How to Set Up Imagitarium Fish Tank Updated

How to Set Up Imagitarium Fish Tank

Having worked with fish well-nigh of my life, I take a strong want to help others to be successful in the hobby.

A healthy tank with Neon Tetras. Note the oxygen being produced by the healthy plants in the tank. — A good for you tank with Neon Tetras. Note the oxygen beingness produced by the good for you plants in the tank.

fox_kiyo CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr

Why Did My Fish Die?

Years ago when I worked in the aquatic section of a pet shop, I would ofttimes have customers come into the store and tell me that they had purchased an aquarium (usually from somewhere else) and set upwards their tank, only to have their fish dice before long after.

Setting up and maintaining an aquarium is actually quite easy if y'all understand the needs of the fish and how to keep them healthy.

How to Prepare for a Successful Aquarium and Healthy Fish

It tin can be quite tempting to come across a fish you really want and buy it before the preparations take been made for it to have an ideal home. If you lot really care well-nigh the fish and its well-being, try to avert the urge to purchase it until you have fabricated the proper preparations. This volition aid ensure a healthy, long life for your new pet.

Larn Well-nigh the Water Y'all'll Be Using

Knowing a little nigh your water will requite you an advantage when selecting fish. For example, if yous have very soft water, some fish (like guppies) are likely to have more problems than fish that prefer soft water, such every bit tetras, rams, angelfish, or discus.

Is Your Water Treated?

You lot may wish to telephone call your municipality where your water comes from to discover out how your local water supply is treated. Almost municipal water supplies have chemical additives in them such every bit Chlorine or Chloramine, both of which can be harmful to the beneficial bacteria in your aquarium and tin can exist harmful to your fish. Chloramine in particular poses particular issues for aquarium hobbyist every bit it is a mixture of chlorine and ammonia. Ammonia is highly toxic to aquarium fish.

If there is chloramine in your water supply, some products used to dechlorinate your water will not be effective against the ammonia in chloramine. H2o conditioners that specifically say they are useful in treating water with chloramine volition be needed to care for any water that goes into your aquarium if at that place is chloramine in your water supply.

What's the pH and Hardness of Your Water?

You may also wish to find out more nearly your water such as pH or hardness of your water. You tin can buy test kits for testing your water, or some pet shops volition test your water for y'all.

Learn About the Fish Itself

One of the most important things you can do in preparing to be a successful fish keeper is to learn everything y'all can well-nigh the fish y'all are interested in. Past studying nearly the fish, you can larn a number of important things that will bear upon your aquarium setup, such every bit the following:

What size tank the fish will crave as it ages
The h2o it needs
Its food requirements
What other fish can be kept with information technology
How to brood information technology (if you wish)
Any other needs that are specific to that fish

Learn About the Live Plants You Want in Your Tank

If you determine you would similar to use live plants, which I would highly recommend for virtually aquariums, you will want to study which plants (if any) would work best for your state of affairs and how or if they should be planted.

Besides the benefit to the aquarium the plants provide, they can also be propagated. Our Cryptocoryne wendtii started every bit just one plant several years ago, and now we have hundreds. Hither'southward how nosotros do it: Harvesting Aquarium Plants

Many plants have special lighting needs and may too crave the utilise of CO2. Beginner aquarists may wish to await for a establish that doesn't have special lighting requirements and doesn't need CO2. One of my favorites is Cryptocoryne wendtii, which requires fiddling care in my tanks.

Trimming the roots from plants we are dividing for use in other aquariums — Trimming the roots from plants nosotros are dividing for use in other aquariums

© Marty Andersen (flash167)

How to Gear up up the Aquarium

Y'all will want to set up your aquarium long before you buy any fish for your new tank.

Roll to Continue

How to Select an Appropriate Location for Your Aquarium

Where you make up one's mind to place your aquarium can have a significant impact on how much care your aquarium will demand and can even affect the health of your aquarium fish.

The Location Should Exist Safe

Select a location where your aquarium is safe from footling children that could unintentionally get injured by the aquarium or electrical appliances around it. Pocket-sized children should be supervised around the aquarium as information technology can exist dangerous both for them and for the fish.

High traffic areas should be avoided. Setting up an aquarium at an entryway or other high traffic area leaves your tank at risk of being bumped, knocked over or cracked.

Ideally, there should be a GFCI excursion-protecting you, your fish, and your aquarium equipment installed in the location you desire to put your aquarium. In the U.s.a., there are several GFCI products available today that are designed for aquarium use. These products plug directly into a regular household outlet so that an electrician is not required.

The Location Should Offering Easy Admission

Your aquarium should be placed in a location where you tin get to it easily at least 2 times a day and should have enough space effectually it that periodic maintenance can exist performed.

Attempt not to put your aquarium in a location where it might be forgotten or neglected.

The Location Should Non Be Nigh Windows or HVAC Vents

Avoid putting the aquarium near a window where it volition get straight sunlight. Putting your tank near a window volition arrive difficult to control the amount of sunlight the tank receives and will likely issue in excessive algae growth.

Locations nigh a window tend to have higher fluctuations in temperature than other parts of the home. This tin impact the overall health of the aquarium fish, and in farthermost cases loftier or depression temperatures can be fatal for the inhabitants of your aquarium.

Heating and cooling vents can also create rapid changes in the temperature of the items direct around them or cause them to exist extremely cold or hot. Try to proceed your aquarium a few feet away from these HVAC vents.

The Location Should Be Able to Support the Weight of the Aquarium

Some other consideration is the weight of the aquarium and if the floor that is supporting the aquarium, lights, pumps, stands, and other equipment can withstand the weight over a long period of time.

Aquarium water weighs approximately 8.34 pounds per gallon of water. Adding in all of the substrate, decorations, stand and equipment, a 55-gallon aquarium could weigh more than 500 pounds!

How to Select a Stand

In most cases, you lot will want to go along your aquarium on a stand of some type so that it is easier to see the fish. Stands can be purchased or handcrafted. Exist sure that your stand is level and is able to withstand the heavy weight that comes with the h2o and ornaments found in an aquarium.

An aquarium placed on a stand up that is not level may scissure or carve up. Information technology can be surprising how much water is in the aquarium in one case y'all meet it all over the floor. Yes, this is feel speaking!

Aquariums placed on a stand can exist quite top-heavy, leaving them easy to tip over despite their heavy weight. We utilise a small-scale metal bracket and screws to secure our aquarium stands to a stud inside the wall they are against to help prevent the stand from tipping over.

How to Fill up the Tank

Once an appropriate location is selected you can now beginning to fill up the tank.

1. Add together Substrate

Starting with the gravel or substrate that has been done and fix for employ. Depending on the way you gear up upward your tank and the blazon of filtration system you use volition determine the amount and type of substrate you will want to utilise.

I like to employ two inches of black CaribSea Flora Max Planted Aquarium Substrate or like production in my aquariums as I experience it helps promote benign bacteria growth and has been a skilful substrate for the plants I like to keep in my aquariums.

2. Add Some H2o

Once your substrate has been placed in the tank, you tin at present add ii–3 inches of water. I like to identify a pocket-sized plate or saucer on top of the substrate so that it doesn't get washed away and stays in place.

3. Add Ornaments

At present you tin add any ornaments or filtration equipment y'all wish to add to your aquarium.

If your filtration equipment requires an air line exist sure to install a cheque valve in information technology to prevent water from siphoning out of your tank and into the electrical components of your air pump in the instance of a power outage.

Plastic or live plants tin can be added at this time; however, I adopt to await for the water to stabilize a couple of days earlier adding alive plants. This gives time for the h2o to age a little and to make sure the water heater is operating correctly and at the advisable temperature.

At present is a good fourth dimension to add the water conditioner or de-chlorinator to your aquarium water.

iv. Add together More than Water

Now your tank is ready to finish filling. Placing your clean manus between the water stream and your aquarium will assist go along the h2o from knocking around your aquarium gravel and ornaments. Be sure to leave a footling space between your aquarium embrace and the h2o then that air can be exchanged at the surface of the water.

five. Turn It On

Turn on your calorie-free, h2o filtration system, and heater and make sure everything is working correctly and safely. The aquarium heater should be installed in accordance to the manufacturer'due south instructions for safety and to prevent impairment to the heater.

Be sure to have a thermometer available and then that you tin can check and suit the heater in the aquarium. It tin can take several hours for the temperature to stabilize. Be sure to await long plenty for the water temperature to stabilize each time you adjust the h2o temperature.

6. Add Live Plants

Although it'south easier to constitute the live plants at the aforementioned time the ornaments are placed in the tank, I prefer to add together them afterwards the tank has had time to stabilize for a couple of days. This ensures that the temperature is stabilized for the institute.

Practice Not Add Fish Yet!

Although it's tempting to add fish to the aquarium at this point, it'due south not set for the fish as the tank needs to exist cycled.

The Nitrogen Cycle

Ane of the most of import things to understand most an aquarium is the nitrogen cycle.

In order for your fish to stay healthy your aquarium must have a good nitrogen bike. This process may take several weeks or months to complete.

Phase 1: Ammonia

Ammonia tin exist deadly to tropical fish burning their gills and skin and making it hard for them to jiff.

As soon as you lot add together fish or plants to your aquarium, ammonia is starting to exist produced in your aquarium.

Decaying plants, uneaten fish food, and fish waste matter all contribute to the production of ammonia in the tank.

Stage two: Nitrites

Often when nosotros call up of leaner, nosotros recollect of something bad or dirty. Bacteria is vital for the health of the aquarium and the fish that are in it.

At that place is non only i blazon of bacteria, just many are harmful in an aquarium, but many are beneficial and are required for aquarium health.

If given the opportunity, a leaner called Nitrosomonas volition get-go to develop in the aquarium. These bacteria help to catechumen harmful ammonia into nitrites.

Some types of Nitrosomonas leaner do better in an aquarium environment than others. Because of this, adding big amounts of ammonia to the aquarium to may cause the aquarium to accept longer to cycle than information technology would have if no ammonia was introduced.

Unfortunately, Nitrites are also toxic to aquarium fish.

Stage three: Nitrates

Presently some other type of leaner volition start to do its piece of work of converting nitrites into nitrates.

Nitrates are not as harmful to fish as nitrites or ammonia equally long every bit concentrations of nitrates don't get likewise high.

Live plants tin help reduce the nitrates in the tank, only the easiest style to control nitrates in an aquarium is to do partial water changes.

Using an aquarium test kit volition assist you to monitor the water quality in the aquarium and help to decide when water changes need to be done.

I adopt the API Freshwater Principal Exam Kit over paper test strips. This kit aid you to monitor pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

A good rule of thumb is to alter x% to 15% of the water once a week however this can vary greatly depending on the number, size, and type of fish that are in the aquarium.

The way the aquarium is set up and filtered can also greatly influence how ofttimes fractional h2o changes should exist washed.

Easy to use aquarium vacuums are ideal to aid practise the partial water change also every bit clean upwards backlog debris from the bottom of the tank.

Mutual Beginner's Mistake: Complete Water Changes

1 of the nearly common mistakes I've seen fourth dimension and time again for beginners is performing complete water changes.

Completely removing all the water from the tank doesn't completely impale all the beneficial bacteria in the aquarium; however, it does disrupt the nitrogen cycle.

The need to do full h2o changes is usually caused by trying to put too many fish in an aquarium before information technology has a chance to develop the nitrogen cycle.

Overloading the Nitrogen Bike

Adding likewise many fish to your aquarium at once overloads the nitrogen cycle causing an overabundance of leaner and depleting the tank of oxygen for the fish.

Another common mistake that overloads the nitrogen bicycle is overfeeding your fish. You should never feed your fish more than than they tin eat in a two minute catamenia.

When bacteria levels get too high, the h2o becomes cloudy, and the fish outset to show signs of having difficulty breathing. If left untreated, the fish will shortly die.

Advantages of Mod Aquariums

Fortunately, modern filtration systems in today'due south aquariums assist to make the process of keeping a healthy aquarium much easier.

About modern filtration systems have 3 parts to them that help to ensure a healthy environment for your fish.

Mechanical Filtration

Mechanical filtration removes big pieces of material from the tank by physically trapping them with fabric that is designed to act as a sieve to strain out the larger particles from the water.

This mechanical filter oftentimes looks like a sponge or fibrous material.

Cleaning mechanical filters can be washed by removing them and rinsing them off to be reused.

Chemic Filtration

Chemic filtration uses substances to help remove substances dissolved in the water that cannot exist removed by mechanical filtration.

One of the most normally used chemical filters is activated charcoal.

Although these chemical filters may exist helpful in a new aquarium, I am of the opinion that a healthy cycled aquarium does non require chemical filtration and may even exist somewhat harmful to a well-cycled aquarium.

Biological filtration

Numerous products are available to aid improve biological filtration. These products are highly porous, giving a greater surface area for beneficial leaner to abound.

This is where much of the ammonia and nitrites are removed using the nitrogen cycle.

Biological filtration can occur in a number of locations as well the filter itself. Depending on the type of substrate used in an aquarium, the substrate can perform a substancial

Some Keen Aquascaping Examples

Tank Setup Case

I recently fix a tank that I will be using to raise Class Northward Endler's Livebearers. These fish are very like shooting fish in a barrel to care for simply do like to have lots of plants for the fry (babies) to hibernate in.

Preparing the Tank

I was very fortunate to acquire a 12-Gallon AquaPod aquarium at our local austerity store for only $10. These tanks are almost ever used to set upwardly a saltwater aquarium but volition work very well for freshwater employ.

Because the tank was used, information technology was important to make sure that there were no diseases leftover from the previous occupants.

To make certain the tank was properly cleaned, I filled the tank with water and a gallon and a half of hydrogen peroxide. Fortunately, our local Walmart sells quart-size bottles for only $0.88 a bottle.

Hydrogen peroxide will interruption downward over a 24 hour menstruum into water and hydrogen, leaving no harmful chemicals in the tank and is highly effective in killing any diseases that may be left in the tank.

I ran the pump and let the hydrogen peroxide and h2o mixture sit in the tank for 24 hours.

Afterward 24 hours, I emptied and washed out the tank with warm h2o.

Foam filter media I cut to size for use in my new aquarium setup.

© Marty Andersen (flash167)

Adding the Filter Media

I then added the filter media. This particular blazon of tank actually has the filter system built into the tank; however, because this was a used tank, it did not come with whatsoever filter media.

I and so went to our local pet shop and gathered some of the things I needed for the tank.

The outset thing I needed was a mechanical filter media. I found a sponge-like filter media that was large plenty to make full the opening in the tank and cut information technology to fit perfectly. I had to buy and cut two of them to become the filter to effectively cover the opening of the side by side chamber.

At this betoken, I stopped adding filter media because I did not need the chemical filter yet, and I did not find an affordable option for a biological filter in the pet shop.

These small "Bio Balls" have foam squares inside. Very reasonably priced out of China. — These modest "Bio Balls" have foam squares inside. Very reasonably priced out of China.

© Marty Andersen (flash167)

Finding the Biological Filter Media

Because I couldn't find affordable biological filter media at my local pet shop, I went to eBay to see what I could find.

I was able to observe some affordable 16mm Bio Balls that had sponge in the center that I liked and were at a very reasonable price.

Unfortunately, the Bio Assurance had to come up from People's republic of china, then I had to wait a week before adding them to my tank.

While I was waiting for the bio Balls I also ordered some filter media bags to put the Bio Balls into.

The bag I received was adequately pocket-size, and then I'll probably social club a couple more in the time to come.

Choosing the Substrate

The substrate is the fabric that you use for the bottom of the tank, such as gravel or sand.

Because I wanted to utilize alive plants in my aquarium, I purchased Black Floramax Premium Aquarium Substrate.

I chose this brand because information technology was the only brand that was available in my expanse that looked like it would be beneficial to my plants and would exist porous plenty to encourage bacterial growth.

Hardscape

The hardscape is the decorations you put in your tank, such as rocks or driftwood. These pieces form the main focal points for your aquarium.

In my case, I used a piece of black and white marble that I collected from southern Arizona. I cleaned the rock well before using it in the tank.

To make the stone look more natural, I partially buried it in the substrate.

Aquarium Plants

The fish I plan to add to my tank actually like to have live plants to hibernate and feed on. I selected a few plants that would be like shooting fish in a barrel to keep in the tank and gave the aquarium the await I wanted.

Fortunately, the tank I'm using has a great lighting system for the alive plants.

One of the plants I selected was Dwarf Hairgrass; I purchased one parcel and then separated it into pocket-size clumps and spaced them somewhat evenly throughout the front of the tank.

If the Hairgrass does well, it should grade a carpet of dark-green in a few months.

Depending on how things go, I may make a homemade CO2 organisation for the tank at a later on date.

Preparing Hairgrass for Planting

Small Green Cory Cat added to aquarium two weeks before adding more fish. — Small Green Cory Cat added to aquarium ii weeks before adding more fish.

© Marty Andersen (flash167)

Adding Fish to the New Aquarium

After letting the plants arrange past themselves for a week I added 1 fish, a minor greenish Cory Cat. This will help get the nitrogen wheel going while I wait to add more than fish.

After a couple of weeks, I ordered my Class N Orchid Endler'southward Livebearers and added them to the tank. Of course, I set the bags with the fish in them in the tank for xv minutes to allow the water temperature to equalize as ever.

At this betoken the tank should pretty much take intendance of itself other than some partial water changes, cleaning of glass and other surfaced and periodic irresolute or cleaning of the filter media.

Below is a picture of the tank simply subsequently adding the Orchid Endler's Livebearers.

The aquarium soon after adding the fish. — The aquarium before long after calculation the fish.

© Marty Andersen (flash167)

Aquarium with Orchid Endler's Livebearers added a little more than two weeks after adding the Green Cory Cat. — Aquarium with Orchid Endler's Livebearers added a trivial more than two weeks after adding the Green Cory Cat.

© Marty Andersen (flash167)

Questions & Answers

Question: I was wondering if I could use gravel from a goldfish aquarium in a new tank to help seed it? Will it harm whatever tropical fish?

Answer: As long every bit the gravel stays wet and you are certain it's costless of illnesses or parasites, that should work well.

Question: Does the temperature strip go inside or exterior the fish tank?

Answer: The temperature strip goes on the outside of the aquarium however a more accurate method of measuring the temperature is to use an actual thermostat that goes on the within.