A lot of thought has to go into starting up an aquarium. First you have to decide which type of fish you want to keep, and then you have to realise it will take time to develop and you need to have a lot of patience. Its probably best for a beginner to start off with some hardy freshwater fish which are easier to keep, but buying the fish is not your first priority. Your aquarium requires to be up and running before you introduce the fish. Check out you’re aquatic pet store and talk to the experts there, they will help you choose your aquarium and a kit aquarium is probably a good place to start.

First thing after receiving your fish tank is to wash it out thoroughly with clean tap water. Whatever type of substrate and gravel you have purchased for the bottom of the aquarium needs to also be thoroughly rinsed as much a possible before it goes into the fish tank. If the filter you use is an under gravel filter then it has to be placed in the tank before you cover it with about three inches of gravel. Water that you have already been de-chlorinated should be placed in the tank so that it is about one third full. Place any rocks or decorations and lighting into the tank after cleaning them thoroughly. Check which live plants you can place if that’s what you want to use, and add then to the tank. If the plants require to be anchored to the substrate then do that. Other plants do not need anchoring and are free floating. Connect the filtration system and install the air pump then fill the tank with more de-chlorinated water. Put the lid on the tank turn everything on and let it cycle for one or two days.

Circulating the water will allow the filtration system to remove any unwanted chemicals that have not been washout off your equipment. This should take one to two days. The temperature and ph should be adjusted to accommodate the type of fish you are introducing. You should also check the water for cloudiness until it clears.

You are now ready to add some fish to the tank but only add three or four fish at first. The first fish you add to the tank should be quite hardy and able to withstand high levels of ammonia and nitrites which will be present in a new aquarium. This is because the nitrogen cycle, vital for your fish to survive, has not started until after the first fish have been added. Add the fish but first let the float on the surface of the tank in the plastic bags they came in until the two water temperatures are the same and the fish are acclimatised. Add the fish using a bucket and net and do not allow the water the fish came in to be deposited into the tank. This water could change the ph levels in the water it could also add new bacterial to the aquarium.

Once the fish have been added to the tank they will release good bacterial in there excrement which turns chemicals such as ammonia into nitrates. This in turn will allow a nitrogen cycle to start but it can take four to six weeks for this to occur.

Stress is one of the things you have to be careful about when taking them from one environment and placing them in another. You have to watch the fish carefully for at least the first week. The fish should be quite active so monitor then for inactivity. Also another indication of stress is when the fish stay close to the surface of the aquarium. There is something called a stress coat you can add if you think there are signs of stress. You should be replacing about 30% of the water after one week and after the nitrogen cycle has begun and your fish are acclimatised to there new aquarium environment you can start adding more fish.