| Have a question? We might have the anwser here. 1. Getting & Setting up a fish tank. 1. Can I put Goldfish in a Fish Bowl? No, you should not put any fish in a fish bowl, because it will stunt a fish's growth and will shorten the fish's life. At the Wal-Mart near me, the say the complete opposite, which they are wrong. 2.Where should I get my fish tank? I recommed you go to a small pet store, preferably one that spceializes in fish. It may cost more then big stores like Petsmart or Petco, but it will better in the long run if you get it from a small store, because it is almost like you are paying for service and advice. If you bought it there, you could approach them and say that you bought a fish tank from them and they will probably be more willing to help you, whereas the big pet store, the staff will probably not know their product as the small pet store does. 3. I bought my tank, what else do I need? You will need a filter to keep the water clean, a heater to keep the water warm enough for your tropical fish and you will need some gravel. You will also need some fish food, and some test kits, at the very least, you need to get a pH test kit, an Ammonia test kit, a Nitrite Test Kit, and a Nitrate Test Kit. I learned this the hard way, I only bought a Nitrite Test Kit for some reason and my Nitrates got up with out me noticing them, so make sure get those at the very least. The next things are depending what your tap water is like, if your town, city or village puts chlorine in the water, you will need a de-chlorinater. Depending on the pH of the water, you will need "pH Up" or "pH Down", but there is a product that I use from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals called Proper pH 7.5, it will set the pH to 7.5 instead of having to fiddle with the pH if it is a little bit to high or low. There is also a Proper pH 7 & a Proper pH 6.5. This products also neutralizes chlorine, so you do not have to buy a de-chlorinater. 3. I've got all of those things, now what? First you need to wash the gravel very well, it will take a while (For example: I bought a 70 Gallon and I bought 134lbs, (I only used half of it) It took me 4 hours to wash that gravel, but I must admit that it was really dirty. I recommend that you boil the gravel before putting it in your aquarium. After that, you need to put the gravel in, then fill up the tank with water and let it sit at the very least 2-3 days, but preferably a week. Something may happen during this time, so need to be patient. After that time, buy some plants (preferably live plants, I personally don't think you should put fake one in, as they don't do anything. Whereas live plants use some of the bacteria to grow. After the plants are in, then go to the pet store and a few fish (2-4 Fish, depending on the size of your tank. Do not put all of the fish in as there would be a bacteria bloom which would kill most, if not all, of the fish, which would not be good, would it? (There is a alternative to cycling the tank this way, it is called the fishless cycle. It is a much better way to cycle the tank, I am currently doing the fishless cycle and will have my fishless cycle story up as soon as it is done cycling, here is a write-up by the founder of the fishless cycle, Chris Cow Click here for the article) 4. After I add those fish can I on my next trip to the pet store get some more fish? No, you need to wait until the Nitrogen Cycle is done. For more on the Nitrogen Cycle, click here, this is the article on the Nitrogen Cycle at "The Krib". If you add more fish, you will could start a bacteria bloom which would kill most, if not all, of your fish. 5. My tank has cycled, now can I add my fish? If you did the fishless cycle you can add lots of fish (Some people say add half of the fish that you plan on getting now, then a quarter of the fish a few weeks later, then the last quarter of fish a few weeks later. Some people say you can add all of them now, me personally I would lean to the first view, just to be on the safe side.) If you are doing a plain cycle with fish, you can add a few fish (2-4), then a few weeks later, a few more fish, then a few weeks later, a few more fish and so forth. I hope this helps all of the beginners out there, I hope that this has not dampered your hopes with getting fish, I know it is expensive, but it is worth it in my mind. I enjoy my fish tanks greatly and I hope you will too. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at herrbain@gmx.de. I hope that FAQ helped, I will have another FAQ section in the coming months, so please be patient. |
              
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