Hey! My name is David and I want to teach you how to start your or your family's fish hobby.  If your looking to start your first aquarium then follow these easy steps in purchasing equipment, setting up your aquarium, and maintaining it in your home. Please keep in mind that every aquarium is different and some may finish faster or take longer than others.

Firstly, you'll need to purchase your equipment! This can be one of the more challenging steps because there are many question to be answered before the first purchase like: "How much room do we have to work with?" That question can narrow down how big of an aquarium you could potentially purchase. Next you'll want to decide what you would like to house inside the aquarium. This information will let you know how big of an enclosure your livestock will need at adult or full size and also let you know what type of substrate and decor you will need for those animals. So now that you know how big of an aquarium you need and what your home will allow. Once you decide, you can look at the standard sizes and follow up with measurements to make sure that it will accommodate your space. If you do not wish to have a standard cut tank then you could have one custom made. (further info given at store) 

Also think about your filtration. A sump system will require a drilled tank or a "hang on back" overflow box while and canister filter or a regular HOB filter will not require any drilled holes in the glass aquarium. All of which should be able to be stored under your tank stand, set out of the way. 

Now that you know what size aquarium you want, it's time to get your equipment. Buying new is great because you know it "should be" reliable being new. That being said second hand or gently worn systems make for a great budget start up. You could even look out for deals and piece together your own system over time. Either way we will need to collect these items for your aquarium to work. 

Needed equipment: Tank, stand, substrate, decor, filter/sump system, heater, thermometer, conditioned water, and light 

Extra recommended equipment: 2-5 gallon buckets, towel, power strip, net, gravel vacuum, glass scraper, water test kit.

Once you have your equipment ready its time to assemble your aquarium. Mark on the floor with tape to accurately place your tank stand. Place your aquarium on top and then fill the bottom of your aquarium with appropriate substrate. (pre-rinsed unless directed not to) If you are planning on planting the aquarium, use a planting substrate then put your desired substrate on top. The layers will allow the plant roots to grow underneath and the appropriate substrate will be left on top. Then fill your aquarium with conditioned water 2/3 of the way up. (use a plate or bowl on the bottom of the tank to not push around the substrate you just laid). At this point stop to decorate your aquarium. It's much easier to decorate once the tank has water inside but we need to leave room for water displacement. Finish filling your aquarium with the conditioned water then start your filtration up. Wipe down any spilled water then install your heater at 78 degrees F. Place your thermometer on one of the sides of the tank. Once the tank has reached 78 degrees, add any beneficial bacteria to the aquarium if you please.(This is not the same thing as water conditioner.) Leave the light off until the Nitrogen cycle is finished. Wait.. What is the Nitrogen cycle? We shouldn't get fish yet?

This part of the page is so important for all new hobbyiest to learn what is  actually happening in your aquarium water. In short, you need bacteria to break down waste that your fish and its food will produce. Getting ammonia in the tank is the first step. Ammonia is found in animal urine and decaying waste. Your animal and its waste will produce this Ammonia and if there is no bacteria present the uncycled water will harm the fish. There is no need  to put any livestock through this cycle as it can kill. This also includes plants. It can harm some and others will use the ammonia to grow and hinder the cycling process! Please wait on plants until the cycle is complete. You can purchase and add ammonia that is made to start the cycle in an aquarium. Many people instead put in a piece of food such as a raw store bought shrimp in the tank for a few days letting it decay and produce the ammonia spike. This is where your testing kit will come into play or you can bring a 2oz water sample to the LFS to be tested. Once you have your ammonia spike you have successfully started the Nitrogen cycle. You may get white cloudy or dingy water. That is known as a bacterial bloom and is good since we want our bacteria to grow in numbers. don't do anything.  Now comes the hardest part. Being patient. You'll then wait for your cycle to finish. "Well when am I finished?" Your Nitrogen cycle is finished when your ammonia and nitrites have both spiked then declined and are now at 0ppm. Once your nitrates are showing a tad then your finished. In some cases it may not show at all. This process can take up to 30 days to finish. Sometimes shorter, sometimes longer. At this point it is safe to slowly start adding in livestock. 

Here I want to discuss how to add livestock to your aquarium. Your aquarium's bacteria has grown significantly, but its not at its stongest yet. When we add our first fish, we want to add no more than 6 fish at a time. 3-4 at a time is prefered. After a week, our bacteria will grow yet again to accommodate the influx of ammonia. Do not over feed when adding new fish. Antisipate there being a slight ammonia spike; over feeding will make it worse. Wait a full week then test the water again. If levels are good then I would again make a few more additions to my aquarium weekly. If the levels are still showing some ammonia or nitrite above 0ppm then I would recommend waiting a second week. The tank water may turn cloudy white again, that is the bacteria blooming again to break down the ammonia and grow in numbers to keep up with the new fish. 

When adding a new fish to your tank, rinse off the fish's bag then float it on the top of the aquarium water to acclimate to the same tank's tempeture. After 30 minutes, the fish should be ready to add to your aquarium. I would reccomend straining the fish into a net over a bucket or sink, then transfering them to the tank, attempting not to cross contaminate the shop water with your tank water. 

Many fish are transported all over the world sometimes for weeks at a time. they are frightened and weak. They may not come "out and swim around" immediatly. Please give them space to learn their new habbitat. 

After some time algae will start to form in the aquarium. That is the time for your clean up crew or "Algae eaters". Waiting for algae means they will have enough food to eat with out you haveing to supply them with algae rich food. 

You'll have to do some maintenance for your aquarium. Your light will grow algae in your tank and even though you may have some "clean up crew" you will have to manually clean the dust algae off the glass. Either with a scraper or a pad of some sort. Also your filter will become full/dirty after some time. I recommend changing the tanks filter and carbon(charcoal) once a month at least. Twice a month if you budget and time allows. Also I recommend that after the tank has cycled and has been running for 90 days to start doing 10% water change weekly or biweekly. The aquarium will also evaporate, just like a puddle outside. You will have to keep it full with properly conditioned water so that the tank will remain stable. Filling the tank back up with water from evaporation is not a water change! Water change should only happen once the tank is at its top proper filled level. Clean the outside glass from streaks and fingerprints only with water. Refrain from using chemicals to clean anything to do with your aquarium. A gravel vacuum is recommended once a month. This can also take the place of one of your water changes. The vacuum will pull uneaten food and detritus out of your aquarium and reduce the nitrates that are in the aquarium.