I need help setting up my first fish tank ?

Question

I just recently bought a 20 gallon fish tank. I would appreciate any hints and help on setting it up properly and what I need.

Answer 1

1 clean out the fish tank with just hot water ps no soaps or vinegar or chemicals{it'll kill the fish.

2 age 20 gallons of water{age means too let the water sit in the fish tank with filter running}.

3 buy some aquarium rocks and rise them good

put them in the aquarium.

4 let your tank sit for a 5 days or more.

5 buy some fish.

hope this helps.

Answer 2

http://www.liveaquaria.com/

at the bottom of this page are a bunch of articles on:

algae maintenance, aquarium filtration/maintenance/lighting/setup, fish health/nutrition, planted tanks, stocking, water movement/quality, and more.

also, heres how to cycle the tank

http://www.algone.com/fishless_cycling.p...

Answer 3

The best advice I can give you is to go to tetra-fish.com and sign up for their free e-newsletters to walk you through the whole process. They are experts and amazingly helpful!

Answer 4

cycle it and and all.

Answer 5

First decide if you are going with a salt water tank or not. Most any fish store will have good starter books on how to get started. Read them first. Don't invest, then read them to learn what you did wrong.  

Answer 6

two inches of a gravel subtraite, a test kit for the water, a filter, a heater, water treatment chemicals, i would add live plants, possibly an airstone, a thermomiter, and a light hood, 2 watts per gallon for a fish only tank, 5 wpg for a tank with any live plants.

you need a couple buckets and a siphon tube for water changes.

and i would buy a book about aquarium fish from books a million. youll learn all you need to know from a good book.

if you want you should check out the articles at www.liveaquaria.com

they have tons of info.

Answer 7

Assuming that the tank is new and that you already have a filter, air pump w/air stone, and heater...make sure you only use just water to rinse everything before you place it in the tank. Gravel should be rinsed thoroughly in a bucket, or you can use a wire strainer until the water runs clear through it.

Treat the new water with a de-chlorinator like Stress Coat, and I also highly recommend using Cycle ~ it puts beneficial bacteria in the water.

You should let the tank run for at least a week before putting any fish in it.  

A 20 gallon tank = 20 inches of fish. You can have two fish that are capable of growing 10 inches long, or you can get 20 fish that only stay an inch long....but don't get them all at the same time. It's really important to only get 2 or 3 fish at a time ~ any more will throw off the balance of the water, and you might lose some fish.

Also make sure you don't over feed your fish [I feed mine 1-2 times a *week*] and don't change the water too often [I do a *partial* water change using a gravel siphon no more than once a month].

If you don't want a lot of algae growth in your tank, make sure you don't set it up in a spot where it will receive direct sunlight, and don't leave the tank light on all of the time.