How To Set Up A Fish Tank? - Times of India

Fish have joined your family as the newest members and you want to give them the warmest possible welcome. While you may have the intention of housing them in a huge fish tank, you either do not know how to set up a fish tank or you are missing vital tricks that will help the fish adjust in your family comfortably and safely.
Fish are fragile creatures and need perfect water and life conditions to survive, setting up an environment that is as good as the natural environment is hard and tricky. Refer to this guide on setting up an aquarium.
Stepwise guide on how to set up the fish tank.

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Step 1: Set up the fish tank
Now that you are in possession of a fish tank, open the box it was delivered to and set it up on a raised, flat surface. Make sure the surface is large enough to set up the tank.
The best place to keep the fish tank is in the living room. This is due to the large space available in comparison to bedrooms and your guests can also spend some time with the fish. If you have any fish tank backgrounds with you, add them at this step. Gently clean the walls of the fish tank with a dry cloth (no chemical cleaners) and get rid of all the dirt.

This is an enclosed, 28 liters tank that is ideal to be placed in homes and offices. The lid stops much of the dirt from entering the water. The tank comes with a 10 W built-in filter and a 6 W LED light. It has a water capacity of 28 liters and is an ideal addition to the living room or office space.

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Step 2: Add props and accessories

Aquarium gravels and props are placed in the fish tank for the fish to play and relax in. These props could be aquarium-specific homes, castles, cars, and more. Make sure that the prop is aquarium and fish safe. These props not only help the fish but also add to the presentation of your fish tanks. You can also opt to change these props every 6 months or so to reduce the monotonous look of your fish tank. Before you place any props and accessories, it is important to add sand, gravel, and stones to create a solid base for accessories.

This prop allows the fish to play, rest and breed. The multi-floor castle is all-water safe and does not lose its color and texture in the water. This also adds an edge to the scenery of your aquarium.

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Read More: Small pellets for feeding goldfish, guppy & more

A sunken ship in water makes for a good home for fish in natural life, an artificial sunken fish does the same for fish in an aquarium. Use this prop to help your fish play, hide, rest and breed and do all of this while retaining a distinctive-looking fish tank. The ornament does not fade or lose its texture in the water and has a long life.

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Read More: The best available LED lights for a fish tank that make the viewers go wow!

Step 3: Put on filter, heater& pump

Now, add water to the tank and wait for the tank water cycle to begin. In this step, you must also add filters and a heater (if needed) to keep the fish safe and to maintain habitable conditions. The filter keeps impurities and dirt away from the fish water. Whereas, the water heater keeps the water temperature between 22 degrees to 25 degrees. This temperature range is considered optimum for fish to survive and breed.

The heater can heat the water between 20 degrees Celsius and 34 degrees celsius and is easy to switch on and off. The fish tank heater is also equipped with 2 suction cups. The aquarium heater can be fixed at any position on the cylinder wall. A fully waterproof design ensures that the heater completely submerges in the water and provides the best results. The blast-proof design of the heater means that it is safe for the fish and the user's safety.

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Adding a fish tank pump is important as well. Fish tank pump ensures right oxygen levels in the water are maintained a continuous passage of air. You can also cover fish tanks with decorative materials.

Read More: Know more about fish tanks and the best available products

This air pump from Despacito has 2 outlets that maintain a healthy flow of oxygen to the water in the fish tank. The pump also allows you to manually control the oxygen levels and has a noiseless operation. High wear-resistant rubbers and cooper coils make it durable and long-lasting. It makes your aquarium oxygen levels high and helps keep your fish healthy. Perfectly suitable for using at all kinds of aquarium, aquaculture oxygenation, spout decoration, etc.,

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Step 4: Add fish food to the aquarium
A mistake that many new fish owners make is that they introduce the fish as soon as the tank is set up. However, you must note that a vicious cycle develops in the fresh tank by the name of "new tank syndrome". This cycle is toxic and uninhabitable for the fish to live. To avoid this you need to add fresh water to the tank, add fish food without fish in it and leave it for a month. The water cycle phenomenon will reduce the pH levels of the water and make it habitable for fish.

Once this process is done over a period of one month, you can get the water levels, toxicity, and other vital checks before introducing the fish to the tank.

Boltz fish food is suitable for all aquarium fish species such as goldfish, fancy carp, swordtails, platies, mollies, angelfish, cichlids, anabantids, bettas, etc. This is designed specially as per pet fish diet requirements. Since it is made with natural ingredients it is easy to digest for the fish and improve their metabolism.

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Step 5: After a month, add fish

The fish tank cycle takes almost a month to complete, at the end of the month, you can introduce the fish to the tank. At the same time make sure the tank is clean. Drain out the old water and add clean water, then add fish to the tank. Add fish tank water conditioner to improve the water quality and to keep the tank clean.
There are several things that you should take note of while adopting fish as a pet.

• Cloudiness in the tank is normal in the first few weeks, this happens due to ammonia build-up during the water cycle. It usually subsides by the second week.

• It is important to let the water cycle take its entire 4-week process to finish. This will create a habitable environment for the fish to breed and live in.

• Even a slight change in water temperature (+/- 2 degrees) can cause a lot of stress to the fish. Make sure that the temperature ranges between 22 degrees Celsius to 27 degrees Celsius.

There are several essential accessories that you would require to keep the tanks in the best conditions and keep the fish in the most healthy state. These essential items come into use every day in managing fish tanks.

Fish tank glass cleaner

Fishtank sponges

Aquarium nets
Fish tank cleaning kits
Other FAQs

1. Do I have to add RO/UV purified water to the fish tank?
   Tap Water or Clean running water can be added to the fish tank. The water cycle that will take place over a month will clean the water.
2. How do I know that the water cycle in the fish tank has been completed?
   Once the nitrate bacteria take hold of the water, nitrite levels will fall and the amount of nitrate will rise. Get the water checked for pH and other levels. Once nitrite levels and ammonia levels are zero, the tank has cycled completely.
3. Which pet fish are best for beginners?
   Neon Tetra, Goldfish, Guppies, Mollies, BetaFish, AngelFish, Rainbowfish are the best species of fish to adopt and raise in-house aquariums.

DISCLAIMER: The Times of India's journalists were not involved in the production of this article.