it flow over into the aquarium.
Water should be at room temperature but de-chlorinated. - Install the heater and wait for about 15 minutes for the thermostat in the heater to adjust to the water temperature.
Place the lid and make sure that the tank light is working properly and that the chords are not in contact with water.
Plug it all the bits that will use electrical power and then turn on. - Its time to wait.
You are waiting for a complete nitrogen cycle in your freshwater aquarium setup to take place.
If you put in your fish before it does, they will likely die.
You'll know its cycling when you notice after a few days that the water is getting cloudy. - Lastly, add your fish one or two at a time.
You are adapting the filtration system slowly.
You also need to acclimatize the fish before you put them in.
When you bring them home in the bag you bought them in, drop it into the tank for about 15 minutes.
There is no need to feed them on their first day home. - Don't forget to feed them the next day, and be ready for your bi-weekly or monthly spring cleaning.
Make it easy on yourself by making sure that you have all the things you need to hand.
If you are not very sure, start off with hardy fish - you are more likely to be successful.
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