A Fish Tank

How to set up an Aquarium or a Fish Tank

An aquarium or fish tank, to put it simply, is a container that can sustain fish and

other aquatic life for a longer period of time. Acquiring a good aquarium for your

fish is not a very difficultjob as long as you give it some thought before you

actually get it.

There are some obvious considerations to be taken into account. Setting up and fully

stocking a good aquarium will take anywhere between a couple of weeks and a month.

The time that you spend with these basic steps will save you a lot of time and

trouble at a later stage.

There are several things to consider before you purchase an aquarium such as :

• How much time you are willing to spend on the aquarium?

• What kind of aquarium do you want to buy?

• What is the ideal spot for your aquarium?

• What kind of fish should you put in your aquarium?

• How do you keep your fish and their environment healthy in the easiest and

quickest way?

• How much time would it all take to maintain?

• What should you feed your fish and how much?

• What should you do when diseases strike?

These are just some of the many questions that you need to think about.


A good and well stocked aquarium needs quite a bit of equipment. Here is a simple

list of the items that you will need for a basic freshwater aquarium:

• An aquarium tank

• An aquarium stand

• A hood

• Lighting equipment

• Air pump

• Heater

• Thermometer

• Filters (internal or external)

• Gravel

• Decorations (optional, but interesting if you have these)

• Maintenance items like scrubber, siphon tube etc.


Choosing a spot for your aquarium

First, you will need to think about how much free space you have for your aquarium,

whether that free space is open to sunlight, and which shape that is best suited for

that free space. Never place an aquarium in direct sunlight and keep the aquarium

away from any heating or cooling surfaces. Sunlight and heating or cooling surfaces

will cause sudden and drastic changes in the temperature within the aquarium, and

sunlight will also promote the growth of algae in the water. Keep your aquarium away

from machines that give out a lot of sound or cause vibration, like the washing

machine, since this will stress the fish.

Water accessibility and easy disposal of dirty water and waste are some other

important factors to consider while selecting a good spot for your aquarium as you

don’t want to run around with buckets of water in your entire house. You will need

to clean and change water at least monthly and better once a week.

So, choose a place where you can work easily and without any interference. In a

family with children, special care has to be taken to keep the aquarium away from

areas of frequent activity. You do not want your children to push or fall on the

aquarium while they play and injure themselves or break the aquarium glass. Any good

home has a certain décor.

While choosing a spot for your aquarium, you must consider whether the general décor

and lighting in the room will make it an attractive place for the new aquarium. Take

the type of biotope you plan to have in your aquarium into consideration when you

decide if an aquarium will work with the décor of the chosen spot. Different types

of biotopes works with different decors.

A saltwater reef aquarium will for instance have a very different look than a well

planted South American biotope. You should also consider that an aquarium is very

heavy so the chosen spot has to be able to support the weight of the aquarium. Any

aquarium over 10 gallons/ 40 L will weigh at

least a hundred and fifty pounds / 70 Kg when filled and decorated. The weight comes

chiefly from the glass and the water, and decoration such as gravel will further add

to this weight. Heavy aquariums will need to be kept on a sturdy stand rather than a

shelf or a desk.


( TO BE CONTINUE )