Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: Top 10 Issues Solved in Setting Up a Tropical Freshwater Aquarium

Follow these 10 pieces of advice and you should
be able to set up your tropical freshwater
aquarium without any major set backs.

1. The Tank?

Whether you have an acrylic or glass tank it must
be sterilized before you can start putting
anything in it. And you must have a
hood/cover/canopy to reduce water loss by
evaporation, stop the fish from jumping out and
it holds your lighting system

2. What About Heating The Water?

You need to maintain the water temperature by
means of a heater and thermostat combination. For
tanks greater than 3 feet in length you may need
a couple of these to ensure an even temperature
throughout. Thermostats can be either internal or
external to the tank and must be adjustable by
the aquarist. A thermometer will be needed to
check the temperature

3. How Much Lighting?

You will need sufficient lighting to encourage
plant growth but not too much giving you an algae
problem. Use fluorescent tubes or tungsten
lighting or a combination of the two. Experiment
to achieve the desired result. Lighting the
aquarium for ten to twelve hours per day is common

4. What About Filtration and Aeration?

A filtration unit (internal or external) to the
tank will remove suspended material from the
water. An air pump attached to an air stone can
aerate the water and boost the oxygen supply
along with the small amount from the plants;
although many do not see mechanical aeration as
compulsory if the aquarium is properly set up.

5. What Do I Put In The Tank?

The bottom of the tank is covered with washed
gravel substrate arranged so the level rises up
towards the back and deep enough for aquatic
plants to be rooted. Rocks can be placed to
disguise corners.Tall plants behind bushier
species will give the impression of depth. The
front and foreground of the tank will be fairly
open for the fishes to swim around in.

6. How do I Fill The Tank?

Install the heating and filtration system. Pour
water into a cup on the bottom of the tank and
continue till it the tank is two thirds full.
Insert your plants, top up, switch on heating,
lighting and filtration systems. Now run your
aquarium for at least two weeks to establish your
plants and the biological system before adding
your fishes

7. How Do I Stock The Aquarium?

Before you add your fishes calculate how many
fish you can accommodate based on the surface
area of the tank. A rough guide for tropical
aquarium fish is to allow 12 square inches per
one inch of fish. For example, if your tank's
surface area is 408 square inches then you could
have 36 one inch fish or 18 two inch fish etc.

And also take into account the fishes particular
swimming and behavioral characteristics.Introduce
the fish into the tank by keeping them in their
plastic bag till the water temperature equalizes
that of the aquarium. You could add some of the
aquarium water to the bag. Then release the fish
into its new environment.

8. Is The Diet And Feed Correct?

Generally speaking fishes do not have specific
dietary requirements though its is always best
practice to do a bit of research and determine if
a particular species your have has any. Dried
foods area available in a wide range of forms;
flakes,pellets, tablets and powder. Live foods
can also be introduced to give a varied diet.

Included in this category are insect larvae,
micro-worms, freshwater crustaceans, and brine
shrimp young.If vegetarian diets are needed use
lettuce, oat flakes and chopped up spinach. It is
important to make sure that the fishes only eat
what you feed them in a few minutes. Otherwise
the excess food will rot and pollute the water.

9. What Maintenance Do I Need To Do?

Daily: Check on temperature and how the fish
look. Weekly: Measure water quality (nitrite,
nitrate, ammonia, pH), prune aquatic plants,
remove debris from floor, clean and/or filter
media. Monthly or longer: Partial water changes
of 10-20% of the tank volume with the water at
the same temperature and make up if possible.
Algae on the tank front can be scraped off. The
sides can be left for the fish

10. What about Illnesses?

Isolating fish is a great way to reduce the
chance of illness occurring. Before you add new
fish to your community, quarantine them or
him/her in an isolation tank for a couple of
weeks so you can see if they were bought with an
illness established. Make the tank comfortable
with plants and substrate just like the main tank
and maintain the same conditions.

There are some illnesses you need to know about.
Mouth fungus - cured by antibiotics. White spot -
tiny white spots on the fish. Raised water
temperature, salt treatment and medications are
potential solutions. Fin rot - this infection
happens after physical damage and is cured by
antibiotics in clean water. Fungus - appears like
cotton wool on the skin. Cured by salt baths or
methylene blue or malachite green treatments. Use
your isolation tank for treating your ill fish
from the main tank.

So there you have it, 10 issues you have
conquered in setting up your tropical freshwater
aquarium.

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Paul Curran is webmaster at
Fresh-Water-Aquariums-Guide.com and provides a
care information system for fresh water
aquariums. Get your FREE E-Course on how to set
up and maintain a beautiful aquarium, have the
healthiest, happiest fish around AND learn about
more your tropical freshwater aquarium at
http://www.fresh-water-aquariums-guide.com/tropica
l-freshwater-aquarium/

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