What I need to create an aquarium in my house??

Question

I recently moved to a house and it has a fishtank already installed. i know I need things like filters and stuff like that but i need more information.

Answer 1

What size tank is it? And do you want to FW or SW? I'll advise that you start out with fresh water, and not saltwater. Saltwater is infinitely more complicated (and expensive!) than freshwater is.
Filtration: Anyway, if your tank is up to 50 gallons, you can use a Hang off the Back (waterfall) filter. Find one that is rated for 70 or more gallons, like the Aqua Clear 70. Remember, you NEVER need to replace the filter media (sponge, carbon, etc) unless it's falling apart. Just rinse it and put it back in if it gets gunky, because your good bacteria live in your filter. If your tank is bigger than 50 gallons, you'll probably want to go with a canister filter. I prefer the Rena brand, it's affordable and simple to use.

Heat: Unless you're keeping goldfish, you'll need heat. The wattage will of course depend on the size of your tank. Make sure you get a submersible heater, and know that quality counts. You get what you pay for, so don't skimp. I prefer to get two undersized heaters for my tank (say if you need a total of 200 watts of heat, I get two 100 watt heaters) and put them at opposite sides of the tank. Aside from better heat distribution, it also means that if one of the heaters malfunctions, your fish will not freeze or cook before you can notice the malfunction.

Testing etc: you'll need a thermometer. Not one of those sticky strip ones, but one that goes inside the tank with a suction cup. Your tank temp should be around 78F; of course this will vary depending on what type of fish you want to go with. You should also get a master testing kit. It'll cost about 30$ and you can determine your pH, karbonate hardness, general hardness, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, etc.

Cleaning: You'll need to do a cleanup of your tank once a week. This involves sucking out about 25-30% of the water and vacuuming the gravel using a syphon tube. You will also need a clean bucket that you use ONLY for fish (so NO cleaning products, ever). You'll also want to get an aquarium sponge to keep the sides clean.

Lighting: does your tank have lights on it already? If not, you'll need to get some. You can just go with regular fluorescent hood, with fluorescent bulbs. This will enable you to grow some plants if you decide to in the future.

Chemicals: I always discourage using chemicals that you don't need to use. They have side effects that can often be just as detrimental as the problem they are supposed to fix, and oftentimes, they don't even work. The only chemical you will likely need is a dechlorinator, which will eliminate the chlorine and chloramines in your tap water. Amquel+ and StressCoat and both fine.

Cycling: In the wild, and in established tanks, there are nitrifying bacteria that break down toxic ammonia from fish waste and excess food into less toxic nitrates. In a brand new tank, these bacteria don't exist, so any fish in the tank will produce ammonia, which, not being broken down by bacteria, will kill or weaken the fish. So, it is vital to cycle your tank.
There are a few methods. Do you have access to an established tank? These bacteria live in the gravel and in the filter cartridge, so if you can get some from another tank, you can put the bacteria right into your tank (don't let the gravel or filter cartridge dry out). If you do this, in a day or two, your tank will beready for fish.
Another way is to get Bio-Spira. It is the actual live bacteria in a little pouch, and your tank will instantly be ready for fish.http://fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html
Other methods, which include putting a source of ammonia in the tank and letting the bacteria build up on its own, or putting a fish in and letting the fish produce ammonia (which borders on animal cruelty, because the fish will suffer from the ammonia in the tank), take 2 to 6 weeks before your tank is ready. If you rush that, any fish you buy may die, so try one of the instant methods I mentioned above (bio-spira or gravel from another tank)

Food: Again, this depends on the type of fish you get. Some fish will eat sinking pellets, some need algae wafers, but you'll probably need some regular community fish flakes.

Fish: Once your tank is cycled, you get to buy your fish. Decide beforehand what kind of fish you want. It is important to choose the right fish for your tank size, and fish that get along, so do your research, first, otherwise it's just a waste of money. While your tank is cycling, go to the petstore and browse. Bring a pen and paper and write down the names of the fish you like and that are in your price range, then come home and research them. Note that most african cichlids can only be kept with other african cichlids, as they are very aggressive. Some fish to avoid, due to their size, are oscars, pacus, and bala sharks.

And above all, before you buy anything, go to your local fish store, take a look around and write down the various fish you like. Then come home, research them, ask questions about them, before buying them, because petstores are not very reliable when it comes to giving fish advice.


Edit: In regards to what alilkntry said about distilled water; actually, you SHOULD use tap water. Distilled water is pure water and does not contain the minerals and electrolytes that are necessary for the fishes' health and growth. Tap water usually is perfectly fine for use in fish tanks, provided you use a water conditioner. If you want to use bottled water for some reason, you should use spring water - although that has a tendency to be a little on the hard side, so it can be mixed with distilled water.

Answer 2

find out the gallons of your tank take the measurements to the pet store they can give you the approximate gallonage that way. You will need gravel and a filtration system plus a heater designed for the size of your tank there are also many accessories you can add such as rocks, plants etc. After installing all these with the water let it filter and cycle for a couple of days. Take a sample of your water to the store with you too so they can tell you what you will need, if anything, to mix with the water to create the correct environment for your fish. After everything is set depending on the size of your tank add fish a few to a time making sure that you don't over stock your tank. I would recommend a few small fish and see if they survive if so go and get the fish you want, if they die figure out the problem solve it and start again. I say this from experience as I bought a few very expensive fish only to have them die because I didn't have the correct situation in my tank for them. Once everything is a go have fun and enjoy your fish. I would also recommend buying a book on keeping an aquarium as it does require mainenance. Good luck and enjoy your aquarium!

Answer 3

Well, first of all you need to decide whether you want brackish, salt or fresh water fish. If you want freshwater, you have to decide next if you want tropical or cold water. Cold water fish include white cloud mountain minnows and gold fish. If you want tropical fish, you will need a heater and a thermometer if the heater doesn't come with one. Tropical fish like temperatures of 76-82 degrees F.

If you tank isn't at least 10 gallons, I don't reccomend goldfish, they poop a lot and will kill themselves from the ammonia from their poop.

You need a water conditioner that will at least get rid of the chlorine and chloro-amines.

You will need gravel, fish and decor.

1inch of fish per gallon is a good rule of thumb except when dealing with saltwater fish and fan tail gold fish.

It would also be good to read about cycling a tank. Cycling puts nitrate bacteria in the water to get rid of the ammonia which will kill your fish. You can also get a bio wheel to start off the process or get some feeder fish to start off the process. The entire process takes 1-2 months. You should also get a water testing kit so you know the pH of your water and what is actually in it before you put any fish into your tank.

Good luck. Fish are a lot of fun!! Aquariums are beautiful!!

Answer 4

you have a brilliant thought even with the indisputable fact that choose a greater tank for sticklebacks. the single's you're pointing out are infants & you ought to furnish for their finished length. NANFA North American community Fish association is a huge team that has tips about community species as properly as sticklebacks. Substrate: taking substrate from the river is positive even with the indisputable fact which you ought to sterilize it or you have ailment, parasites, and so on. on your aquarium. Take some substrate & rinse it very very properly to get as plenty detris, and so on. out of the substrate then positioned it in a extensive pot & boil & stir this for 30 minutes or so. After cooled it is going to be suitable for the aquarium. flora: the concern is lights. diverse flora have diverse lights standards. I furnish 3 watts in keeping with gallon of finished spectrum lights on my stay plant tanks. stay flora are an excellent sort of artwork and that i might advise by contrast in the adventure that your concentration is the sticklebacks. we've many impressive fish in North united states of america of america and you will enjoy an aquarium with sticklebacks even with the indisputable fact that verify you do a sprint examine first so they stay a protracted chuffed existence.

Answer 5

Zoe did a good job in answering this question but there's one thing I need to tell you. Be sure and use distilled water. Buy that at the store. Tap water is not good for fish even if you purify it with tablets.

Answer 6

You better off getting a new tank because there might be parasites that had been there that are bad for your fish. I prefer you have a Freshwater Tank because it is very easy to maintain.

Answer 7

wait for the next flash flood.