setting up a community fish tank
Tank
I would always advice you to get the largest tank you can afford, it might look a little empty to start with but fish keeping is very very addictive and it wont be long before it is full.
Before buying a tank think about placement if you put it in that alcove under the stairs will you be able to have room to clean it and do water changes comfortably, once a tank is full even the smallest tank weighs a lot.
You can buy tanks in all shapes and sizes and most shops will be happy to get one built to your requirements.
Positioning a tank, never position in direct sunlight or where sun can shine on it all day, firstly it will heat the water secondly it will cause uncontrollable algae growth which will eventually lead to poisoning the water within it.
Okay once you have found your tank you will want some important items.
Heating
There is a few ways to heat the water in a tank but the most common is a heater/stat a combined heater and thermostat that you put in the water, over the years i have used various types but they are all basically the same either metal or glass with an adjustment setting knob on one end, most will have setting marks of one form or another on them, however never take this as read, i have never come across one that has been 100% accurate regardless of how much they have cost me.Heater/stats come in different wattages and your local aquatic shop should be able to advise you of the wattage you require for the size of your tank.If you have a large tank i would advice you use 2 one at each end to keep an even temperature and it puts less strain on the heater if only using one.
Temperature Gauge
Thermometers there is basically 2 kinds ones you stick on the tank that give you readings in steps of two`s for Fahrenheit and single steps for celsius.And digital ones i have found you pay for what you get regarding the digital ones the cheaper ones as a rule are not that accurate, I personally have always combined both one being a back up for the other.
Lighting
Lighting a tank is really for you and the plants if you have any, it doesn't have any particular need for the fish.There are many types of lighting available and new tubes are constantly being made, some give off soft light some give of true light, i would advise reading up on the different tubes before deciding what to use.Its also worth mentioning that some tubes are made to enhance growth in your plants but also can cause algae to bloom.
Filtration
There are 3 main types of filtration.
The first is the undergravel filter
For this system you need an air pump or a powerhead, for the diagram i have used an air pump the water is drawn down into the gravel by the movement up the tube of air, delivered via the air stone, this will draw large lumps into the gravel which works as filter, the problem with this is it just makes a large breeding area for bacteria it doesn't remove anything from the water.If using this kind of system you will need to clean your gravel a lot more often than normal, plants also suffer under this system and their roots are continually being pulled at and damaged.
The Next system is an internal filter.
There are many of these on the market by many different manufacturers,these often have compartments in and can be set so they both remove particles and break particles down by way of putting medias into the chambers they are cheap and reasonably effective i found with these its worth giving them a good clean once a month.
The final system is an external unit.
These are the most expensive units of the 3 mentioned,They work by taking the water out of the tank then filtering it in a canister before returning it to the tank.Many have separate departments within them allowing for different medias to be installed. A typical set up would be filter wool in one chamber, Activated carbon in another ceramic pieces in another, there are plenty of different media available to do different jobs but that is getting a bit technical for a beginner and i would suggest reading up on medias before buying any as many will alter waters chemistry.
Gravel
There are many kinds of gravel on the market but try to stick to the Aquarium use ones.Normal pit gravel tends to have a lot of shell in it shell equals calcium and will have a tendency to raise the ph of the water over a period of time, pit gravel and shell pieces tend to be sharp and any bottom feeders will end up with damaged barbels.Many people will use the coloured gravels on the market its something else i don't personally favour, even after giving them a good wash they still leak colours into the water.
Always give your gravel a good wash before using it i have found a colander or a wire mesh sieve very handy here, even if you buy washed aqaurium gravel you will find it still has a lot of cleaning left to be done.
The above will give you the basics to start setting a tank up, so after positioning the tank in a suitable place we will assume for the purpose of this guide you are using an external filter, and we can start to set the tank up.
Wash your gravel you want enough gravel to cover 2" or 50mm of the tanks bottom i would say this is a minimum required depth of gravel especially if you are going to be putting plants in the tank.
Position your heater/heaters some can be laid down some have to stand up , read the instructions on the packet they are there to help guide you.Position your filter pipes for your filter, normally a pipe to draw water out and a pipe to return the water.Put your thermometer on the tank glass where the water level will cover it, avoid putting it over the gravel gravel/stone etc will hold heat a longer time than the water itself i normally position mine about 2/3rds of the way up on one of the sides.
Now you are ready to add water i have found the best way to do this is via a hose, if you rest a dinner plate on the gravel and put the hose onto it it will stop it moving the gravel around, do keep an eye it as it fills that 10 minute phone call while its filling could see the room get flooded.
If adding plants i would stop half way and allow it to settle for a couple of days with the heater submersed and filter running,then plant the plants before filling the rest of it up.
Okay now you need to let it settle, check the temperature adjust if necessary most community fish are comfortable around a temperature of 76f/25c and thats what you should aim for.I would recommend buying a water test kit.
You will need to de chlorinate the water, there is many off the shelf products for this, tank safe etc follow the instructions carefully.If you have put plants in, buy some plant food as well and run the lights as there will be little for the plants to feed on at the moment.
Now will be the time to start establishing the filter system, you can by bottles of filter start which contain bacteria and food for the bacteria to help start the filter, i personally add small pinches of fish flakes to the aquarium every couple of days.By doing this now it will help stop the tank getting overloaded with bacteria once you start to introduce fish.
After about 4 weeks i start to introduce my first fish to the the system guppys are ideal starter fish here they are quiet hardy and so give a fair indication of the initial set up.Dont go buying Loads of fish i normally start with about 4 in the first week (being the fourth week of set up), if you introduce to many to quickly you will overload the bacteria in the filter and this in turn will poison the water and kill the fish.
Do daily checks on the water, test for nitrite (NO2),Ammonia and Nitrates (NO3) and PH. This is where keeping fish becomes chemistry, but its not hard.Ph needs to be kept around neutral for most species in a community tank neutral is around 7, acidic water is below 7 (soft) Alkaline water is above 7 (hard).Most aquarium books will tell you the Ph`s suitable for most species based on the waters where they are from, however fish breed in this country seem to have adapted quiet well to the chemistry`s on water here.If you buy local breed fish you will normally be safe to use in your tank.
You will find during your daily checks that ammonia,Nitrate and Nitrite levels will rise and possibly head into the high end of the test kits range, DON'T PANIC this is normal the filter needs to establish and this can take a week or so and is also why adding a few fish at a time is so important, fish produce waste and it is taken into the filtration system where it is broken down into bacteria, bad bacteria will raise first then the good bacteria will start to build to combat the bad.
Once the levels start to drop you can add a couple of more fish i would opt for maybe a couple of more top/mid layer feeders and a couple of corydoras catfish to feed on the bottom layers, again don't buy loads each time you add some fish it will draw your levels of ammonia/nitrates/nitrites up, so little and often is the best rule of thumb, as it gives the filter a chance to handle the new stress levels you are putting in it.
While this may look complicated it isn't really, once you establish a tank with some simple maintenance once a month a system will run happily.
We don't really Keep fish we keep the water that they need to survive.
This intel first appeared on: http://www.herpuniverse.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=370
