Learning how to set up a fish tank is not all that difficult, but there are some steps you should follow. First, you must realize a few things about an aquarium setup. A tropical fish tank is just like having a dog or a cat when it comes to the amount of effort on your part. In order to have a successful freshwater tropical fish tank you will have to work at it. Once a week, or at most once every two weeks, you will need to perform some kind of maintenance on the tank. Most of the time you will be performing water changes. You will also have to feed your fish at least once a day. Setting up and running a fish tank does cost money. There are recurring expenses such as replacing filter media, buying food, etc. Check out the Freshwater vs. Saltwater Aquarium page to get an idea of the setup costs involved. If you are up to the challenge, please proceed!

It’s a good idea to have in mind what kind of fish you want to keep before you purchase an aquarium. Some fish only grow to be an inch or two, whereas other types of tropical fish can grow 12 or 13 inches or more in length! Knowing what kind of fish you want will help you decide the size of the tank they will need. If this is your first time with an aquarium, it may be a good idea to start with a 10 or 20 gallon aquarium setup for now and stock it with some smaller and hardier species.

If your tank has been setup for a short time this may be the result of a bacterial bloom that happens in a newly setup tank or when too many tropical fish were added too soon. This situation will correct itself when a sufficient amount of bacteria establishes on your biological filter. See the Nitrogen Cycle for more information on this process.

Now is a good time to decide on the type of aquarium filter you will want to use. You will also need to purchase a heater capable of heating the tank size you have. Buy the gravel, plants, a power strip and other decorations. A good rule of thumb for the amount of gravel that you will need is 1 to 1.5 pounds of gravel per gallon of water.

Usually the result of an algae bloom. The green water will not harm your fish but it is not the most pleasant thing to look at. This happens because of the amount of nutrients and the amount of light entering the aquarium. Your tank water is nutrient rich, which may mean that you’re feeding too much, your tank may be overstocked or you’re not doing enough water changes or a combination of all the above. Avoid placing your aquarium where it could receive direct sunlight. Direct sunlight will cause not only algae problems but temperature fluctations as well.

These strains may cost up to, if not more than $85 for a trio (one male and two females). But, keep in mind that the breeder that has these fish for sale has been working on this strain for quite some time using a process of “line-breeding” to keep the strain as nice looking and pure as possible. These are the potential breeders of a show quality guppy. Don’t get me wrong, some breeders have taken the average guppy from a local shop and through line breeding have developed some very beautiful show guppies.

Pond keepers sometimes use a UV Sterilizer on their outdoor ponds to help control algae growths. While we agree that these sterilizers can have a positive effect on the algae growth in your tank, there are better, less expensive methods to use for controlling algae in the aquarium and we recommend you try some of the ideas presented above.

If that doesn’t work, as a last resort, you could use Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Algae Destroyer. The algae destroyer should clear up the algae problem quickly. Please use as directed on the bottle. This is just a quick fix and we recommend that you figure out what’s causing the algae problem in the first place.