There is a plethora of available equipment on the market for every imaginable kind of setup...so what do you actually need? By now you've selected your aquarium and should have a pretty good idea of what you're going to put in it, so now it's time to deck it out with all the necessary equipment and take it home to set it up and start it cycling. For the purpose of this post we're going to assume that you are starting with an empty aquarium and nothing else has come with it; many first-timers opt to buy a kit but even if that's what you're doing I'd like you to know what you should have in it and why.

First, a tank hood. Many types of fish do not absolutely require a hood, but others will easily jump out of the aquarium without one. The hood covers the top of the tank and can be a housing for the tank light, but it also protects the aquarium from contaminants or predators (i.e. house cats) and helps regulate the temperature of the water by holding heat in and aiding in preventing sudden drastic changes that can stress your fish.

A light. Most hoods in pet stores and such will have a light already built in, but often you still have the choice of what kind of bulb you want to put in it...namely, fluorescent or incandescent. Incandescent bulbs are generally significantly less expensive than fluorescent and if all you want is an occasional peak at your aquarium they can work just fine. Personally, I do not like incandescent bulbs because they run hot and can change the water temperature, they don't last as long and the light appears yellowed. Fluorescent lights, on the other hand, are about five times more expensive but they last longer, do not change the temperature of the water and will give you a clean, white light to make your aquarium look great.

Filters. There are a lot of different choices in filtration including canister filters, internal filters, sponge filters, HOB filters (that hang on the back of the tank) and undergravel filters.

Undergravel filters are my least favorite; they often get in the way of gravel vacuuming and seem to do more to hide the gunk than anything else, in my experience they are more of a liability than anything.

Canister filters have generally worked well for me, however these can take quite a bit of space behind the aquarium or in the cabinet underneath it and they don't create a lot of disturbance on the water surface so a separate aerator is usually necessary.

HOB filters have always been my favorite because they take less space - a lot of the bulk of the filter is sitting over the edge of the aquarium - they actually remove the gunk completely from the aquarium, they offer more surface area for bio-bugs to live on the filter pad and they create enough current to facilitate oxygen exchange so you often don't need an aerator. One drawback to the HOB filter (if you like peace and quiet in the home) is that the water being pumped through them can get quite loud if the tank is not entirely filled up.

Internal filters have all the features of a HOB except that the entire bulk of the filter is inside the tank; this is great if you have a canopy that doesn't allow for exterior filters. The internal filter does keep all the gunk inside the aquarium, even though it's collected together, so you have to take care that it is getting properly cleaned out with each partial water change or you could end up with extra nitrate buildup despite proper maintenance procedures.

Sponge filters strike me as an overall not-very-effective filter because they don't have very high turnover and keep everything inside the aquarium, but they do work great for an aquarium populated by weak swimmers that don't like much current (i.e. a betta or angelfish) or a fry tank where the tiny fish can get sucked into most other types of filtration.

Whatever type of filter you choose bear in mind the load the filter will be taking. Most smaller tropical fish at an appropriate stocking level will require a 4x turnover per hour (say you have a 50G tank, this means you need a filter that is rated for 200G per hour) and larger fish like oscars and goldfish need a 10X turnover per hour (rated for 500G per hour for that 50G tank).

An aerator. Agitation of the water surface is necessary for proper oxygen exchange to ensure healthy fish and beneficial bacteria (bio-bugs). If you have selected a type of filter that does not facilitate this agitation it will be necessary to buy a separate aerator, aerator tubing, and a regulator to ensure there is no vacuum should the aerator be turned off or quit working. In addition you can also buy air stones or neat decorations that can have air hooked up to them to make the aerator a little more decorative than just a bare tube spouting bubbles.

A heater is not necessary and can be harmful for coldwater fish such as goldfish and there are some hardy community fish (guppies, platies and the like) that do just fine at a normal room temperature; however, if your house gets colder than 65 degrees at any time during the day or night, there are severe fluctuations in the house's temperature or you have slightly pickier fish you will need a heater.

A thermometer. I don't care if you have a goldfish that can handle a huge range of temperatures or a breeding tank that has to be kept at precisely the right temperature, you need a thermometer in your aquarium. This is a simple tool that can be used to help in the diagnosis of unexpected deaths, algae blooms or strange behavior in your fish so for about $2-$3 it's a must-have piece of equipment. There are thermometer "stickers" available that simply stick on the outside of the tank and are very easy to read...these can work alright for a general idea of your tank's temperature and/or if it doesn't have to be precise, but they have a tendency to reflect the house's temperature more than the water temperature and so can be inaccurate if there is much fluctuation in house temperature during the day. I prefer a floating thermometer that can either be left loose in the tank or stuck via suction cup to an unobtrusive interior surface as these generally only cost about .50 more than the stickers, are more accurate and last longer because they are not permanently attached to the aquarium they are first put in.

Fish food. This one may seem obvious but possibly not so much considering you do not have fish for this aquarium yet. In the post on cycling the tank I will explain this in more detail, but fish food is required for my personally favored cycling method; if you know anyone with old, stale fish food that will work just fine for cycling purposes.

Decorations. These are not needed for most fish, per se, but most people want them to add to the beauty of the aquarium. I will be posting later about selecting appropriate decorations and substrate for your aquarium because there is a bit that goes into this decision based on what types of fish you are going to have in the aquarium and in selecting decorations that will not harm the tank.

Dechlorinator. There are several types of dechlorinator on the market, my favorites are Start Right from Jungle Labs for the economic side and Stress Cote for the "premium" side. Both of these products will neutralize chlorine, chloramines and potentially harmful heavy metals and things in the water, in addition Stress Cote has aloe and other ingredients to help a fish's slime coat heal from handling and reduce the stress of moving to a new aquarium.

Cleaning equipment. This usually consists of a scraper sponge to get rid of algae buildup on glass surfaces, bottle brushes for the inside of tubes such as on the filter, and a gravel vacuum. There are cheap manual gravel vacuums on the market that require the use of a bucket and many trips to the sink or garden, or you can spend about $25-$30 and get a Python. A Python is a wonderful cleaning tool that hooks up to the sink, you don't have to try to get your own natural vacuum going and you don't have to do any lifting. When you've finished the gravel vacuum and have emptied 25-50% of the water you just twist one piece and it will put clean water back in the tank...the Python is my secret to being able to do once-weekly partial water changes on 19 aquariums.

So that's about it for the really basic stuff, time to take the aquarium home and commence setting up!