Using some good old common sense will make your first aquarium a success.
Having patience is the first sense you need when starting an aquarium.
After you've make the decision to get an aquarium the first thing you'll want to do is set it up and put fish and plants in it-all in one day.
And every one of them will die and the aquarium will go into the garage and you'll never touch it again.
Why? The art of aquarium keeping is not hard if you just remember a few basic principles.
Notice how Mother Nature takes care of her plants, lakes and rivers.
If you treat your aquarium the same way she does you won't have any problems.
So how does Mother Nature take care of her aquariums? Mother Nature waters (rain) her plants to start the biodegradation process.
The leaves and spent flowers fall into the water and go to the bottom and slowly biodegrade.
The plants send their roots down to get the nutrients from the biodegraded material.
There is a more scientific discussion for this but I'm keeping is simple.
In lakes (and oceans) there are rivers, streams, and trickles that allow water to move in and out of the lake, thus changing the water.
Lakes have a constant supply of fresh water going into them at all times.
Your aquarium, unless you set it up differently, uses a filter system to supply this change of water.
This is good! If you notice a pond that doesn't have a water supply coming in and out, there is an excess of algae build up.
The water is green and muddy looking.
There is too much bacteria and algae for the plants to grow properly.
This is bad! It will kill the plants and fish after a while.
So, the first thing you want to do is setup your aquarium and let it sit for a week or so.
Don't put anything in it.
This will help build up algae, bacteria, and other things that plants and fish need to survive in your tank.
Don't be conned into buying medicines for your plants and fish because they don't work, aren't worth the money and do more damage than good.
You can buy the bacteria to help speed the tank bacteria building or use some plants from someone else's aquarium.
You might risk getting a disease from someone else's but if you're sure their tanks is good and clean then go ahead.
Once the algae and bacteria are built up you can put in plants and fish.
Use a tester kit to check the levels.
Another thing to understand is how the nitrogen cycle works in an aquarium.
Fish make waste (ammonia) that needs to be broken down by bacteria.
By understand how it works you will avoid dead fish and plants.
For more information on aquarium plants visit Beginning Aquarium Plants.
Having patience is the first sense you need when starting an aquarium.
After you've make the decision to get an aquarium the first thing you'll want to do is set it up and put fish and plants in it-all in one day.
And every one of them will die and the aquarium will go into the garage and you'll never touch it again.
Why? The art of aquarium keeping is not hard if you just remember a few basic principles.
Notice how Mother Nature takes care of her plants, lakes and rivers.
If you treat your aquarium the same way she does you won't have any problems.
So how does Mother Nature take care of her aquariums? Mother Nature waters (rain) her plants to start the biodegradation process.
The leaves and spent flowers fall into the water and go to the bottom and slowly biodegrade.
The plants send their roots down to get the nutrients from the biodegraded material.
There is a more scientific discussion for this but I'm keeping is simple.
In lakes (and oceans) there are rivers, streams, and trickles that allow water to move in and out of the lake, thus changing the water.
Lakes have a constant supply of fresh water going into them at all times.
Your aquarium, unless you set it up differently, uses a filter system to supply this change of water.
This is good! If you notice a pond that doesn't have a water supply coming in and out, there is an excess of algae build up.
The water is green and muddy looking.
There is too much bacteria and algae for the plants to grow properly.
This is bad! It will kill the plants and fish after a while.
So, the first thing you want to do is setup your aquarium and let it sit for a week or so.
Don't put anything in it.
This will help build up algae, bacteria, and other things that plants and fish need to survive in your tank.
Don't be conned into buying medicines for your plants and fish because they don't work, aren't worth the money and do more damage than good.
You can buy the bacteria to help speed the tank bacteria building or use some plants from someone else's aquarium.
You might risk getting a disease from someone else's but if you're sure their tanks is good and clean then go ahead.
Once the algae and bacteria are built up you can put in plants and fish.
Use a tester kit to check the levels.
Another thing to understand is how the nitrogen cycle works in an aquarium.
Fish make waste (ammonia) that needs to be broken down by bacteria.
By understand how it works you will avoid dead fish and plants.
For more information on aquarium plants visit Beginning Aquarium Plants.
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