by Jeannine Miles

Created on: April 10, 2009   Last Updated: April 11, 2009

Many people consider fish aquariums to be relaxing, atheistically pleasing and an inexpensive hobby. While most of this is true, setting up a freshwater tank may be a little more complicated than you first thought. Before you make the decision to add fish to your home, there are many things you need to consider; things that if not taken seriously, could potentially end up killing your fish and costing you a lot of money. If you follow these simple guidelines, I am positive that you will find setting up your first aquarium to be very simple.

1. TANK SIZE.

This could quite possibly be the most important decision you make regarding the set up of your aquarium. If you know ahead of time what fish you'd like to buy, research their maximum sizes and personal needs. For instance, if you know you want to buy a South American Cichlid (like an Oscar) then buying a twenty gallon tank will provide you no help whatsoever. With any cichlid, an ideal set up would be a fifty five gallon aquarium or larger depending on the number of fish you wish to buy. However, with tropical community fish being the most popular, a twenty gallon aquarium would be all you need. Basically; you need to know what kind of fish you want before you buy your aquarium.

2. FILTER.

Never think that your aquarium doesn't need a filter; because all of them do. The ONLY fish that survive healthily without a filter is a Betta; and they typically are bought for small office tanks or bowls. You pick the filter out by the number of gallons in your tank; for example, if you bought a forty gallon aquarium, you would need a forty gallon filter. It's pretty simple. Make sure to buy the adjoining filter cartridges as well.

3. TREATMENT.

Along with everything else, you must also purchase treatment chemicals. The most common chemicals are a basic water conditioner or stress zyme and a bacteria supplement. Now that you have your decorations, gravel and filter picked out it's time to take your new aquarium home and set it up! If you're using tap water, you absolutely must have your water treated. The Ph of your tap water is usually around 4.5 - which is extremely acidic and absolutely deadly to your fish. Algae cannot even grow in a Ph this low! Chemicals like a water conditioner will remove all chlorine and will biologically balance your water; which is essential. You treat your tank by the gallon as well and the usual dosage is 5ml for every 10 gallons. Follow the directions on the bottle carefully so you do not overdose.

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