It is fun setting up fish tanks but as in all other important things, it is paramount to do thorough research prior to starting. It is not advisable to purchase fish before you have cycled the tank superbly, to make sure it contains enough bacteria that can cope with your fish waste. As detailed below, a fishless cycling technique is highly recommended.

Choice of Tank

Fish tanks can easily be bought in acrylic or glass. Glass tanks are affordable, spring leaks occasionally and heavier. An acrylic tank is more expensive, available in varieties, seldom leaks but scratch quite easily. Compared to glass, acrylic tanks last longer.

Tank Shape

Acrylic fish tanks are found in various shapes, from cylindrical, hexagonal, octagonal, round to the more traditional rectangular shape. You can also find coffee tanks and wall tanks. The best tank is the rectangular shape, since the surface area to water volume is maximum, which gives a perfect gas exchange important for the fish and organisms to survive. The other shapes have the water volume to surface ratio being smaller, making the maintenance to be a bit higher with more frequent water changes being needed.

Make sure you have bough the fish tanks that are large enough and can fit in the place you have in mind, and affordable. A larger fish tank will not take most of your time since it requires minimum maintenance, as you fit in lots of fish without the danger of overcrowding.

Fishless Cycling Technique

This technique requires Ammonia, nitrate testing strips and nitrite. You also need bacteria culture, which you can get from an established fish tank. It can be filter materials or even gravel. You can also use commercial preparations, for instance Colonize by Foster and Smith or Marineland’s Biospira. You also require unscented ammonia.

Method

Once you have added the bacterial culture to your set up tank, add about five drops of ammonia for every ten water gallons. Do not forget to Carryout an ammonia test. If nothing would have registered, add a couple of drops until there is a positive reading. Add the same amount everyday, continuously, until detecting nitrites is possible. From this tank, you can then add half amount of the daily ammonia until you can register a nitrate on the testing strip.

Now, the nitrite capacity should drop. Once they have reached the zero mark, consider you tank cycle. You can now change the water, about 30 percent, and you are more than ready for the fish.

Choice of Fish

This is very important in setting up fish tanks. Make sure you have researched for the varieties of fish, which can be kept in the same tank. These are community fish, which can peacefully co-exist with one another. Some fish suitable for tropical community fish tanks include:

Horseface Loach, Guppy, Hatchetfish, Lyretail, Neon Tetra, Head Tail Light Tetra, Molly, Opaline Gourami, Leopard Catfish, Pearl Gourami, Harlequin Rasbora, Platy, Penguin Fish, White Cloud, Black Phantom Tetra, Black Shark, Australian Rainbowfish, Ram, Blue Acara, Rummy Nosed Tetra, Spotted Catfish, Plecostomus, X-Ray Fish, Rainbowfish, Emperor Tetra, Festivum, Clown Loach, Giant Danio, Serpae Tetra, Dwarf Loach, Elephant Nose, Blue Acara, Spiketailed Paradisefish, Black Shark, Angelfish, Cherry Barb, Pencilfish, Bristlenose, Bala (Tri-Color) Shark, Upside Down Catfish, Chinese Algae Eater, Zebra Danio, Black Neon Tetra, Flame Tetra, Black Phantom Tetra, Boesman's Rainbowfish, Glowlight Tetra, Banjo Catfish, Cardinal Tetra, Flame Gourami, Corydoras, Bloodfin, Bumble Bee Goby, Blue Danio, Congo Tetra, Dwarf Gourami, Green Catfish

Make sure you have inspected the fish tanks in the pet shop to ascertain the fish are healthy, while the tanks have no dead fish. Researching the fish you need to buy is crucial, as you check out their water quality and temperature requirements. You might find that tropical fish requires higher temperatures more than the goldfish. Other fish are very peaceful when small but bullies once they have grown. Some examples of this kind are Tiger barbs.

Overcrowding

You should always avoid this one thing, by having a large tank for bigger fish. When it comes to angelfish, make sure you do not use a tank that is any less than ten gallons in capacity. Once you have purchased fish, make sure you do not introduce any to the already established fish tanks. Quarantine them in another tank for about a week so that you do not bring diseases and other harmful organisms into the tank.

Cleaning

A fish tank aquarium should be cleaned occasionally. While you are about to begin, make sure all the filters, heaters and any other unit of electricity has been disconnected to avoid the dangers of electrocution. Avoid any detergent or soap since their chemicals might be very dangerous to the fish. Also, avoid taking the fish from the tank in your maintenance duties, since it might be more harmful.