We have discussed the hardware required in Part 2 and the water needs in Part 3, so let’s put it together and add some fish!
Like much of this project, we need to invest in some patience. Do not buy fish yet! Buying fish right away is a quick way to disaster.
Put your aquarium stand together and into the spot you decided on. Remember, it is best to keep it out of direct sunlight, but near a power outlet.
Place your aquarium onto the stand. Take a wet towel and wipe off any dust or debris on the inside and outside of the it to cut down on contamination. When you clean your aquarium do you not use any harsh chemicals or detergents. Only use water to clean the glass. Never use ammonia. RO or DI water makes for a great glass cleaner.
Unbox and put together the lid and light for the top of the aquarium. Wipe off any dust or other contaminates. The lid will help prevent evaporation and allow light to come in. Plug in your light and make sure it works.
Unbox and assemble your filter. It would be a good idea to plug it in briefly and make sure it works. Wipe any dust off the filter, as well. Do a test fit on the aquarium. You may need to modify the lid to fit your filter. Usually a lid will have an area that you can cut with some scissors or a sharp knife.
Get the gravel ready to go in the aquarium. I like to give the gravel a rinse before putting it in to keep down the dust. It will help keep the water from getting cloudy every time you disrupt the gravel.
Put the gravel into the bottom of the aquarium as deep as you care to. I like to go from about an inch or so in front to a couple of inches towards the rear, but that’s just for aesthetic reasons. Do it however looks good to you.
Now rinse off any other items you’ll be putting into the aquarium. This includes any driftwood, rocks, plastic plants, and any other decorations.
Carefully place these items into the aquarium. Most plastic plants have a base that goes under the gravel to hold the plant down. Other items will just rest on the gravel. This is when you build the underwater world for your fish to explore.
This is also a good time to put in a live plants you intend to use in the aquarium. Think of yourself as an underwater landscaper. Taller plants go best in the rear or on the sides. Shorter stuff in the middle or up front. You want to leave some room for the fish to swim.
Carefully mount your heater in your aquarium. I like to place it in one of the corners just above the gravel by about 2 inches. This hides the heater a little bit in the shadow or behind a plant. Do not test your heater at this point, running it without water will damage the heater.
Now it is time to add water! As we learned in Part 3, water is the most important part of your aquarium. Carefully pour the water into the aquarium so as to not disturb the gravel or decorations. Some people like to place a plate in the bottom to redirect the force of the water flowing in. You could use your hand if you want, but it is hard to hold a bucket of water with one hand while sticking the other into the aquarium. If you just want to use tap water, you can use a hose that is designed for drinking water or R/V use and run it from an adapter on your faucet. Do not use a garden hose, as the hose is lined with chemicals to prevent stuff from growing in the hose. Ewww.
Once the tank is full, turn on your light, filter, and heater. Set your heater to between 75 and 78 degrees. This is appropriate for most aquarium fish. Again, research what your fish will require. Set the timer for your light to give a nice day/night cycle. Your fish will need to sleep at night.
Make sure everything works. Check the flow of water. Check for leaks. Check to see that the heater is working. Everything good? Great!
We are ready for fish now, right? No, not so fast. The water is not yet ready to support fish and must be cycled first.
What I mean by cycle? The nitrogen cycle, of course. We discussed it in Part 3. This is the natural method of converting fish waste from its natural toxic form to something that is less toxic. We need to grow several billion bacteria in the aquarium before we add the fish.
In the old days, it was normal to place one or two fish in the aquarium at this point and just treat them normally. They would excrete their waste into the water and build up quite a lot of ammonia. The ammonia would eventually break down into nitrites and then finally nitrates. Often these fish would die during this process from the high levels of ammonia and nitrites. I personally have a problem with the ethics behind this, so I suggest a fishless cycle.
There are many articles online about how to do a fishless cycle. I have seen everything from adding urine to the water to adding ammonia used for cleaning. I have personally used the urine method, and yeah it is kind of gross. My next aquarium will use ammonia specifically bottled to do a fishless cycle. Do some research on this and find a method that works for you.
A cycle may take as long as 30 to 45 days. It will require testing the water about every day and adding some ammonia to keep the process going. Once you start seeing nitrates in the water your cycle is complete. You can speed up the cycle by using some aquarium gravel or filter media from an aquarium that has already cycled. This is what I do when setting up a new aquarium, and I have gotten the cycle to about 3 weeks.
The time spent during the cycle gives all components of your aquarium a good workout. Leaks will show if there are any. Your filter will run and your heater will work. Be sure to look at each of these.
Okay, your aquarium is finally cycled. Let’s go get some fish! In the previous posts I have suggested doing research for the fish that you might like. Today is the day to put that research into action. Drive on down to your local pet or fish store and pick up the fish you want to put into your aquarium. For a smaller aquarium, say 30 gallons or less, get about 5 fish or less. For a larger tank get up to about 10.
Why so few? Your cycle on the aquarium will take time to adjust to the new fish load. If you put too many fish in that once, it will overload the bacteria in the aquarium and you may experience a spike of ammonia followed by a spike of nitrites. You will have dead fish.
Give your new pets some time to get acclimated to their new home. I suggest waiting 2 to 3 weeks before adding additional fish. Keep an eye out on your water quality as that will be the best indicator of the health of your aquarium and the fish that live in it.
How many fish can you add in total? A general rule of thumb is one inch of fish per gallon of water. I personally consider that too many fish in an aquarium. You may be able to get away with it if they are very small fish. I like about half that number, or even less if they are tall or wide fish.
A good mix of first fish would include many of the common tetras available. Most tetras are schooling or shoaling fish so you want to have between 7 and 10 of them. I would also suggest you look at some of the many corydoras catfish available. These fish will scour the gravel for any uneaten food and help keep the tank clean. Their antics are also fun to watch.
Other fish to consider are the many live bearers out there. A favorite of mine are Platys. But when getting live bearers, only get males unless you wish to see the Miracle of Life happen again, and again, and again. Guppies are notoriously prolific breeders. Your aquarium can become very full very quickly.
Many of the Goldfish are nice options as well. I personally do not care for them, but to each their own. My biggest complaint with them is that they can be dirty eaters. However, I have seen some really interesting goldfish. A benefit of them is that most do not require an aquarium heater. Do your own homework on this.
Once you have your fish going, you should test your water quality at least once a week. It would not hurt to do it twice a week. You should also start doing your scheduled water changes to keep nitrates down, as discussed in Part 3.
Now enjoy the new underwater world you’ve created. I have sat for hours in front of my aquarium just watching the fish swim. You can see the little territory battles take place. If you have bottom feeders, you can watch them constantly search for little scraps of food. I find it incredibly relaxing after a stressful day.
Fish Keeping, part 1
Fish Keeping, part 2
Fish Keeping, part 3