Home aquarium for beginners. What you need to start an aquarium: tips from experienced aquarists

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Do you dream of an aquarium? Ready to be patient and learn useful information before you start buying fish?

One of the easiest ways is to pour water into a jar, buy fish - and let them swim. Only pets will live two or three days at most, so those who wish to keep fish should take into account the rules for starting an aquarium.

It all starts with site preparation

Let's say you have a large apartment that allows you to get a multi-tonnage aquarium with predatory fish. For some reason, many beginners, having read information on the Internet, come to the pet store with this wish. When sellers start explaining the risks, potential buyers get angry and stick to their guns.

Dear readers, don't do this! Your desire is understandable, but a home aquarium for beginners should be completely different. This is discussed below, but for now let's talk about the installation location.

It will take a steadybedside table, it is advisable to purchase it at a pet store before buying an aquarium. At worst, any sturdy cabinet will do, just refrain from installing the aquarium on a thin chipboard panel. It is one thing if the future home for fish of small sizes - up to 25 liters, is completely different - aquariums of 40, 50 or more liters. They are heavy on their own and become even heavier with water. The chipboard panel is frail, there are certain irregularities that are invisible to the eye. The slightest distortion (1 millimeter is already enough) is enough for the glass to crack. As a result, it bursts, leaving water on the floor, often along with the fish.

Where is the best place to set up an aquarium? Away from the window, so that direct sunlight does not fall on it. Be sure to purchase a mat under the aquarium bottom, it will help to avoid accidental broken glass for the reasons indicated above.

Choosing an aquarium

Highly recommended to pay attention to the small home aquarium for beginners. The ideal option would be a tank up to 30 liters. It is easy to care for it, the capacity does not require much space, the price category is quite affordable. In addition, a novice aquarist may lose his fuse, what then to do with a large tank with its inhabitants? So start small.

When buying, pay attention to German aquariums. They are of the highest quality, although good tanks are produced in St. Petersburg. However, they are difficult to purchase outside of St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Choice of equipment

Surely you know what you need to start an aquarium. Just in case, we will remind you of the need to purchase the following equipment:

• Filter.
• Heater.
• The thermometer.
• CO2 installation.

Let's go through each item in order.

Filter and CO2 installation

Why do you need CO2 for an aquarium? It saturates plants with carbon dioxide. There are several installation options, ranging from a diffuser to tablets. For a small aquarium, up to 30 liters, with a small number of plants, such an installation is not needed. One filter is enough, without it the fish will die from lack of oxygen and water purification.

Let's choose a filter for a beginner home aquarium. There are quite a lot of well-known companies engaged in the production of filters on the Russian market. Among them are Chinese, German, American and Polish. The cheapest ones are the first, however, when buying a Chinese filter, we play Russian roulette. With luck, the equipment will work for two or three years, otherwise the service life will end a month after the aquarium is launched.

German and Polish filters are some of the best, according to the advice of experienced aquarists. They cost several times more than Chinese ones, but they work for five or more years.

The filter is chosen based on the volume of the aquarium. For a capacity of up to 25 liters, it is advisable to purchase a filter designed for 0-30 liters. When buying a tank with a capacity of 30 liters, choose a more powerful filter. The ideal option would be equipment designed for30-60 liters.

Heater and thermometer

Most fish are thermophilic, they need a certain temperature. In order to maintain it, a heater is purchased. The equipment is chosen by analogy with the filter: the larger the volume of the aquarium, the stronger the heater should be. We recommend purchasing the filter and heater from the same manufacturer.

You can buy the cheapest thermometer, there is not much difference. All thermometers have an error, so it makes no sense to overpay money for an expensive one. The only advice is to refrain from purchasing Chinese thermometers.

Install the aquarium

You have bought a suitable tank, solemnly set it up and are ready to fill it with water. A small question: did you defend the water? For the first start, it is necessary to defend the water for a week, the pet store may recommend an air conditioner to clean it. It is suitable for the future, but for the first run it is recommended to use the "grandfather" method of settling.

Fill water in containers and set them in a calm, warm place. All containers, whether buckets or plastic bottles, are kept open so that harmful impurities leave the water. Only after settling it is poured into the aquarium.

By the way, I almost forgot. After bringing the fish tank home, wash it and let it dry. Then install in the designated place, but do not fill with water.

Soil selection

Ground is a must for beginners in a home aquarium. Give preference to naturalsand, small pebbles or stones. Refrain from purchasing multi-colored primer, the paint composition may be of poor quality. In water, such soil begins to "molt", giving it its color. The components that are part of the paint are detrimental to fish.

Did you choose the soil? Great, now it remains to rinse it and boil it. The soil is washed under running water until it becomes transparent after draining. Then it is boiled for 15-20 minutes and cooled.

Ground laying and equipment fixing

Probably you want to know which fish are best suited for a small aquarium? Be patient, we'll tell you very soon. For now, let's talk about the crucial moment.

Laying soil in the aquarium. At the back wall, its amount should be maximum, at the front - minimum. Thus, you get a dirt slide, if you look better after laying.

Having formed a hill, start filling the soil with water. We put a saucer in the center of the aquarium, pour water on it in a thin stream so that it evenly flows from the edges, covering the ground. The process is long, so be patient.

After filling the aquarium with water, hang the filter and heater. Pay attention to the lower limits to which the heater can be immersed in water. They are marked directly on the equipment with a bright line.

The filter is completely immersed in water, only a cord and a thin tube for air remain on the surface. Read the instructions carefully to understand what kind of tube we are talking about.

After installationequipment, let it work for a day.

Plants

Starting a home aquarium for beginners is unthinkable without plants. For the first time, it is enough to buy the cheapest ones. Cabomba, vallisneria or lemongrass are the cutest thing.

We plant plants in the ground, the aquarium will be completely ready to receive new settlers in a week. The filter works and fills with beneficial bacteria, the heater heats the water (set the temperature to 24 ° C).

Purchasing shelters

One more point - the purchase of decorations and shelters for plants. There are no recommendations on this matter, it all depends on the taste and financial capabilities of the novice aquarist.

After purchasing the decorations, they are washed well in hot running water, allowed to dry and placed in the aquarium.

Choice of fish

Which fish are suitable for a small aquarium? It all depends on the volume of the tank: if you bought a five-liter round aquarium (exaggerated), one cockerel is planted there. This fish is a fighter, it is distinguished by its special beauty and strong disposition. When buying a cockerel, forget about other fish, representatives of the breed live alone. Males are especially skittish, they are able to kill even a female of their own kind.

We recommend paying attention to live-bearing fish. These are guppies, swordtails, mollies. The smallest and most mobile are guppies, their multi-colored tails delight beginner aquarists.

Males differ from females in bright colors and sizes. Representatives of the strong fish sex are smaller thangirlfriends. Females are large, with a rounded abdomen, usually painted gray.

One guppy needs at least 3 liters of water. Therefore, 10 fish can be placed in an aquarium with a capacity of 30 liters. This is the maximum figure, the ideal will be half of the indicated one.

Beautiful fish - swordtails and mollies. Swordtails can be orange, black and bicolor. The main feature of males is a long "sword" on the caudal fin. Representatives of the species are larger than guppies, they require a larger volume of water - from 5 liters at least.

The most unpretentious fish for an aquarium are mollies. Black and white representatives of the species are especially good.

Launch the fish

The timing of their life depends on the correct planting of fish in the aquarium. With an inept landing, up to 30% of new settlers will die, we are learning to avoid such a result.

In the pet store there are packages for transporting fish, as a rule, future aquarium inhabitants are sold by planting in them. The package is tightly twisted and fastened with elastic bands, it is worth carrying it in your bosom in order to avoid sudden changes in water temperature.

When you get home, put the bag in the aquarium. You can not untie it, let it lie in the water for 10-15 minutes. Then untie the bag, add half a glass of aquarium water to it, hold for 5 minutes. New settlers can be released from the bag into the aquarium.

About feed

The article is coming to an end, it remains to mention fish food. Choose German food, you can buy them both in packages,so loose. The latter are cheaper, but they are bought only in trusted pet stores.

The most popular flake food. It is convenient to feed the fish. Pets are fed twice a day, in small portions. Food should not settle to the bottom of the tank, if this happens, the fish have overeaten, reduce portions a little.

Conclusion

Here are the rules for starting a home aquarium for beginners. We hope that the tips will be useful for readers.