This page is to give a rough guide to those of you who are first time aquarists on how to set up your new aquarium.

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Please note that every set up and aquarium is different so this should be used as a general guide. 

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Heated or unheated?

When setting up, the first question you should ask yourself is if you want a heated or unheated aquarium. This depends on which kind of fish you are interested in - Coldwater (Goldfish), Temperate (Minnows, Danios, Platys) or Tropical (Tetra, Gourami, Betta, Angelfish, Rainbows, Mollies etc.) For Tropical fish you will need a heater.

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Tank size

Once you've decided which fish you would like to keep you should have an idea of the size of the aquarium you will need. If you're not sure, look at the maximum size of the fish you're interested in and plan around that.

Guidelines suggest that for every 1" of adult size fish there should be 5 litres of water and if this is your first tank that's a useful guide. As an example, Neon Tetra as adults are around 1.5" so each fish would need 7.5 litres of water and a school of 5 would need 37.5 litres. 

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Testing Strips

These are readily available online and in most fish stores and usually only cost a few pounds (well worth it). These testing strips can be used in your tank to check the levels of Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates (amongst other things) and these are the most important things to get right before adding fish. There is information on what you need to look for further down the page under MATURING YOUR FILTER.

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Type of filtration

Your filter is the most important part of your setup, think of it as your fishes life support machine because without it, they will become stressed and therefore ill. With that in mind there are a few different types of filter that you can use with your aquarium. There are internal and external filters that work with an internal pump and suck in tank water through one pipe/opening and then send that water through a series of sponges, charcoal or small stones before sending the water back into the tank using a different pipe/opening, these need to be plugged in.

The key part of these filters is the sponges and rocks the water passes through as they contain the beneficial bacteria that breaks down poisonous waste (fish poo, fish wee etc) and turns them into nitrates which are less harmful to fish and can be removed through the use of live plants or a water change. 

Another option is a sponge filter, these are chunky sponges on a heavy base and need an air pump (sold separately) to work. Simply attach the airline to the hole at the top of the sponge filter and to the air pump and that will draw in waste water through the sponge which will, as it matures, house the beneficial bacteria.

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FILTER MATURING - THIS IS KEY TO SUCCESS - Do this BEFORE adding fish

IMPORTANT: When you first set up a filter there will be NO BENEFICIAL BACTERIA as this takes time to grow and develop.

There is a picture below showing the Nitrogen Cycle to help you understand what you're looking to achieve in your aquarium.

You can speed the process of maturing your filter by asking an aquarist friend for some of their filter sludge or buying live bacteria online or at an aquatic store. This can be added into your new filter to start the process off or you can do it the tried and tested way by adding a little fish food every day (yes, to an empty aquarium, even bacteria needs to eat! ). Either way you do it, you will need to do regular water changes (around 30% of the water) until you have your 'Cycle' under control - what this means is that your filter has enough beneficial bacteria to support life in your aquarium. You can see how your cycle is progressing by using a testing kit (don't worry, it's really not complicated and you don't need a science degree)

Your kit should have instructions explaining what to do so make sure to follow them. Your tank will be cycled and ready for fish when the readings indicate 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites and Nitrates below 50, the other readings are less relevant at this stage.

If any of the readings are above this, change around 30% of the water and continue adding a small amount of fish food every day with a water change every couple of days until the readings are as above.

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Adding Fish

When adding your first fish, only add a few, no more than 5 in a small tank. Take along a water sample when you go to buy new fish as any good aquatic store can use their testing kit to ensure your water is safe. Bear in mind that whenever new fish are introduced it can take a while for the filter to 'catch up' and create more beneficial bacteria so be prepared to do another water change after around three days of introducing them. Check your levels again with the testing kit first and if the ammonia, nitrites or nitrates look high then change around 80% of the water (I know, not another water change urgh) For the first couple of weeks with your new fish, check the water regularly.

New Tank syndrome is the name given to 'Cycles crashing' (this is aquarist talk for the rapid build up of ammonia and nitrites that can occur with an immature/new filter) and is quite common so be prepared!

All aquariums take a while to settle, but once they do, you can cut down water changes to around once a week or even just when needed if you're testing your water regularly. After your new fish have been settled and happy for a week, you can add a few more and just follow the process again.

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CONGRATULATIONS - You're now an aquarist!

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