Setting Up A Tropical Fish Tank For Beginners

This will be a beginners guide to setting up a tropical fish tank. You will need to take your time and make sure not to add fish to the tank right away as this could kill your fish. You must understand that it takes a little time for the water to fully cycle so your fish can live a long time and stay healthy.

When you are selecting an aquarium to buy you must know what kind of fish that are going to be living in it and how big the fish will get. As a simple rule, for every inch of fish that there is there should be 1 gallon of water.

Some of the things you will need to set up a tropical fish tank will consist of the aquarium itself, a stand for the aquarium, filter pump, heater pump, thermometer, water conditioner, bacteria supplement. Some other additional options you can add to your fish tank would be a lamp, decorations and wall paper for the back of the fish tank.

Now that you have all the items you need next is to set up the stand and put the tank on it. Make sure you choose a good spot that will not be blocking anything you will need to get to later on like receptacles, air vents, etc.

The next thing that I would do is make sure that there are no leaks in the fish tank. Fill up the tank with water to the top, and just let it sit there for about a day, more if you want. Once that day is up check the surrounding area for any signs of water, once you know your tank is not leaking you can empty it.

What I would do next is I will fill up multiple gallons of jugs with tap water mixed with water conditioner, and then I will add bacteria supplement 15 minutes later depending on what the directions day. I will let the water sit for a couple of hours or longer, it is up to you.

Next you can start adding gravel, make sure that you rinse the gravel very good. Since the tank is still empty you can start putting in the gravel and decorations. It is very important to make sure that everything that you put into your fish tank is washed well, as it only takes a little bit of dish soap to kill fish.

Now add the premixed water into the tank, and turn on your filter pump or pumps, heat pumps, and overhead light if you have one. Let the tank cycle for at least a week before adding any fish, as it takes a tank time to complete a full cycle.

Once it has been a week and the water is cycled you can add a few starter fish to get the ecosystem of the aquarium started. Do not attempt to add any more fish to the aquarium for at least 4 weeks, the longer you wait the better off your fish will be.

The author has been setting up aquariums of all kinds for many years and has great knowledge on fish tanks. You can visit his store if you need to purchase a home aquarium. Cheap Fish Tanks