Hi
I'll try to go over the basics and then you can read through the links in my signature. They contain some excellent information and will guarantee you know what you're doing when you bring home your first fish.
Firstly, you need to realise that fish-keeping is a lot more complex than just water and fish. In fact, it's all about bacteria - but I'll tell you more about that soon.
You also need to be aware that it will probably be 6 weeks after purchasing your tank before you can actualy put any fish in - but this is the perfect time to research good species for your tank and decide on decor.
I'd also like to say that I preffer for people to realise that fish are living things that deserve our respect before keeping them as many people don't appreciate this and view them as ornaments. You may or may not agree but if you do, we're off to a good start.
First of all, the tank. You need to get the very biggest tank you can afford. Trust me when I say this hobby is addictive and you'll soon want to keep bigger and bigger species or more and more fish. For a beginner, a generous but affordable size is a 20 gallon. The bigger the tank, the more stable the conditions so if you can afford bigger, go for it!
Also, a standard-shaped, long rectangular tank is better than fancy hexagonal or cube-shaped tanks as they allow for more surface area. This surface area means you can keep more fish.
Next you need to make sure you have a cover for the tank as many fish will jump out and die as a result. Hoods or just simple glass covers are often available with the tank. You'll also want a sturdy stand or a place to put the tank on. Once the tank is filled, it will be very heavy and cannot be moved without being drained so make sure you have placed it somewhere where it will be supported (must be level) and where you like it. Don't place it near a window or a very 'high-traffic' area. Putting it near a window or in direct sunlight will promote excessive algae growth whilst fish will become stressed if in a busy area where people are constantly rushing past or where there is loud music etc.
Next you will want to get a heater. A submersible heater with a thermostat is ideal so you can set the temperature and make sure you choose one that is made for your tank size - it will usualy say on the packaging. You'll also want a thermometer - the kind isn't realy that important as long as it is relatively accurate. Try to avoid anything that might break (such as glass)...
You'll want to place the heater near the bottom of the tank - prefferably in a horizontal position - but not touching the substrate (gravel or sand on the bottom) or any ornaments. A good temperature for most tropical fish is around 74 deg F.
The most important part of your tank must be the filter. A canister or hang on the back filter is best. Either external or internal filters are fine. I use internal Fluvals (which Pets At Home sell) which I have found to be easy to maintain an durable plus they have adjustable water flow (to change strength of current). What you need to make sure is that you have a suitably-sized filter for your tank. Also keep this in mind - there is no such thing as over-filtration. If you can afford it, get a filter suitable for a slightly larger tank as this will enhance water quality further. Follow instructions for installing the filter but I suggest you take the 'maintainance' section with a grain of salt (I'll explain in a minute).
There are other kinds of filters - such as undergravel or sponge filters but these are generaly less efficient or unsuitable for your average community tank.
Something else you absolutely MUST have is a test kit for ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte and prefferably also one for pH. Liquid-based sets are best and available from Pets At Home. This may sound complicated now but I'm sure you'll soon understand.
To understand the importance of the filter and the need for test kits, you need to know about 'cycling'. Cycling is a process by which very harmful substances found in fish waste and rotting debris is converted to a lot more benign substances which can then be removed using regular water changes.
What basically happens is this:
Fish produce waste which contains a highly toxic substance called ammonia. As the amount of ammonia increases, the test kit for ammonia would reveal a 'spike' in the amount - basically a high value for ammonia. There are, however, good bacteria which like to 'feed' on this ammonia and convert it to a slightly less harmful subtanse called 'nitrIte'. When testing your water, you'd now see a decrease in ammonia levels but a 'spike' in nitrIte. This is still deadly for your fish. Luckily, there are other good bacteria which further convert this nitrIte to less-harmful nitrAtes. When this happens (after about a month after adding fish), your tests would reveal a 0 value for ammonia, decreasing nitrItes and a 'spike' in nitrAtes.
For the tank to be safe for fish, levels have to be 0 for ammonia and nitrIte and prefferably below 20ppm (parts per million - just the measurement) for nitrAte. Obviously, this means it's best not to add fish to an un-cycled tank!
You'll notice that I did not say nitrAte should be at 0. NitrAte is not converted into anything else like ammonia and nitrIte is. To remove nitrAte and keep it at a good level (under 40, under 20 is best), you need to perform regular, weekly partial water changes.
A water change of about a quarter of the water in your tank is best (25%). I like to do mine every Sunday
To do a water change, you need certain things. First of all, you'll want a couple of buckets. One would suffice but I find having at least 2 is useful. Next you'll want a gravel vacuum and a length of airline tubing/a syphon of some description. The gravel vacuum will perform 2 functions - first it will enable you to syphon off sunken debris from the substrate, and secondly it's a quick way to syphon out water into your bucket
trust me when I say your gravel vac is indispensable
Just make sure it isn't too large for your tank as it could be difficult to start up otherwise (you'll understand what I mean when you first try to use it
). The length of airline is useful for when you want to re-fill the tank. The last thing you'll need for water changes - and which is absolutely eesential - is a water conditioner. You'll want a de-chlorinator such as 'Fresh Start' (sold at Pets At Home
). Follow the instructions when it comes to dosage and add it your bucket of new water BEEFORE re-filling the tnk. The reason you do this is that all that beneficial bacteria we talked about earlier will die if it comes into contact with chlorine - a chemical unfortunately used to make tap water safe for human consumption. Chlorine is also a problem for fish and will irritate their gills.
I mentioned earlier that you don't want to follow the manufacturer's instructions when it comes to maintaining your filter. Basicaly, most filters (such as the Fluval I mentioned) have some form of 'filter media' inside. This is usualy some kind of porous sponge or foam which, besides filtering out debris, acts as a place for the beneficial bacteria to grow. In fact, the majority of the good bacteria is in your filter media (but also in the gravel/sand substrate). Because of this, the reccomendation often given of replacing your filter media every month by most manufacturers should be ignored or you risk having to re-cycle your tank every month! What you SHOULD do is take out the filter media and rinse it out in OLD TANK WATER about once every month or when you see the filter is clogged up. You can do this when performing a water change - just rinse the media gently in the water you just took out of your tank. The reason you MUST use old tank water is because of the chlorine that would otherwise kill off the bacteria. You shouldn't need to ever replace the filter media - in fact, only replace it if it is beginning to disintegrate! Even then, only replace some of the filter media at a time (most will have more than one sponge/foam).
I mentioned test kits for ammonia. nitrIte and nitrAte and I think I've gone through why you need them but I said nothing about pH. You mainly need a pH test kit because some fish do better in a certain pH, However, you should not attempt to alter your tap water's pH when you are just beginning to keep fish - a fluctuating pH is much more harmful than one that is stable but not quite correct. The pH buffers sold at pet stores are not usualy stable so don't use them. Stick to your tap water - most fish will adapt. The good thing with knowing your pH though, is that you can base your choice of fish on this factor to some extent. For example, my pH of 8.0 would be great for many african cichlids (though I preffer gouramies myself
).
Anyway, I've told you about cycling and how important it is to have 0 ammonia and nitrItes BEFORE you add fish - but how can you achieve this without fish to produce waste? Well there are several options. The quickest and ultimately the best way is to add pure ammonia. Note that during this process, if you have no live animals in the tank, you don't need to do water changes and the lack of them will actualy speed up the process slightly (if you have fish, they would die without water changes so only do this when there are no fish - a fishless cycle). Pure ammonia should be added to your tank until your ammonia test readings show 5 ppm. Try to remember how many spoonfulls it takes to reach this level. The next day, add the same amount (in spoonfulls). Continue to do this daily until you see a nitrIte spike. At this point, reduce the number of spoonfulls by half but continue to add this new amount daily. Eventualy (and much quicker than if you cycled with fish), you'll find that tests show 0 for ammonia and nitrIte but a rediculously high value for nitrAte. Your tank is now cycled but you need to do a very large (probably over 90%) water change to ensure that nitrAte is at a safe level (under 20 remember). Then go out and buy your fish. With the pure ammonia method - this can take as little as 2 weeks to complete, otherwise, it can take up to 2 months.
Another method of fishhless cycling is to place a frozen prawn or some flake fish food in the tank. It will rot and release ammonia and this will act just like the pure ammonia but will probably take longer and be messier.
The last method, and the method I consider quite selfish to be honest, is to use fish. Many people do this because they are impatien and, as a result, risk killing the fish and do indeed cause the fish permanent damage. Basically, the idea is that you add a couple of very hardy fish and do water changes every few days and keep this up until the tank is fully cycled. Then you continue with just one weekly water change as I described earlier. This probably sounds like the simplest method but it realy does have major drwabacks - the fish suffer, you waste money on all those dead fish, stressful for both you and any surviving fish and doesn't give you time to make sure evrything is working properly and to decide on your fish. Impulse buying fish is NEVER a good idea! It also takes longest. The only advantage is that you can add fish right away.
Please note that a tank is cycled ONLY when it has been through an ammonia and nitrIte spike and the readings are finaly ammonia:0, nitrIte:0 and nitrAte: >0. Tap water should show readings of all 0 but sometimes it will contain nitrAtes - don't confuse tap water with cycled water! The cycled water is the only one with the good bacteria which are so important for your fish' health. Also, the only time nitrAte can be 0 in a cycled tank is if there are lots of plants as they use nitrAtes up.
There is, however, another way to 'cycle' your tank which is pretty much 'instant'. If you have a friend with a healthy established tank or if your LFS's tanks look healthy (unfortunately, Pets At Home isn't usualy the best - you shouldn't realy buy fish from there either), you can ask to borrow a little bit of old filter media or gravel right out of the tank. This will contain good bacteria so if you put this in your own tank and immediately add a source of ammonia (either pure, fish food, a frozen prawn or an actual live fish or two), the bacteria will thrive and multiply and you can continue to stock your tank with fish and not have to worry about a cycle. The downside is that if you leave the the bacteria un-fed (ammonia is their food remember), they'll die out and you'll need to start a cycle from scratch anyway and the other thing is that if you aren't careful, you can introduce diseases or parasites to your tank. It is good to use in conjunction with a pure ammonia fishless cycle though - just to speed up the process a little.
Remember that whenever you have fish in the tank, you need to do partial weekly water changes of around 25% with DE-CHORINATED water.
Now the more complicated stuff has been covered
Next we come to lighting. Realy, this is only important if you want to grow live plants though there are plenty of low-light plants. Fish don't realy like bright lighting so either stick to just standard lighting or provide some shade using ornaments within the tank. Too much light also encourages algae growth which, though not harmful, can be unsightly. Basically, just stick to normal light - a fluorescent tube suitable for your size tank - unless you decide to go for a heavily-planted tank. You can always upgrade the lighting later...
Food is another important part. You need to realise that fish are ALWAYS hungry
but no matter how much they beg, never over-feed. Over-feeding always results in very bad water quality as the rotting food and extra waste rot and release ammonia into the water. The end result is excess nitrAtes, meaning increased algae growth and a need for more water changes than normal. The food you feed should make up a balanced but varied diet for your fish. Most good beginner's fish, like platies and danios, are happy with a complete tropical flake diet but I like to supplement with live, frozen and freeze-dried foods like brine shrimp, daphnia and bloodworms and the occasional shelled pea. Pelleted foods are also good and algae waffers are often appreciated by many species even though they are usualy aimed for plecos and other algae-eaters. Feeding your fish about 1-3 times a day - as much as they can fully devour in about 5 minutes - is plenty. Less is probably better.
Decor is the last part of tank set-up I'm going to tell you about. Basically, anything you put in your tank should be made for that purpose and be aquarium-safe. A natural-looking substrate with plants or caves is usualy what I preffer but it is up to you what you choose - beauty is in the eye of the beholder
. One thing to be careful of is that the objects in the tank are not likely to injure your fish or release toxins into the water. The substrate - be it pebbles, gravel or sand - and any rocks, wood and so on, should be from a pet shop or fish shop - don't use them from your garden as you never know what pesticides etc there could be (there are exceptions but that's a completely different thread
). Also make sure they are INERT. If you buy rocks that will dissolve in the water or sand made from crushed coral and so on, your pH will go up and this fluctuation could kill your fish. Similarly, bog wood and drift wood needs to be soaked and boiled before putting it in your tank as it releases an acid which would lower your pH and cause more fluctuations...
Last thing (I promise), is to do with the number of fish you can keep. There is a guideline that states ' one inch of ADULT fish per (US) gallon of water'. The fact that it is adult sizes is very important - both a platy and a goldfish start out at under an inch - but the platy will grow to 1.5" and the goldfish to 10" or more! You MUST consider the POTENTIAL size and NOT the current size of the fish you are buying! Filtration, maintainance scheduale, the aggression level and territoriality, male to female ratios and whether or not the fish schools, are also factors in determining stocking levels. The best thing to do is research each fish you are interested in and then ask about it and your possible stocking here. That'll occupy you while you wait for the tank to cycle
Anyway, that's it I think (I promised didn't I?)
But read through the links in my signature - they'll all help clear some things up - and feel free to ask questions (or complain about my essay...).
Good luck!
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showforum=26
) how much is a 20 gallon tank? I need something for around £50/75 
