Setting up a fish tank.

Setting up a fish tank seems very simple - buy a tank, fill it with water and add fish to it. However it takes a lot of patience and more than a couple of weeks to set up a tank. There are many factors to consider while setting up your fish tank. Type of fish, tank size, water type and quality, tank size, lighting, filter, heater, substrate, tank decorations -  all these factors play a crucial role in setting up a tank successfully. Let's see how these affect your tank set up.

Fish and tank selection: Choosing the tank for the fish is like choosing your home. There are a lot of similar considerations like how many fish you want to house, how big the fish can get, space required per fish etc. Make sure you know how big the fish grow. Many fish stores are ignorant of the size as they sell the juvenile fish which are only a few centimeters in size. I have brought home many fish on their word and the fish grew huge which left me with only bad choices - parting with my pets or watching them suffer in a cramped tank. You may think there is another option - getting a larger tank, but that never happens because you will fall short of space or not afford a bigger tank or not have the bandwidth to maintain a larger tank. So be very meticulous about the fish and tank size before committing. Tank sizes have a few other pros and cons apart from fish size. Larger tanks are easier to maintain. Large volume of water can buffer greater waste before it becomes toxic. However they also need larger equipment and space. You can't keep all the varieties of fish you want because of compatibility. Smaller tanks on there other hand gives you the flexibility of keeping different types of fish. But smaller your tanks, greater is its maintenance. For example, if you have a one-5 gallon tank you will have to do daily partial water changes to maintain water quality while a 10-50 gallons tank will need weekly water change. 

Water: The normal tap water is treated with chlorine and chloramines at your local water purification plant. These chemicals are highly toxic for fish. Hence, this water needs to be treated with a neutralizing agent or aged for 3-4 days (at least 1 day if you can't wait for 3-4 days). This aging and treating of water must be done meticulously because this is a major cause of fish death in new tanks. 

Next major cause of fish death in your new tank will be ammonia poisoning. Ammonia enters the tank water through the waste produced by your fish . As the concentration of ammonia increases it becomes toxic for the fish. Ammonia concentration can be reduced by daily water changes or establishment of microbial culture in the tank which will convert the ammonia into nitrates. Nitrates are are less toxic and can be reduced by weekly water change.

Filtration: Once you have the right quality of water you have to make sure that the quality is maintained. This is done by filtration. Filtration is of two types - mechanical filtration to remove floating and suspended materials from the water column and biological filtration to remove the toxins that build up in the water over time. There are many types of filter which provide both types of filtration. Simplest of them are sponge filters. As the water passes through the sponge it filters out the suspended particles. The pores of the sponge are ideal sites for the microbes to establish. Once established these cultures will absorb the ammonia from the water and convert it to nitrates. This culture will develop in a week or two. This is one of the reasons it is advised to introduce the fish in the tank only after one-two weeks. Other types of filters are power filters, hang on filters, over head filters, external filters etc. For beginners with a small tank (10-20 gallons), I recommend  sponge filters.

Heating: It is important to maintain the tank temperature especially in the winters. I try to maintain minimum 28℃ in my tanks. Heating prevents diseases causing germs to die. However, I have read constant high temperatures will shorten the life span of the fish. So look up the ideal temperature of the fish you keep make and sure all types of fish in you tank are compatible to that temperature.

Substrate: Adding pebbles, gravel for decoration is a good idea. Apart from the aesthetics, it serves as a good site for the beneficial bacteria we talked about in the filtration section above. For planted tanks you will get specialized substrate which contains nutrients for the plants. The substrate will also also trap the fish waste at the floor of the tank which can otherwise remain floating due to the swimming of the fish.

Lighting: It is important that you create an environment as natural as possible for your fish. This is important for the fish health and well-being. In nature your fish experience 12 hrs of light. I use a timer on my tanks. I use fluorescent light as they come close to natural light. I try to maintain 2 watts per gallon on my tanks. This is because all my tanks are planted. For fish-only tanks, the wattage/gallon may be lower. Avoid incandescent lights as they may heat up the water and they are energy consuming. You may adjust the lighting duration and intensity as per your tank requirement for example if you have algae issue you may reduce the intensity or duration to control algae. 

Other decorations: Once you have good water, heater, filter with proper aeration your tank is set! If you wish to add artificial decorations, you need to keep some things I mind. Make sure the decorations do not have any sharp edges as the fish have a tendency to rub against them especially if the suffering from diseases like Ich. The decorations should be easily removable for cleaning as they are active spots for the germs to grow. Decorations are necessary for some fish (for example african cichlids) need hiding spots to feel safe else they will constantly be under stress, while some fish need cave-like structures to breed. So decorate accordingly taking into account the needs of the fish whose home your tank is going to be!

I have tried to cover the basics of a tank setup. Let me know if you have any question or wish me to discuss any fish related topics in future posts in the comments!