Table of Contents
Introduction: What are the different types of Aquariums?
There are many types of aquariums. They can be classified in three different categories: Freshwater, Saltwater and Reef Aquariums.
Freshwater: The fish tanks in this category come in both glass and plastic varieties. They usually contain fresh water and can be kept indoors or outdoors, depending on the season. The fish tanks in the freshwater category also come in different shapes such as cube, hexagonal and rectangular. They range from small to large sizes with the most popular size being 55 gallons (200 litres).
Saltwater: These aquariums contain salt water that needs to be changed every 2-3 weeks; they also require more attention than freshwater aquaria do because of their high salinity content which is why saltwater aquariums need specific equipment such as a protein skimmer, live rocks and sands.
Aquarium Care 101 - The Basics You Need To Know Before Buying Your First Fish Tank
Taking care of a fish tank is not a difficult task. If you take the proper time and effort, you can create a beautiful home for your fish. In this article, we will explore the basics to help you get started with your first aquarium.
The first thing that you need to do is find out what kind of fish you want to keep in your tank. There are many different types of freshwater fish that go well in an aquarium environment. Some popular choices are goldfish, bettas, guppies, and cichlids.
Next thing that you need to think about is how big of an aquarium would fit your needs? You will need to choose between a smaller 10 gallon tank or larger 30-gallon tank? The decision largely depends on how many fish you want to keep.
Do you want planted tank or bare bottom tank?
Taking care of a fish tank is not a difficult task. If you take the proper time and effort, you can create a beautiful home for your fish. In this article, we will explore the basics to help you get started with your first aquarium.
The first thing that you need to do is find out what kind of fish you want to keep in your tank. There are many different types of freshwater fish that go well in an aquarium environment. Some popular choices are goldfish, bettas, guppies, and cichlids.
Next thing that you need to think about is how big of an aquarium would fit your needs? You will need to choose between a smaller 10 gallon tank or larger 30-gallon tank? The decision largely depends on how many fish you want to keep.
Size of the tank
The bigger the aquarium it is better to take care and more stable it will be. You will less water changes to make otherwise you will end up making too many too many water changes and you will start hating the aquarium hobby if you are a first time.
If this is your first aquarium always recommended to buy atleast 20 gallons above so that it well helps your fish to remain healthy in a stable environment as if there is less fish and more volume of water that conditions in tank will always be stable.
If you are going to keep goldfish or other big fishes like Discus it always recommended to go for big tanks more 50 gallons/ 200 litres and above. Fishes like goldfish are very messy and would be need more water changes as they need to tend to eat a lot and poop more so water would get dirty very fast otherwise it would result in spike in ammonia levels and fishes could die.
Fishes like Discus would need more water changes to keep water parameters like PH, TDS and Temperature. They need softer water to remain stable and in order to keep the water clean they need more water changes. If you have alkaline water in your area it is recommended to keep them in RO water.
It is also recommended to buy an aquarium stand along with the tank if you don’t have any existing table or place to keep the aquarium. Please note aquariums are very heavy once you fill them with water so please choose table correctly but if you are buying branded stands which comes along with your tank then you don’t need to worry about them as it is already sized for the capacity or the load of the tank.
What kind of fish to keep?
The bigger the aquarium it is better to take care and more stable it will be. You will less water changes to make otherwise you will end up making too many too many water changes and you will start hating the aquarium hobby if you are a first time.
If this is your first aquarium always recommended to buy atleast 20 gallons above so that it well helps your fish to remain healthy in a stable environment as if there is less fish and more volume of water that conditions in tank will always be stable.
If you are going to keep goldfish or other big fishes like Discus it always recommended to go for big tanks more 50 gallons/ 200 litres and above. Fishes like goldfish are very messy and would be need more water changes as they need to tend to eat a lot and poop more so water would get dirty very fast otherwise it would result in spike in ammonia levels and fishes could die.
Fishes like Discus would need more water changes to keep water parameters like PH, TDS and Temperature. They need softer water to remain stable and in order to keep the water clean they need more water changes. If you have alkaline water in your area it is recommended to keep them in RO water.
It is also recommended to buy an aquarium stand along with the tank if you don’t have any existing table or place to keep the aquarium. Please note aquariums are very heavy once you fill them with water so please choose table correctly but if you are buying branded stands which comes along with your tank then you don’t need to worry about them as it is already sized for the capacity or the load of the tank.
Accessories
Filters
A filter is an important part of setting up your tank because it helps with the process of cycling the water by removing ammonia and nitrites. It also removes debris that can cloud water and reduce visibility in your tank.
Without a filter, maintenance becomes more complicated and will require more frequent water changes to maintain clarity. This can be frustrating for novice fish owners who are uncertain about how much time they need to plan for these changes.
There are different kinds of filters available out there which can choose based on the size of the tank, fishes you are keeping.
- Canister Filter
This is the best filter you can have for your aquarium fish tank; it is slightly expensive but is excellent to keep water parameters stable as it helps to develop beneficial bacteria in your water column/ tank.
It is always recommended to invest a good canister filter as it last for a long time and it helps to keep your tank stable.
When ever you change the water in your tank every week you don’t to clean your canister filter and needs only cleaning every 4 to 6 months but this depends on the number of fishes you have in your tank and Characteristics of the fishes. For e.g., if it is Goldfish you will end up cleaning your canister every month
I will be writing a detailed blog in future “on how to choose the right canister filter for your tank”
- Hang on the back (HOB) filter
Like the name “Hang on the back”, this is just a small filter hung on the back side/side walls of the filter. It has a small intake and water into a filter chamber and comes out filtered. Since it doesn’t have lot of biological media or chemical media it doesn’t help hugely in the filtration. These are used for small tanks anything less than 30 or 40 gallons and you would need to change often water for these kinds of aquariums.
There are others filters like Sponge filters or Internal filters, but I don’t recommend these. Those have a specific purpose, and they are only used for small tanks or when you want to use for breeding fishes. For e.g., Sponge filters for used when you are trying to breed fishes like Discus, Angels, Guppies and others since the babies/fries don’t get caught up in the filters.
Substrate
If you are using a planted tank, then you need to have a good substrate for the growth of the plants but if you are planning to keep a bare bottom tank then there is substrate is not required.
For a freshwater aquarium you can go for substrate like Fine gravel, like river soil/ pool soil. If you are going for a planted tank please buy substrate like ADA Amazonia or Tropics Aqua soil which is rich substrate which is good for growing plants and plants tends to develop good root system. These aqua soil are generally made from clay based substrate and made artificially.
If you are planning to keep bottom dwellers like loaches, shrimps, corydoras and others it is good to have fine gravel or soil-based substrate.
Heater
Heater is required or not depends on the fishes you are planning keep and temperate zone you are living in. If you are living in a cold temperate climate and planning to keep Cichlids like Discus, Angles or other fishes then it must to have Heater as they like warm waters but if you are look at Asia most of the countries you have warmer climate in summer and you would need heater only in winter.
Please note if you are planning to have planted tank then you must keep temperature between 20C and 25C (68 to 78F), if it goes higher most of plants starts wilting and dying to extreme temperature.
Air Pump
Air Pump is always good to have in a aquarium tank as they maintains the level of dissolved oxygen in the tank. If you are planning to keep fishes like Angel, Discus and others which likes higher temperatures it is must to have a air pump as higher the temperature less the dissolved oxygen will be in the water. It is always recommended to buy a good aquarium pump/ brand otherwise it tends to fail faster after continuous use.
Air pumps are quite cheap and you will get lot of pumps under $20. If you have multiple aquariums then you can go in for larger pump or air blowers as they tend to be economical in a long run and helps to keep oxygen at a good level when you have large number of tanks.
If you are seeing your fishes are coming to the surface of the tank it indicates a lack of oxygen in your tank, either adjust the air valve to release more air into the tank or ensure that filter is set to surface of the tank so that it helps in dissolving lot more oxygen into the tank. The more the surface agitation the more the oxygen gets dissolved in water.
Lighting
The type of the light for the fish tank varies whether you are going for the planted tank or not. If you are not going for planted tank then any LED light or T5 lights would be sufficient to light up the tank.
If you are planning to go for a planted tank then ensure that you are going for a light which has a intensity of at 6500 kelvins. This intensity is required for the plants to grow. If are ready to invest in little more expensive lighting then go for any brand which supports WRGB (White, Red, Green, Blue) lights as this tries to replicate the sunlight and produces the right colors and intensity or PAR value for the plants to grow, like in nature.
Plants
Plants are required if you are planning to go for a planted tank setup otherwise you can ignore it. There are various benefits of having a plants in a tank.
- It helps improve oxygen dissolved in the water
- Helps in controlling algae growth
- Provide hiding spaces for your fish and helps especially if they are showing signs of breeding or if there are aggressive fishes in the tank the smaller fishes will have space to hide and get away
- It also acts a good source of food for the fish like plecos as they feed on the leaves
Beneficial Bacteria
The beneficial bacteria comes in the quick start for tank setup and is very useful to cycle the tank very fast. It contains Nitrifying bacteria converts toxic ammonia into nitrites then into nitrates. This allows the addition of fish faster to the tank. This is to be used either while setting up the first time or while doing water changes. It helps to replenish the good bacteria and always keep the tank stable and avoids any ammonia spikes. Some of the examples of the Quick start is the API quick start, there are other brands as well which are good like the Seachem & Oceanfree.
De-Chlorinator
De-chlorinator is important if your tap water which you are going to fill the aquarium contains Chlorine it will help in removing the harmful Chloramines from the water, otherwise it can lead to fish death.
You can avoid using this, if you are going to store your water for couple of days and then changing the water then it will not cause any issues to the fish as the Chlorine will evaporate since it is a gas, this is a recommended way of changing water.
Fish Food
Fish Food is an important when you are setting up your fish tank, lot of people tend to ignore and then tend to buy cheap food. Fishes also require good quality food if you want your fish to look healthy, display bright colors, avoid polluting of the water, reduce disease outbreak in your tank.
It comes in various forms, some of them come in as flakes, powder form and granules. Please choose the right kind of food based on the fish you have. Fishes in a tank comes in different categories some are top dwellers; some are in the middle and some of the fishes are bottom dwellers and all the fishes need food to survive and thrive in your aquarium.
For e.g., if you have tetras and guppies in your tank, guppies are top dwellers and easily take any floating feed like flakes, but the tetras won’t come up and feed and they will wait for the food to sink and only then eat. This can lead to tetras underfeeding and guppies overfeeding so please choose a food which floats for few seconds and then sinks based on the kind of fish you are keeping
Cycle the tank
Cycling of the tank is another important factor while setting up your first fish tank otherwise if you buy fish tank and all the fishes on the very same day and introduce in the tank fishes will start dying in a weeks’ time as there will no nitrifying bacteria in the tank and there will be ammonia spikes when you introduce food or when the fish poops.
You have to setup the tank and allow it cycle with just water, Beneficial bacteria and filter turned on for at least 3 weeks before you start introducing your fish.
Within these 3 weeks your tank will start producing nitrifying bacteria which will convert ammonia into nitrites and then to nitrates which is not harmful for the fish otherwise the ammonia and nitrites are very harmful and the fish may die.
These nitrifying bacteria develop on the substrate like soil/sand or on filter media like biological media (lava rocks, rings, ada bio rio etc.).
If you buy a test kit you can test the presence of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in the water, in a perfectly cycled tank you will zero ammonia and nitrite and you will a mild levels of nitrate which is fine as it is not harmful. If you are keeping any plants like pothos/money plant or floating plants it can absorb nitrate as well.
Choose the right place to buy your fish from
If you are planning to buy your fish for the first time, then it recommended to visit a local store and buy from it but there are few things to check before you buy fish from them.
- Check if the place is maintained well or not.
- There shouldn’t any dead fishes in the tank which could indicate diseased fishes
- Ask the shop keeper on the combability of the fishes you like in the fish store as some fishes don’t go well with other ones and they tend to fight and, in some case, kill each other as well
- Inform them regarding your tank setup and accessories you have and then choose fish accordingly
- Ask them how long they have been quarantined and where does he/she procure it from? Whether it is within the country or imported into the country. Locally bred fishes are always better if you are newcomer into the hobby as the imported fishes will have certain parameters to be maintained and will be prone to diseases if we don’t provide those conditions.
If you are planning to buy from a online store you can buy as well, just place a test order for few fishes at first and see the quality of the fishes and if you are satisfied with the quality you can go for a bigger order. Always ensure that the store has live on arrival guarantee or refund of the money if the fishes are dead on arrival.
Hospital Tank
It is recommended to buy one additional tank to be kept as hospital tank in case any of your fishes gets sick or when you buy new fish for an existing tank.
If you are starting as a new bee then don’t worry about a hospital tank, just buy your new tank and set it up but if you are introducing new fishes to an existing tank it is good to keep them quarantined for 3 weeks before you move the new fishes to your existing tank. All you new fishes can be treated with mild antifungal, salt or in some cases you can give them potassium permanganate bath as well if they are showing signs of infection.
Acclimatise the fish
Once you bought your fish then you must ensure to acclimatise the fish by floating the cover on the tank for 15 to 20 mins. Ensure that the aquarium lights are turned off otherwise you might stress out the fish. If you have bought sensitive fishes or shrimps in addition to the above, you can also do drip acclimatization by slowing adding few drops of water through your aquarium oxygen pipe which acts as a drip pipe. If you have any doubts, please do reach out to me as it is not easy to explain everything on the blog.
Maintain Ideal Temperature
Once your aquarium is setup and if everything is running as expected please ensure that your temperature is set at the right level on the heater depending on the fishes you are having. If you are maintaining room temperature at 24C then most of the common fishes are fine with it but if you are having fishes like Discus or Cichlids they need to be set at a higher temperature (26C to 28C).
Conclusion: Frequently Asked Questions About Owning a Fish Tank
It is not expensive to buy fish for your tank, but you will need to buy accessories that allow you to keep them alive. You can bough fish tanks that come with all the necessary accessories or get them separately.
Fish tanks are very popular in households because they provide a relaxing environment just like having a pet. They are also great for kids who would like to witness the life cycle of fish in action while learning about water quality and biology at the same time.
If you are a beginner always start small with at least a minimum tank size of 24 inches in length * 18 inches in Height & 12 inches or 18 inches in width. Start with small and easy to keep fishes and as soon as you have kept the fishes without killing too many of them in first 6 months to 1 year you can start looking at experimenting and keeping more difficult fishes to keep. Don’t stress yourself, enjoy the hobby otherwise you might get stressed out soon and start disliking the entire process.
Aquariums can be useful for people who suffer from depression, anxiety, and stress because it requires nurturing and patience which has been shown to be therapeutic.
If you need any more details around the blog, please do get in touch with me using the contact form.
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