By Chelsea Gray
To new aquarists, starting up a new tank may seem daunting. Here is a handy guide to get you through it.
Choosing A Tank
First you need a tank. Choose a tank that fits your house and lifestyle. If you have a specific fish in mind, find out how large it will get and buy a tank that is appropriate for the adult fish. Once you’ve chosen a tank size, find a stand. It’s best to buy a stand that is designed specifically for aquariums. The weight of the water will cause constant stress on furniture that is not designed to support it.
Choosing A Filter
Choose an appropriate filter. All filters are designed to be effective up to a specified amount of gallons. Make sure the filter you choose is large enough for your tank (ex: don’t buy a ten gallon filter for a thirty gallon tank). The staff at Centreville Aquarium can help you decide which filter is right for your fish.
Choosing Substrate
The type of fish you keep may help you determine which kind of substrate you want. For instance, if you want to keep saltwater fish, live sand (Sand that contains bacteria) will be a great option. If you want to keep goldfish, gravel may be the better choice. Personal preference is important, too. Choose a substrate that you want to look at everyday. The amount of substrate you need is dependant on how large your tank is, but the general rule is one pound of substrate per gallon (ex: a 20 gallon aquarium will need 20 pounds of gravel).
Rinse Everything
Before you put anything in the tank, make sure to rinse the tank out with water. Rinse all gravel, ornaments, filters, and heaters as well. Just use warm water to get off any dust or debris. Once everything is cleaned, you can place it in the tank.
Fill The Tank
When filling a tank, most people opt for using tap water. This is fine, however you want to remember to treat the water with a water conditioner to remove chlorine chloramine and ammonia. For those who use well water, aerate for at least 48 hours, as well water has very little dissolved oxygen. For freshwater fish, you want the pH around 7(This can vary slightly, depending on fish species). For Saltwater fish, you want the pH around 8.2
Adding Salt
If you want to start a saltwater aquarium, you will need to convert your water to sea water. This involves adding sea salt (not table salt), which can be found at Centreville Aquarium in five-pound boxes. You add the salt in until it has dissolved, then use a hydrometer to check the salinity of the water. You want the salinity to be at approximately 1.023. If it is too high, add more freshwater. You can also buy pre-made salt water from Centreville Aquarium.
Let The Tank Run
You cannot add fish to a newly aquarium right away because the water may not have enough oxygen in it for the fish. To oxygenate the water, let the filter run for at least 24hours before adding fish. If you are buying tropical or saltwater fish, you will also want to turn the heater on, so that the water is the right temperature for your fish.
Choose Your Fish
For the first month, you do not want to put too many fish in the tank. Start with 1/3 the maximum capacity of the fish tank. How do you determine maximum capacity? One square inch of fish needs one gallon of freshwater. One square inch of saltwater fish per two gallons. So for a 20-gallon fresh water tank, you can start out with approximately 6 square inches of fish (Six one inch fish or three two inch fish, etc). Choose hardy species to cycle the tank.
Wait A Month
You will want to wait a month before adding all of the fish, to ensure that biological filtration has matured (This process is called “cycling”). After a month, test your water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate or have someone at Centreville Aquarium test it for you. If your water turns out fine, you are ready to add the rest of your fish.
