Tips to Help You Set Up a Beautiful and Healthy Aquarium

Helpusfish

Thanks to the aquariums, you can experience the colorful underwater world in your home. While you might have seen a very nice aquarium in your friend’s house and have been longing since then of having a same type of fish tank for your own home, remember that fish keeping is an art and requires quite a bit of hard work, compassion and watchfulness. The tiny colorful creatures are very delicate, can live only in the water and you have to do everything for their comfort, health and happiness.

Fish as Pets

Consider your fish as your other pets, and you’ll realize that they need the best attention and care. You are solely responsible for keeping their environment healthy. A healthy fish tank is not difficult as one may imagine; still it won’t happen by itself, it needs you. Fortunately sources like Helpusfish.com are there to help you out.

In natural water bodies like rivers, oceans and lakes, water is cleaned naturally. However in your home aquarium, it’s your job to keep the water clean. You should neither overcrowd the aquarium nor overfeed your fish. You’ll have to clean some of the water regularly, provide proper filtration and clean the gravel bed.

This may sound a lot, but actually it’s not. It actually takes around 30 minutes a week.

Fish as Pets

Setting Up

While setting up your aquarium, you should take care of the following.

Handle Carefully

You should never try to move a full or partly full aquarium. Your hands should not be wet while lifting the tank. Don’t grasp the upper edges of the frame of the aquarium. Carry the aquarium by grasping from underneath, supporting its bottom.

Preparation

Before setting up, clean the interior and exterior of the tank with a damp cloth. Never use soap or any other cleaning agents.

Choose a Proper Location

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  • Choose a location that can support the weight of the fish tank. An aquarium with water and gravel added to it weighs around 10 to 12 pounds per gallon.
  • The surface on which you’ll place the fish tank should be flat and level.
  • There should be an electric outlet near the tank.
  • There should never be a heat source or air conditioner near the tank.
  • The tank should never be placed in direct sunlight as full or partial sunlight can lead to excessive algae growth.
  • The aquarium should be easily accessible and you should get some free space around it to perform the maintenance tasks.

Add Gravel

For every gallon of aquarium water, you should add 1.5 to 2 pounds of gravel. Before adding, the gravel should be thoroughly rinsed. The slope of the gravel bed should be towards the front of the tank.

Add Gravel

Fill the Tank

Pour the water slowly in the tanks so as not to disturb the gravel bed. Water should be at room temperature.

Decoration

When the tank is half full, add your decoration. Before adding, rinse them thoroughly. It’s recommended to add the larger ones on the backside and smaller ones at the front. After the decoration is added, fill the tank with water within an inch of the top rim.

Decoration

Filtration

Filtration is essential for a healthy aquarium. There are three stages of filtration:

Mechanical: This traps solid debris such as fish waste and uneaten food.

Chemical: This uses activated carbon to adsorb (attract and hold) dissolved pollutants that can cause odor and discoloration of water.

Biological: This depends on a culture of oxygen-loving bacteria to remove toxic ammonia and nitrite accumulated in the water.

Add Fish

Add only a few fish at first, slowly adding more over the next 4 to 6 weeks. Add only fish that are healthy and active. Helpusfish.com has extremely useful information about different fish. Never overcrowd the tank. Fewer yet healthier fish are better than abundant but stressed out fish.

So, are you ready for fish keeping?