DO some research? Before you decide anything, read and research. (Some good places to start are listed below). If that proves unsubstantial, ask for advice from a professional or seek the help of fellow enthusiasts, there are plenty of online resources and aquarium hobby forums. Creating an eco-system is a complex task and this is what is needed from you when crafting an aquarium. It is important to keep abreast of what is helpful for you to be able to achieve a livable environment for your aquatic pets.

DON'T put aesthetics first. The ideal natural aquatic environment is one that is self sustaining except for feeding the fish. Aesthetic is not the only consideration setting up the correct fundamental elements needed to sustain any fish tank need to be considered. Certain elements exist because of their important role in the fragile underwater ecosystem.

The Fundamentals:

Have liberal water surface

Make sure the temperature is correct.

The aquarium should have enough light.

You should know correct feeding procedures.

The water quality should be correct.

On the surface of every aquarium two vital things occur. They are both vital for the existence of your fish. One is the dissolving of air into the water to replace that extracted by the fish through the gills. The other is to remove the harmful gases created when the fish exhales. This gas removal is carried off on the surface of the water. The larger the surface, the easier and more rapid element of dissolving air and the releasing of carbon dioxide takes place.

Don't do things because you think it looks nice, rather, do things correctly because it is necessary to achieve an aesthetic presentation. For instance, choose gravel that is not too fine for your aquarium because it will become tightly packed and the friendly bacteria won't be able to thrive in your aquarium.

Also gravel that's too large can let food get easily lost and trapped inside the gaps and this will also upset the equilibrium of your aquarium. DO think about have a quarantine tank handy and ready before you purchase new additions for your tank.

Even if you have been getting away with not putting new additions in quarantine before adding it to your aquarium, you should always follow this important process. One tiny sick tropical fish could contaminate one huge aquarium and wipe out an entire population. Therefore, it is better safe than sorry, and a process of quarantine for new entries should be in place.

DON'T over feed your fish. It is in fact better to underfeed than to overfeed your fish. You should know the correct amount of food that is just right for your fish tank, test an amount and see if the food can be consumed within 5 minutes. If it takes more than 5 minutes then you've overfed them and you should immediately clean out any unconsumed food at this time.

The location of your fish tank is important especially if you intend to use live plants.

Location is easier if you do not use live plants. Then all that is needed is a spot where the temperature does not fluctuate IE: in direct sunlight where you can get extremes of temperature and algae growth. All that is needed is a spot with enough light.

Although we usually class our aquarium fish as tropical quite a lot are actually from cooler climes and do not actually come from warm water. Most actual tropical fish cannot stand cooler water but also too high a temperature is not good because it does not carry enough oxygen. Although there is no exact temperature best suited for all types of fish most have a tolerance of about 10 degrees fluctuation from there normal habitat temperature and this should be adhered too.

One thing that should not be done is moving tropical fish from one tank to another with different temperatures of over 2 degrees.

For more information visit "Tropical Fish And Fish Aquarium advice"! and The Salt Water Aquarium