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Setting up your first aquarium can be an enjoyable task and it can also be a family hobby that everyone will want to be involved with. Having an aquarium involves time and money and it all depends on how much of each that you are willing to spend in order to have a nice aquarium.
It is best to start out small and work your way up to a larger aquarium and more expensive fish. With the smaller aquarium, you will be learning how to care for the fish and how to keep the aquarium in working order.
There are a few basic things that you will need to know before beginning your new hobby. A ten or twenty gallon tank should be sufficient to start with. Decide where you want it located in your room because it will be there for a long time and in order to move it once it is full of water can be a big job! Be sure that it is not in direct sunlight, preferably a dark corner. Sunlight will cause an unsightly green algae to grow on the walls of the tank and once it gets in your tank it is very difficult to get rid of. You will need an electrical outlet near the aquarium for the pump and any other things you may want to put in your tank that requires electricity.
Decide what color of gravel that you want. Too much or too little gravel can be bad because gravel tends to hold all of the waste from the fish. Too much can be really hard to keep clean and too little will not be able to handle the waste from the fish. So use your own judgement on how much to buy, depending on the size of your tank. Most sales clerks in the stores that sell aquariums will be happy to help you with any questions that you may have.
Before you do anything, pour the gravel into a large kitchen colander and wash it throughly with clear water and then rinse out the aquarium with clear water. Fill your tank with water, leaving enough room for the gravel. About four inches from the top should be enough room for the gravel. Next, pour the rinsed gravel into the aquarium, making sure that it is no more than two inches thick.
You will need a good filtering system so buy the best that is available and when you move up to a bigger aquarium you won't have to buy another filtering system. You can use this one.
You will want a lid and light for the tank because this adds to the beauty of your aquarium and you'll be able to enjoy the fish at night.
Now that your water and gravel is in your tank and your pump is filtering the water you must add your water treatment to remove the chlorine from the water. If you don't treat the water, the chlorine will instantly kill your fish. When putting in the drops, make sure that you are putting in the exact amount that the directions say to put in the water. Run the water at least six or seven days before you add any fish. After the six or seven days are up, take a small jar and get a sample of the water. Take it to the store where you bought your aquarium and they will test it to see if there is chlorine in the water. If it is free of chlorine, then you are ready to buy your fish.
Pick out the fish that you want but first ask a sales person to help you with this because certain fish do not get along very well and they will know the best ones to buy. They will also help you with choosing the correct food for the fish. It is wise not to invest too much money in your first fish because right now you are learning about a lot of different things that will help you advance to a larger aquarium.
You will need a net and wall scrubber to clean the tank. The net has a long handle and it will help to keep the tank clean of fish waste. The tank scrubber also has a long handle to clean the walls. These are two very useful items that you will use a lot.
Now, you are all set up! You will have many enjoyable days and nights watching the fish swimming about in the aquarium water. Not to mention how relaxing it is, too.
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