Get More Info on Aquariums and Fish Care:
Before you even begin to get your tank ready, please make sure of the following:
1) The weight of the tank is supported well (it will be much heavier with water in it). I would suggest using an online calculator to figure out the weight using the aquarium measurements.
2) There is no chance of direct sunlight entering the tank at any time of year.
3) No leaks in the tank (use silicone to repair).
Setting up your Tropical Fish Aquarium.
You will need:
Gravel to put on the bottom
Decorations and Plants (plastic are easy to clean and maintain, real plants are better for the fish)
Electric Pump (with charcoal and sponge filters)
Heater (with thermostat, set at 77F)
Thermometer – with clearly visible digits to see the real actual temperature
Light – long life fluorescent
Small Net
Buy tropical fish food flakes (feed once a day only), blood-worms (feed only once in awhile), and water conditioner (for use when you add tap water).
Everything should be in place with the pump and heater running for a few days before introducing the fish.
The recommended compatible fish are: Angel Fish, Dwarf Gourami, and Zebra Danio.
The Zebra Danio are very active and incredibly hardy. The Dwarf Gourami are beautiful yet tough as nails, they are really the rulers of the tank. Of course the Angel fish are the highlight. They are awesome and very intelligent. When they see you enter the room, they react by trying to get your attention to feed them! Please be warned that they grow a lot, they become huge! I’m not kidding, it’s really unbelievable how they become frighteningly gigantic.
Don’t get any cute smaller fish, they will get eaten! I don’t care what the experts say, I know what I see with my own eyes. You won’t see them do it, but of course if there is no body, it should be horrifyingly clear what actually happened…
Cleaning your Aquarium:
To clean the aquarium, you will need a cleaning siphon to pump out some (one third) of the water.
Use a sponge with a scouring pad on one side to clean the inside glass.
You will need to do a complete and thorough cleaning about every 2 months. Take out all of the ornaments and use chlorine bleach (no, it won’t hurt the fish) to soak everything 30 minutes. Rinse each piece very well under running water.
Take the filter apart completely to clean it properly.
The water will become ugly and cloudy however the fish will tolerate this temporary inconvenience. After a few hours the water should be quite clear. Don’t forget to use the water conditioner to treat the tap water.
Enjoy the beauty of the interaction between your fish in your clean tropical fish aquarium!
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