Thinking of getting an Aquarium for Tropical Fish: Aquarium advice I wish I knew from the start

By admin, on June 20th, 2009%

Here are some pearls of wisdom I wish I had when I was starting out with my aquarium.

Starting Out and Buying Aquarium Stuff

Accept that you are going to kill some fish on accident.  You will either learn from the mistake or drop the hobby.

New Aquariums need to be cycled.  Taking the time to understand what this means is a must.

Small tanks are not easier to keep fish in than large ones.  Maintenance on a small tank takes less time, but a larger tank provides a larger volume of water which generally provides a more stable environment for fish, and is more forgiving of mistakes by beginners.

Under-gravel filters suck.  You will hate them.  Also see the comment on gravel.

Unless you have a specific need, don’t put gravel in the bottom of your tank.  Go with a “bare bottom” tank, and add decorations.  Leaving the tank bottom bare will make it easier to clean out the fish waste.  If it is not kept clean, it will contaminate the water, causing sick and dying fish.

Do not buy fish on impulse.  Read up on fish that you are considering buying.  Many small and cute, colorful fish in the pet store grow up to be demanding monsters.

Don’t rely on the tank size rating when buying a filter for your tank.  Most filters are rated on their flow without media, which will slow down the flow.  You want filtration that will turn the water over between 5 and 10 times per hour.  For a 10 gallon tank, that’s a 50 to 100 gph filter.  For a 55G tank, it’s 225 to 550 gph.

Canister filters are well worth the extra money.  They are quieter and more powerful than the kind that hang on the back of the tank.

Maintaining a planted tank is much harder and more expensive than it looks

Spend the extra money and get a “master test kit” to test your water with (this is the kind that uses drops of reagent chemicals in test tubes).  The test strips are not that reliable.

Online pet stores are MUCH cheaper for most food, chemicals and hardware.

Pet stores regularly sell fish that are entirely inappropriate for 99.9% of fish keepers.  Know what you are buying and whether you can properly care for them.

The employees of pet stores only appear to know what they are talking about.

Don’t accept the advice of pet store employees on setting up a new tank, particularly the big chain stores like Petco, Petsmart, etc.

Don’t accept the advice of pet store employees on how to treat a disease with your fish

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Aquarium Equipment For An Fish Keeping Beginner

By admin, on June 7th, 2009%

People new to the fish keeping hobby are often not fully informed about what equipment they will need.  Unfortunately, that often leads to being turned off to the hobby, as it can be considerably more expensive than than originally planned.

In this post, I’ll describe the most commonly required equipment and supplies for a standard freshwater aquarium.  This is a good list for keeping the most common types of community freshwater fish.  If you are keeping some species of fish, such as African cichlids, or you have extreme water conditions, such as very hard well water, you may require some additional equipment.

Basic Equipment Required for Starting an Aquarium Continue reading Aquarium Equipment For An Fish Keeping Beginner

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