Fish Keeping 101

An article on setting up an aquarium is a difficult proposition. I mean let’s face it; to set-up aquarium equipment you basically need a list of directions. Now if I write an article as a set of directions on exactly how to set things up, it’ll read like stereo instructions and be absolutely useless for the large majority of hobbyists. With that in mind, this article is set forth with the intention of giving you too little information instead of too much. (if you have questions, feel free to email me)

The main intent of this article is to get you to think about not buying your aquarium fish at the same time you buy your fish tank. The thought is that if I have an article dedicated to the topic, even if you don’t read it, you’ll see that there is a step between buying the aquarium, and buying the fish. If this article saves one set-up, one little fishy life, one new hobbyist…it’ll be worth it. So with that said, let’s move into the amazing world of stereos, err fish equipment.

Tank Placement

The first thing to consider when setting up your aquarium is the placement of the aquarium. I suggest putting it in a place where:You can see the aquarium easily and often. Don’t put the tank somewhere that you’ll have to put your body in an uncomfortable position to be able to see the tank. Don’t put the tank in a hallway where it’ll only be seen when you walk buy. Ideally you want the tank opposite a chair in an often-frequented room. Think center of the room like you usually do with your TV.

Wherever you put aquarium, make sure that it doesn’t receive more than 4 hours of direct sunlight. Sunlight will do wonderful things for the algae in your aquarium, but unless you want a tank covered in a green or brown film, you’ll want to do whatever you can to persuade algae not to grow.  The aquarium has an even, firm foundation. Water weighs about 8 lbs. to the gallon. Make sure the stand you put the aquarium can support that weight. In addition, make sure that the aquarium is even. If the aquarium is contorted, its integrity is severely compromised. While this won’t usually make any difference on a 10 or 20 gallon fish tank, a 30-gallon aquarium will stress fracture if it is contorted. (Just trust me on this one, I’m experienced…)

Filter & Heater Setup

After you’ve determined where your aquarium will reside, you can begin preparing it for your fish. If you are using an undergravel filter, that will be the first thing you’ll set-up. Since there are many types of undergravel filters, I’d suggest looking at the manual that comes with the filter. (Note: Make sure you have connected your air stones before you start putting gravel on top of your filter. Otherwise, you’ll end up trying to disconnect your lift tubes with gravel on top of the filter. This often leads to gravel going under the filter. While gravel in small quantities under the filter won’t cause any harm, in larger amounts, it will cause the filter to cease functioning)

After you’ve set-up your undergravel filter, I suggest putting in the gravel. Usually it’s a good idea to rinse gravel before putting it in an aquarium. Not rinsing the gravel usually poses no danger to the aquarium fish. However, it may make things a bit murky for a few days. With your gravel in place, fill the tank up 1/3 of the way full with room temperature water. Place into the aquarium all your decorations, and then connect your heater and any secondary filtration devices you may have. Finish by filling the aquarium the rest of the way and then plugging in your heater and whatever type of filtration you have.

Over the next several hours, you will need to adjust the temperature of the water. Even if you have one of the “pre-set” heaters, you need to watch carefully to make sure that the temperature stays where you have set it. (Note: Often I’ve found I have to set a “pre-set” heater 2-3( lower than what I really want the temperature of the water set at.) If you do not have a “pre-set” heater, you will need to slowly change the temperature with the dial on your heater. To begin the process, turn the dial until the light goes on, if it is off, or until the light goes off if it is already on. At that point, the heater should maintain the water at approximately the same temperature it’s already at. If your aquarium is between 76-82(, leave the heater alone for an hour. If it is higher or lower than this temperature, you’ll want to raise or lower the temperature. To raise the temperature, turn the dial on your heater until the light goes on, and then check back in a half hour to see where the temperature is then at. To lower the temperature, turn the dial so that it is just past where the light went on and check back in a full hour. At that point, re-evaluate the temperature and go through the process again.

Keep adjusting the heater up or down until you get it to the point that it stays within the above range for a full 24 hours. At that point you should only have to check the temperature weekly. (Note: be aware that most thermometers used in the hobby are at best not very accurate, and over time they become even less accurate. If your thermometer is more than a year old, you might want to consider having it replaced.) The biggest consideration when changing temperature in an aquarium is the fact that fish cannot undergo a 10° change in 24 hours without experiencing large amounts of stress. A 5° change in an hour will similarly cause large amounts of stress to the fish. High amounts of stress lead to disease and death in fish and should be avoided at all costs. This is a good reason why you shouldn’t bring fish home with the aquarium you will place them in, but it’s still not the best reason.

Doing it on the Cheap

People in the aquarium fish hobby often use the word “cycle” or “cycling” when referring to the process that a new aquarium goes through. Basically what happens is after you put the water in the aquarium and take out the chlorine, either by letting the water sit for 24 hours, or by adding a de-chlorinator, all the bacteria that we protect ourselves against by chlorinating the water, begin to multiply. In the case of the aquarium, the majority of the reproducing bacteria are helpful to the home aquarium.

As fish release their waste products into the water, it pollutes the water. This pollution level would become toxic to fish within a few days, in most cases, if it wasn’t broken down into less harmful substances. In this case, the ammonia that fish produce is broken down to nitrite and then nitrate by two different kinds of bacteria. HOWEVER, neither of those bacteria exists in large enough quantity in the aquarium, when an aquarium is set-up, to help the fish. In fact, you will have a population boom in both kinds of bacteria, and the very boom/die-off cycle of the bacteria is harmful to the fish. So what should you do?

1. When you first get your aquarium, wait 24 hours before adding fish.  Then add a couple of Zebra Danio.

2. Wait at least 2 weeks before you add any more fish.

Doing it this way is stressful on the fish, and you can still have some problems with new fish...so I give you option #2

1. Do a Fishless Cycle (click to follow hyperlink)

The number one problem that most people run into is that they aren’t patient enough. I’ve run into trouble with this myself, especially when moving long distances. Without fail, if I set up all 13 of my aquariums and try to put all my fish in them less than 2 weeks after that date, then I will experience either a major disease outbreak in at least one of the tanks, or I will lose some fish. I’ve heard thousands of people who “get away with it,” and I guess I could be considered one of them. However, I’ve noticed that at least 10% of the time I will get nailed if I don’t follow the simple instructions above. I would also point out that advanced aquarists like myself are able to “get away with it” a good percentage of the time, it often has a lot to do with the fact that we may be aware of some things to look for from experience that a less experienced hobbyist might miss.

The real question is why take the risk on that new fish that you are so enamored with? Two weeks isn’t that long of a time, and your fish will love you for it in the end. Besides, the aquarium hobby is often challenging enough without creating problems for yourself. Starting a new hobby by having to deal with major problems is not enjoyable, and while it’s bad for the fish, it’s usually worse for the beginning hobbyist. I shudder to think of all the bright-eyed hobbyists that have been lost to putting fish into their aquarium before the aquarium was ready and then having disaster strike. So hopefully this article will help prevent that from happening. If it saves one hobbyist it would be worth it.

Summary

Though much of the information here was low on the entertainment level, just take this one thing with you and I’ll be happy. “There is a crucial step in-between buying the aquarium and buying the fish that takes two weeks, so I can’t buy both at the same time.” Use the quote often, copy it on your palm, read it aloud at PetSmart and as long as you don’t get beat-up, I can promise that you’ll enjoy the hobby much more by following that simple piece of advice than you would if you didn’t.