Advice for first freshwater fish tank

Question

Hi,

im looking to buy and sett up my very first fresh water tank soon, and am a complete novice. i was wondering what equipment would i need, what fish i could start off with, and how much i should expect to set aside before i can start with my setup.

Also, what substrate and plants should i look at adding to the tank?

Finally, i am not too fussed about starting with fancy fresh water fish, and im cool with just simple fresh water fish for awhile =]

Regards

Richard

Answer 1

Hey, if you want to enjoy your tank, get a 10 to 30 gallon tank. Everything that I mention below can be purchased at your local pet store.

Anything more than that can get hard to take care of. Ok, if you just buy a pack that includes a tank, filter, lighting and hood, and a heater, you will be well off. You should just use normal gravel that you can find at your local pet store. Since you are a beginner, you should go with a plastic, non toxic plants. Live plants are almost as hard to take care of as the actual fish. You should feed your fish tropical fish flakes by TetraMin. That is all that you need.

Now onto the fish. You can purchase guppies as a great beginner fish. The only downside is when they start to breed. You can also go with the common goldfish but they don't need a heater. The best type of fish you can go with are probably tetras, danios, or mollies. All pretty fish to and easy to take care of. Make sure that you research the type of fish that you want before you get it.

Have fun with your new fish.  

Answer 2

OK. So first lets talk about the tank setup.

STEP 1: Realize the responsibility involved.

Learning how to set up a fish tank is not all that difficult, but there are some steps you should follow. First, you must realize a few things about an aquarium setup. A fish tank is just like having a dog or a cat when it comes to the amount of effort on your part. In order to have a successful freshwater fish tank you will have to work at it. Once a week, or at most once every two weeks, you will need to perform some kind of maintenance on the tank. Most of the time you will be performing water changes. You will also have to feed your fish at least once a day. Setting up and running a fish tank does cost money. There are recurring expenses such as replacing filter media, buying food, etc.

STEP 2: Decide on an aquarium size.

It's a good idea to have in mind what kind of fish you want to keep before you purchase an aquarium. Some fish only grow to be an inch or two, whereas other types of fish can grow 12 or 13 inches or more in length! Knowing what kind of fish you want will help you decide the size of the tank they will need. If this is your first time with an aquarium, it may be a good idea to start with a 10 or 20 gallon aquarium setup for now and stock it with some smaller and hardier species.

STEP 3: Decide on the aquarium's location.

Place your aquarium in an area where the light and temperature of the tank won't be affected by external sources such as windows and heater vents. Sunlight that enters the room through an unshaded window could affect the temperature of your tank. This could also lead to green algae problems for your tank down the road. You will want to place your aquarium on a stand that will be able to hold its total weight. You also want to be sure that the floor is able to support the total weight of the aquarium and stand. A good rule of thumb for determining the total weight of a full aquarium is 10 pounds per gallon of water. For example, a 55-gallon tank will weigh approximately 550 pounds when filled with water!

STEP 4: Buy your aquarium and equipment.

Now is a good time to decide on the type of aquarium filter you will want to use. You will also need to purchase a heater capable of heating the tank size you have. Buy the gravel, plants, a power strip and other decorations. A good rule of thumb for the amount of gravel that you will need is 1 to 1.5 pounds of gravel per gallon of water.

STEP 5: Set up your aquarium and stand.

Wash out your tank with water only! Do not use soap or detergents. Soap residue left behind will be harmful for your tropical fish. If you are going to use an under gravel filter (not recommended) now would be the time to set it up as well.

STEP 6: Wash Gravel, plants and decorations.

Be sure to wash the gravel thoroughly before adding it to your tank. An easy way to do this is to put some of the rocks in a pasta strainer and wash them out in your bath tub. Then place the clean gravel in a clean 5-gallon bucket for transport to the aquarium. After adding the gravel you can place your plants and decorations.

STEP 7: Add water to the aquarium.

To avoid messing up your gravel and plants, you can place a plate or saucer in the middle of your aquarium and direct the water flow onto the plate. Use room temperature water when filling. To remove the chlorine and chloramine, use something like Tetra AquaSafe for Aquariums. Don't completely fill up the aquarium until you are sure of the layout of your decorations. Otherwise, when you place your arm in to move stuff around water is going to spill over. Doh!

STEP 8: Set up equipment.

Install your heater but don't plug it in until the thermostat in the heater has adjusted to the water temperature. This usually takes about 15 minutes or so. Hook up your filter and any other equipment you have, then top off the aquarium water to just under the hood lip. Place your hood and tank light on the aquarium and then check your power cords to be sure that they are free of water. I would also recommend using a drip loop on all of the power cords to be extra cautious. For more information on safety, read this great article on aquarium electrical safety. Plug all of the equipment into a power strip and then "turn on" the aquarium.

STEP 9. Wait, wait, wait and then wait some more.

I know, you want to add some fish. But, in order to do this right you must wait until your aquarium has cycled before adding any fish. There are ways of speeding up this process. Check out the nitrogen cycle page to learn more about starting the nitrogen cycle and how to speed it up. If you must use fish to cycle, try to get a hardier species like the zebra danio or cherry barb. You may notice your fish tank cycle kicking in gear if you start to get some white cloudy aquarium water after a few days.

STEP 10. Add tropical fish.

Only add one or two fish at a time. Adding a couple fish at a time gives your filtration system the time needed to take on the increased biological load that the new fish introduce. When you bring the fish home let the bag float in the tank for about 15 minutes so that the fish can become acclimated to the temperature and pH of the aquarium water. After 5 minutes of floating the bag you should add some of the aquarium water to the bag so that the fish can become acclimated to the pH level in the aquarium. This will help reduce the amount of stress imposed on the fish. Stressed fish often leads to dead or diseased fish! Don't feed your fish on the first day. They probably wouldn't eat any food on the first day anyway. Let them get acquainted with their new home.

STEP 11. Get ready for regular maintenance.

Be prepared to spend some time once every week or two to clean your tank. Performing regular water changes will reduce the nitrate levels and keep your tropical fish happy and healthy.

Sorry it was so long. Hope you learned what you wanted too.

Check out this website for more information. This is were I got mine!:

http://www.fishlore.com/FirstTankSetup.h...

Great luck with your first, new aquarium. It will be awesome.

-Tyler Petersen

Answer 3

I love to hear people wanting to ask questions before starting. I tell everyone   first thing is to buy a book. I gave out most of mine and as I get em back I lend them out again. but get a book first.

From experience I suggest go with sand.  Get a tube of it (if avaliable)

from a hardware store and filter it out. then Start with (pending on room avaliable) a big tank. If cost is a factor go with a 40 Gal breeder.

Sand will allow the plants to thrive well and just start there. Just plants and have fun with it. Then go o'natreal with sone small fish that wont eat the plants too much.  As for filtration ... simple is best... a pump with a conner filter works best Cheap and easy.   Have fun

Answer 4

for beginers probably goldfish?

theyre like easy to feed cuz they just eat fish food

and since its fresh water ull hafta use tapwater

so ull hafta buy like these chemical thingsy that makes the fish safe from bad water

and ull need pebbles thingy for the floor?

tetra fishfood

ummmmm ull also need to feed it like 2 times a day

anddd just remebr to clean the tank like once in 2 months?

unless u accidently feed the fish too much and the water gets dirty...

x]

Answer 5

First off, here's my favorite aquarium website: http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk

Spend some time reading about fish and aquarium care. Doing some research now will save you a lot of headaches (and money) in the future. The equipment is pretty straighforward: you'll need a tank, stand, hood with lights, a filter, a heater, and test kits. Your local petshop employees can help you pick the best products. There are a lot of options for substrate. Gravel and sand are the most common, gravel being slightly easier to keep clean. Live plants are a great idea because they create a more natural habitat for the fish and help keep the water cleaner. I can't really be very specific about which fish to choose without knowing the size of your tank, but tetras, danios, rasboras, platies, corys, and gouramis are usually good choices. Good luck with your tank- keep reading as much as you can.

Answer 6

Congrats!!!!

Tips...

Go 20 gallon.........good starter size

Go aquaclear filter...........no monthly cartridge replacements other than carbon if you choose to use it. very cheap in long run.

Bow front tanks are really nice...i think theres a 26 gallon version..look into it.

No live plants......until you know what your doing and have the money

Learn how to cycle a tank and what it means to cycle a tank so you don't kill your first fish and feel sad.

Be patient stocking the tank, don;t just fill your tank in one day you will miss out on fish varirties that are only available once or twice a year.

Keep tank temp at 78

never ever over feed, fish are beggars....overfeeding leads to alot of tank problems , for the health of the fish and the water.

good luck!!!! and enjoy