So, since I have received a whole bunch of help on setting up a tank for marines, I decided to give back to the community and help out people setting up fresh water tanks.
So in a nice list format, let me start from the beginning.
You will need:
1. A tank.
Any size will do for fw fish, as long as it isn't overstocked.
2. Normal tap water, or RO water.
Update: As has been pointed out to me, RO water is much safer, so please use this instead when starting a new tank, tap water may kill your fish, I myself have never used it, so honestly did not know that. Thank you, Dexter.
3. A sand bed, this can be any type of sand that you want.
p.s If you want a planted tank, you need special sands, there are a few to choose from, which I won't list here, but they are available at any fishy pet shop starting at about R300 a bag.
4. Your plants, either fake or real.
5. Prime, water conditioner.
6. Ph balancer.
7. Phosphates, only for the planted aquarium.
8. Filter.
P.s needs to support the size tank you have.
P.s 2 if not using an overhang filter or a filter that allows you to add an oxygen pipe to it, please purchase air stones and an air pump as well, or your fish will die due to oxygen deprivation.
9. Heater.
10. Fish.
Please DO NOT buy the fish on the same day as the tank, you will kill them.
So, how do we start?
1. Rinse out your tank really well, get off anything that may be in it, especially if it is second hand.
2. Rinse your stones or gravel out until the water runs clear, this is an important step, as some fish are sensitive to what lies in the sand, and it also can make your tank look murky.
3. Lay your sand bed.
4. Fill up the tank with normal tap water, or RO water, and add water conditioner and a ph balancer. Also, add phosphates at this stage for a planted tank.
P.s this removes chlorine, chloramine and ammonia and detoxifies Nitrates and Nitrites.
5. Add your filter, and switch it on.
P.s this is where you would add air stones and air pump.
6. Let your tank cycle for 4 weeks at the minimum.
(This is to ensure that bacterial levels are sufficient for your aquatic life to survive)
P.s Remeber, we are trying to mimic nature.
7. Add your heater, and switch it on, make sure any fish you add go in accordance with the temperature in the tank.
8. Time to add fish, so you can buy your fish now and add them.
Things to note.
1. Plecos can go with almost anything, except for piranhas, which is kind of obvious, also, plecos that are smaller than 3-4cm may be eaten by gouramis, chichlids, and oscars.
(Learnt this the hard way)
2. Chichlids as a rule can only go with other chichlids, though once you are more experienced, you can see if you can find a balance. Also, they destroy any live plants.
3. Oscars start out really cute, but they can grow to 20cm from 2cm in four months.
P.s they are very rewarding, as they are intelligent and recognize their owners, and will come to them, whereas other people it will just look at and swim away.
4. Guppies are always a good start, as are goldfish.
5. Every fish lives at a different temperature, make sure what these are before buying them.
6. Always check aggression levels of all fish, some fish that are said to be placid will still be aggressive when defending either itself or its territory.
P.s some fish will not defend themselves at all. Even some aggressive ones.
7. Some fish do better in schools, such as guppies, tiger barbs, tetras, minnows, widows and glass fish etc.
8. Please do not support "inked" fish, such as parrots, colored widows, colored glass fish, and similar ones, 90% of these fish die, the other 10% you buy and they have a drastically shortened lifespan.
9. Always boil anything new you want to add to the tank, such as rocks, wood ect. never use any soap to wash, always wash in fresh water.
10. Adding wood can cause your tank to go a yellowish color, it is leeching toxins and bacteria, as a live rock would do, the yellow is sometimes liked by owners and fish alike, but if it goes too yellow, your tank is most likely going acidic.
So in a nice list format, let me start from the beginning.
You will need:
1. A tank.
Any size will do for fw fish, as long as it isn't overstocked.
2. Normal tap water, or RO water.
Update: As has been pointed out to me, RO water is much safer, so please use this instead when starting a new tank, tap water may kill your fish, I myself have never used it, so honestly did not know that. Thank you, Dexter.
3. A sand bed, this can be any type of sand that you want.
p.s If you want a planted tank, you need special sands, there are a few to choose from, which I won't list here, but they are available at any fishy pet shop starting at about R300 a bag.
4. Your plants, either fake or real.
5. Prime, water conditioner.
6. Ph balancer.
7. Phosphates, only for the planted aquarium.
8. Filter.
P.s needs to support the size tank you have.
P.s 2 if not using an overhang filter or a filter that allows you to add an oxygen pipe to it, please purchase air stones and an air pump as well, or your fish will die due to oxygen deprivation.
9. Heater.
10. Fish.
Please DO NOT buy the fish on the same day as the tank, you will kill them.
So, how do we start?
1. Rinse out your tank really well, get off anything that may be in it, especially if it is second hand.
2. Rinse your stones or gravel out until the water runs clear, this is an important step, as some fish are sensitive to what lies in the sand, and it also can make your tank look murky.
3. Lay your sand bed.
4. Fill up the tank with normal tap water, or RO water, and add water conditioner and a ph balancer. Also, add phosphates at this stage for a planted tank.
P.s this removes chlorine, chloramine and ammonia and detoxifies Nitrates and Nitrites.
5. Add your filter, and switch it on.
P.s this is where you would add air stones and air pump.
6. Let your tank cycle for 4 weeks at the minimum.
(This is to ensure that bacterial levels are sufficient for your aquatic life to survive)
P.s Remeber, we are trying to mimic nature.
7. Add your heater, and switch it on, make sure any fish you add go in accordance with the temperature in the tank.
8. Time to add fish, so you can buy your fish now and add them.
Things to note.
1. Plecos can go with almost anything, except for piranhas, which is kind of obvious, also, plecos that are smaller than 3-4cm may be eaten by gouramis, chichlids, and oscars.
(Learnt this the hard way)
2. Chichlids as a rule can only go with other chichlids, though once you are more experienced, you can see if you can find a balance. Also, they destroy any live plants.
3. Oscars start out really cute, but they can grow to 20cm from 2cm in four months.
P.s they are very rewarding, as they are intelligent and recognize their owners, and will come to them, whereas other people it will just look at and swim away.
4. Guppies are always a good start, as are goldfish.
5. Every fish lives at a different temperature, make sure what these are before buying them.
6. Always check aggression levels of all fish, some fish that are said to be placid will still be aggressive when defending either itself or its territory.
P.s some fish will not defend themselves at all. Even some aggressive ones.
7. Some fish do better in schools, such as guppies, tiger barbs, tetras, minnows, widows and glass fish etc.
8. Please do not support "inked" fish, such as parrots, colored widows, colored glass fish, and similar ones, 90% of these fish die, the other 10% you buy and they have a drastically shortened lifespan.
9. Always boil anything new you want to add to the tank, such as rocks, wood ect. never use any soap to wash, always wash in fresh water.
10. Adding wood can cause your tank to go a yellowish color, it is leeching toxins and bacteria, as a live rock would do, the yellow is sometimes liked by owners and fish alike, but if it goes too yellow, your tank is most likely going acidic.
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