Setting Up a Home Freshwater Aquarium

One of the most soothing things to watch is fish in a home freshwater aquarium. Watching them glide through the water and listening to the water trickle down through the filter is really quite relaxing. Setting up a home freshwater Aquarium is also much easier than it would appear to be. It isn’t as intimidating as it looks, but there are a few things to consider when setting up your aquarium for the first time.

Your Location

Before you even set foot into the pet store to buy your aquarium, fish, rocks, plants, and cool little pirate ship, you should know where you want to put your new aquarium. This takes a little more thought than you would think.

Take into consideration the size of the tank you are going to buy. A 10 gallon tank full of water can weight up to 50 pounds. You are going to want to put your aquarium somewhere that will hold that much weight.

Location near outlets is a good idea also. You will have light, a filter, and probably a water heater to plug in. Another consideration has to do with pets. If you are thinking about setting your home freshwater aquarium on a counter, a small table, or somewhere that is easy access for cats, then you might not have your fish for long.

Filtration

The filtration device you choose for your home freshwater aquarium is very important to the health of your fish. An underground or under gravel filter is more efficient if you vacuum the gravel with the pump to keep the filter from getting clogged.  I really like the sealed filter units that sit in the aquarium stand below the tank, but are usually for larger tanks.

If you use a power filter that hangs on the side of the tank then make sure it is powerful enough to adequately circulate the water. A ten gallon tank would take a filter that can move 50 gallons per hour. These use charcoal filters to keep the water clean, so changing these every few months or so will keep your fish in clean water.

Heating the Water (water temperature)

Depending on the size of the tank you might have to buy a separate heater that can be submersed in the water and stuck on the side of the tank. A ten gallon tank, though, will usually be alright with a tank light on the cover depending on the type of fish.  I’ve found that goldfish can thrive without heating and tend to do well at temperatures around room temperature. Tropical fish will probably need a heater.

Rocks or Substrate

A two to three inch layer of rock on the bottom of the tank provides a great base for the fish. A healthy tank depends on a clean layer of rocks.  This is where you will do a lot of your tank cleaning using a water siphon or vacuum to remove debris that can cause tank problems.

Setup

Once you have all this equipment you can set up your tank. Set the home freshwater aquarium in the location you chose and put in the layer of rocks. Next pour in the water gently to about half way. Put in any other plants, or accessories. Fill the water and hang the filter on the side. Plug it in and get it circulating the water. Add any chemicals to remove chlorine if it is in your water source. It is a good idea to do what is called conditioning the tank.  This is just leaving your aquarium setup with the pump going and the lights on.  This allows helpful flora and fauna such as bacteria and other micro-organisms (i.e. biological filter) to grow that are helpful for your fish tank.

Your home freshwater aquarium is now ready for fish and to be enjoyed for some time. Keep it clean, and your fish fed, and you should have no problems.