Shiny colorful rocks, a Mr. Bubbling Diver and a ceramic NO FISHING sign is plastered in your mind when you think "Fish Tank". Or maybe this image pops up in your head: A lush forest of underwater plants with various colorful fish swimming here and there, an absolute mini underwater enviroment that you spend hours upon hours just look at. All this beauty set up in your house or apartment.
Whatever the vision you have for what you wish to set up the aquarium hobby can be a time (and money) consuming hobby but it will fulfill you with fruitful rewards and satisfaction. There are various information and advice out there that may seem to contradict each other so starting into the hobby can be a frustrating and scary thing to do.
As you may or may not have heard, you can't just go out and buy a fish tank, fill it up with some pretty rocks, cute little bubbling diver thing-a-ma-bobs and water then dump fish into the tank. There are a few things to put into consideration and some stuff you will need to know on your first setup.
In this article I hope to give you enough information to get you started into the world of the fresh water aquarium hobby and make it easier for you to do so. I will try and just give you a basics of hardware choices and touch base a little on some important aspect of water chemistry. I'll leave more detailed information for future articles. This article will simply help you set up your first fresh water aquarium, help you with important first time decisions that you must put into consideration and give you a good start into the hobby.
First of all, the most important advice that I can give you is to be PATIENT. I can not stress this point enough. There has been countless calls for help from the "new to this hobby" people about why their fish are dying or why their tank just looks like a swamp. 90% of the time, they were misinformed or impatient about getting their aquarium set up.
If you want to do it right, then you will have to take it slow and learn as much as you can.
Planning and Considerations
Planning WHERE you are going to put your aquarium is very important. There are various factors for you to put into consideration.
The Location
Let’s go ahead and think of an area of where you plan to place your fish tank. Do you have one in mind? Now remember everything around that immediate area. Now let’s go down the list.
Windows
Is the fish tank going to be near windows? If so, will DIRECT SUNLIGHT shine right into the fish tank? That’s the important thing. A fish tank being next to a window isn’t a big deal as long as it doesn’t get direct sunlight. Direct sunlight will cause the water to heat up and/or you will be susceptible to an algae problem. Algae won’t kill your fish but it will sure give you a heck of a time with tank maintenance.
Another factor you should consider is can the window be opened? If so, does it get open? When you open a window, it’s to cool down the room. If a fish tank is next to an open window it can change the temperature dramatically in the fish tank as well. Many fishes do not do well to drastic temperature changes and will die. It’s best to keep your fish tank away from any windows if it will come in direct contact with sunlight or a change in temperature.
