Aquariums For Beginners

By: William Berg

Keeping tropical fish is a fascinating hobby that has been enjoyed for centuries in
different parts of the world. The Romans kept live anemones in saltwater jars, but
never succeeded in keeping these beautiful creatures alive for any longer period of
time in captivity. They were however much more successful with keeping eels in
aquariums, and some sources claim that certain types of eels reached an age of up to
60 years when kept by the Romans. In South East Asia, the first fish keepers had their
fish in ponds, not in aquariums. The first domesticated species were probably carps
and all of todays fancy goldfish types actually hail from a wild carp that can still be
found in Asian rivers and streams.

If you want your fish to thrive like the Asian carps instead of quickly vanish like the
Roman anemones, it is important that you take the time to learn the basics about fish
keeping and aquarium maintenance before you set up your first aquarium. By
obtaining the basic information before you go about, you will save yourself a lot of
time, money and effort in the long run since you will be able to avoid the common
beginner mistakes. One common beginner mistake is for instance to purchase a very
small aquarium, thinking that a large one is much more difficult to manage. The truth
is however that the mega-sized show aquariums that you can see in your fish store are
easier to maintain than your tiny 5 gallon tank. In a small aquarium, there will be a
very little amount of water. If a fish dies in a large aquarium, the pollution will be
diluted by gallons and gallons of water. If a fish dies in your 5 gallon aquarium, the
carcass may very well pollute your entire tank before you even notice the demise and
remove the body from the water. I therefore recommend the beginner aquarist to
choose at least a 10 gallon aquarium, and a 30 gallon aquarium is ideal. Avoid
extraordinary deep aquariums since they are more difficult to clean. A very deep
aquarium can also become a problem if you want to introduce plants to your
aquarium, since you might have to install extra strong lights that are capable of
penetrating the deep water all the way down to the plants at the bottom of the
aquarium.

Filling up your aquarium with water and then promptly add all your fish at once is
extremely unadvisable since the aquarium is ready to accommodate that many fishes.
An aquarium is actually a miniature ecosystem and fish is not the only thing
inhabiting it. Your fish will produce plenty of waste products (chiefly fish poop) that
will eventually begin to build up in the aquarium. It is naturally not very healthy for
fish to swim around in there own feces, but fortunately enough there exists a certain
type of bacteria that can convert waste products from fish into compounds that are less
unhealthy. Fish poop contains a high level of ammonia, and ammonia is also excreted
via the gills of your fish. Ammonia is harmful to fish and also can turn extremely
poisonous if your aquarium experience a sudden change in water chemistry that
pushes the pH level above 7.5. If you allow populations of suitable bacteria to
establish in your aquarium before you introduce all your fish, the bacteria will convert
the ammonia into nitrite. Nitrate is also very unhealthy and high levels of nitrite will
kill your fish, but fortunately enough there is another type of bacteria that will love to
live in your aquarium and that will change the nitrite into a less harmful compound
nitrate. Nitrate is less dangerous than ammonia and nitrite, but high levels of nitrate
will be unhealthy for your fish. There are unfortunately no beneficial bacteria to aid
you here, and you must instead remove the nitrate by performing regular water
changes. Changing 25 percent of the water once a week is a good rule of thumb, but
some aquariums require more frequent water changes. When you are trying to
establish your new aquarium or if you are experiencing problems with the water
quality, smaller and more frequent water changes are advisable.