HOW TO SET UP A FISH AQUARIUM

Many people who live in apartments, units or rentals find themselves with a desire to own a pet. But without the space, allowance for larger animals or time in your schedule what can you do? 


How about a Fish Tank? 

Pet fish are an excellent option as most breeds do not require any special care. Fish can also be left alone while you are away at work and they don't tear up the yard. Wallington's WRG has a wide range of fish tanks for sale, as well as live fish, tank accessories and fish food. 

This blog article will guide you through choosing your first pet fish and then taking care of them properly. Fish can thrive and provide you with years of friendship and companionship. For this blog, we will be using the standard goldfish as our example. Come on down to Wallington's WRG, located at 370 Grubb Road, Wallington and speak with our staff about other types of marine requirements. Including how to care for baby turtles and tropical fish varieties. 

Step One: The Fish Aquarium Set Up 

The Aquarium is the first step in setting up a beautiful home for your new Goldfish. It's important to purchase the right tank and place it in a well-situated area. Be sure that the table the tank will sit in is level and can handle large weight limits. A few key things to remember is, 

Do not place the tank anywhere that receives direct sunlight. This will heat the water over time and end up hurting your fish and making algae grow twice as fast. The same goes for indirect sunlight from lamps, harsh overhead lighting and even electronics such as Tv and Gaming Systems. 

Once you have found the perfect location, start by placing your chosen gravel, plants, driftwood, decor, etc near the tank. It's important to take the setup slowly in order to maintain a healthy and happy tank. Depending on it you would like to use live plants or not, you will either need a layer of substrate in order for living plants to take hold and thrive. If you only plan on using fake plastic plants, then you will only need gravel or rocks. Be sure not to drop these items in from a height, rather softly lay them against the glass or acrylic in other not to make small cracks or marks. 

Next, use a hose close to the bottom of your tank and fill the tank about halfway. You can also do this with a bucket. Make sure to place a plant on the rocks in order to take the splash and not throw rocks all around the tank. You may notice the water will start a little cloudy, but that will quickly fade as the water settles. Take this time to start placing in decorations and plants. Next, you will need to plug in your water filter and heater to make sure they are both working correctly. Once your tank is full, leave these running overnight to allow the waters chlorine levers to dissipate. Depending on the fish breed you want to use in your tank, you may need to buy some water conditioner before placing live animals in your tank. 

Step Two: The Aquarium Tank Lighting

Most aquarium bundles come with good lighting setups already. These are important for both good plant health and keeping algae growth to a minimum. If you have a strong light source that is too close to the aquarium, you will find that algae will build up and cause havoc with your setup. 

We have some fantastic lighting options from Aqua One that we would recommend to any beginner fish parent. 

Step Three: The Aquarium Water Pump

Every fish tank needs a water pump in order to aerate the water and keep the fish happy. Water pumps with a filter are a piece of equipment that draws water through a filter medium (such as sponges, carbon filters and fibre) This is to reduce the amount of debris in the water. The filter also houses some great bacteria which will help filter and remove dangerous chemicals from your fish's water.  

Step Four: Fish Aquarium Plants, Décor and Tank Gravel

Many believe owning a fish can be a "boring" thing. We beg to differ. There are countless ornaments, gravels and plants you can buy in order to deck out your goldfish's decorative new home. 

It can be amazing to have live plants in your setup. For goldfish, we recommend looking into the Vallisneria or Corkscrew Vallisneria. Not only do they create an interesting looking space, but they can also be eaten by goldfish if they are hungry while you are away. 

If you intend to have live plants in your aquascape, then we recommend having a gravel landscape or substrate that is 2 inches deep. This gives your plants a solid hold in place, even with an active water filter going. It is also a good idea to buy larger gravel as some goldfish have been known to choke on smaller pebbles. Make sure to get something large enough that this will not occur, and replace the gravel with larger stones as your fish grows. 

It's a good idea to keep your gravel's main colour something darker like Black or grey then use coloured gravel as a centrepiece or accent. Some goldfish will lose their golden colour as they adapt to their tank. 

Finally, you can buy a huge range of decor that your fish can hide in, play around and even use as their home during the night. We have a large range, including my personal favourites from Nickelodeon so your fish can live in a pineapple under the sea! Just be sure not to add any sharp decor items as goldfish can be a little hard of sight and can bump into items. We want to make sure they won't get hurt while swimming around and living their lives in your amazing tank setup. 

Step Five: Fish Maintenance & Water Testing 

It's important to change at least 3/4ths of the tank water every four weeks. This ensures there won't be a large build-up of ammonia from fish waste. You can also invest in some water filter products such as API's Stress Zyme. This product can help break down the levels of ammonia in your tank faster. 

Step Six: Enjoy! 

Your tank should now be all set up to bring home your new best goldfish friend. Be sure to speak with any of our staff at the Pet Desk and they will help you decide which goldfish to choose and how to acclimate them into a new aquarium tank. 

We also have a large range of fish foods on hand so you can grab everything you'll need in our one-stop fish shop 

 

Extra Step! 

It would be a great idea to introduce a Bristle Nose Catfish into your tank if you have more than one Goldfish, these catfish can be an important fish in your aquarium set up as they remove all the brown gunk (diatoms) which can grow over everything in your tank over time. They are considered tropical fish so you will need to include a water heater in your overall set-up. 

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