Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: Setting Up Your Tropical Fish Tank Correctly

When setting up your tropical fish tank you need
to consider ten specific elements. Here we cover
the first five to do with the tank, heating,
lighting, filtration & aeration and landscaping.

1. Tank Decisions

Decide on the size of tank you want and the
material its made of. Choose from glass or
acrylic, with and without metal frames. Acrylic
will be lighter but tends to scratch. You will
not want a tank less than 45 cm long, 30 cm wide
and 30 cm deep unless you are buying it as a
hospital, quarantine or breeding tank.

Because the numbers of fish you can have in a
tank is based on the surface area of your
aquarium (width x length) the depth is
irrelevant. As a rule, divide the surface area by
12 to get the length in fish you can accommodate.
For example a 24 x 12 x 12 (inches) tank has a
surface area of 288 sq ins and will accommodate
24 inches of fish; 24 x 1 inch or 12 x 2 inch
fish etc etc.

But bear in mind that you should use the adult
length of the fish in your calculations.
Otherwise your aquarium will become overcrowded
as the your fish grow and there will probably not
be enough oxygen to sustain them.

2. Heating System

Unless you are planning to stock cold water fish
only, then you will need to install a heater and
thermostat (separate or combined). Often a glass
tube with both of them in will be used with
temperature control on the top of it and a
separate thermometer installed.

If you have a bigger tank the heat may not get
around as efficiently so you will probably
install two heaters. Allowing 10 watts per gallon
of water would mean a 150 watt heater for a 12
gallon tank.

3. Lighting System

Lighting is necessary for plant growth and also
shows off the fish at their colorful best.
Fluorescent tubes are available for this purpose
and give off less heat than other types of bulb.
The lights are usually installed into your tank
cover. And remember that fish don't want a tank
lit up for 24 hours.

At night, in order to achieve conditions seen in
the wild, you can dim the lighting or switch it
off. Your ventilated cover will not only hold the
lighting system but also protect the fish from
household pollutants (sprays, dust, dirt etc) but
keep them from jumping out and prevent loss of
water by evaporation.

4. Aeration and Filtration

An air pump is not essential and if it used to
get more oxygen (and therefore more fish) into
your tank and it fails then your fish will die!
But it can be used in combination with a filter
to clean up the water. For example a filter may
have a combination of a physical layer of
material to collect fine solids and a layer of
charcoal to chemically adsorb organic pollutants
and maintain the water quality.

Air can be passed into the tank via air stones on
the end of the tubing. Ensure you have a n
anti-siphon valve for the air pump. Use of an
under gravel filter (a biological filter) system
involves a flat plate with outlets that goes
under the gravel substrate and is powered by an
air pump pushing air and water through the
substrate which encourages bacteria to develop in
it that will break down the toxic waste products
from the fish, dead plants etc.

5. Tank Aquascaping

Decorations cover real rocks, synthetic rocks,
real wood, synthetic wood and background
panorama. They act as areas for the fish to hide
and for shelter if they feel like it. Also as a
resting area at night or in the day for nocturnal
species. You do not want to use rocks that are
limestone based as the calcium in it will produce
harder water unless of course this type of water
is recommended. And do not use any that appear to
have metallic content in them.

Caves can be set up for cave-dwelling species by
joining a few rocks together with silicone
sealant or you could buy a purpose made one.
Rocks can be built up to form the background or
you could employ a photographic underwater scene
wrapped around the back and sides of the tank to
great effect. The apparatus used in your aquarium
can be disguised by using your ornaments, logs
and rocks.

Remember to wash not only your decorations but
also your substrate gravel which will slope from
about 2 inches deep at the front to 3 inches deep
at the back. Run water through the gravel until
it becomes clear.

You are only restricted by your imagination when
developing your aquascape. But bear in mind that
you want to maintain a balance and keep a
realistic amount of free swimming area for both
the fish and you to see them enjoying themselves.

The remaining five steps in setting up your
tropical fish tank cover water quality, aquarium
plants,fitting out your aquarium, selecting
healthy fish and adding fish to your tank.

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If you want to learn more about setting up a
beautiful aquarium and have the healthiest,
happiest fish around then go to
http://www.fresh-water-aquariums-guide.com/setting
-up-tropical-fish-tank/ to get your FREE E-Course
on fresh water aquariums from webmaster Paul
Curran and discover steps 6 to 10

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