How to set up an aquarium

An aquarium, to put it simply, is a container that can sustain fish and other aquatic life for

a longer period of time. Acquiring a good aquarium for your fish is not a very difficult

job as long as you give it some thought before you actually get it. There are some obvious

considerations to be taken into account. Setting up and fully stocking a good aquarium

will take anywhere between a couple of weeks and a month. The time that you spend with

these basic steps will save you a lot of time and trouble at a later stage.

There are several things to consider before you purchase an aquarium. How much time

you are willing to spend on the aquarium? What kind of aquarium do you want to buy?

What is the ideal spot for your aquarium? What kind of fish should you put in your

aquarium? How do you keep your fish and their environment healthy in the easiest and

quickest way? How much time would it all take to maintain? What should you feed your

fish and how much? What should you do when diseases strike? These are just some of the

many questions that you need to think about.

A good and well stocked aquarium needs quite a bit of equipment. Here is a simple list of

the items that you will need for a basic freshwater aquarium:

Ø An aquarium tank

Ø An aquarium stand

Ø A hood

Ø Lighting equipment

Ø Air pump

Ø Heater

Ø Thermometer

Ø Filters (internal or external)

Ø Gravel

Ø Decorations (optional, but interesting if you have these)

Ø Maintenance items like scrubber, siphon tube etc.