Recent statistics reveal that 14.7 million U.S. households have a home aquarium. There are many reasons to love the majestic beauty of aquarium fish. Sometimes it can be that final touch that really makes a house a home.
An aquarium setup is not challenging, but you must follow a few essential steps and do it in order. Here is how to build your home aquarium.
Build an Aquarium
First, you want to wash the items you purchased home aquarium thoroughly. This includes washing aquarium plants, rocks, gravel, and other ornaments with warm water. Once you clean them thoroughly, add them to your tank.
Detergents and soaps are highly toxic to fish, so do not use them when you clean the items for your tank.
For the gravel especially, you want them free of debris.
Add One-Third of Room Temperature Water
After you arrange your clean aquarium accessories in the empty tank, fill it with about one-third full of water. Use a clean bucket to pour the water in, and make sure the water is at room temperature.
While you pour the water in, gravel can shift. To prevent this, pour the water onto a saucer or plate you place over the gravel.
You will want to add a water conditioner for a freshwater home aquarium. This de-chlorinates the water. For a reef aquarium, you will want to add a salt mix.
Every brand of salt mix will vary by how much salt mix is necessary per gallon of water. However, reef aquariums should have a 35 ppt salinity.
Airline Tubing
You will want to connect the tubing to any air outlets you need to place inside the tank. This includes air stones or decorations. The airline tubing comes from the air pump.
Aquarium Plants
This is one final opportunity to arrange live or plastic plants. If you are adding live plants, make sure that you are keeping them moist. Ideally, arrange your aquarium plants to hide equipment for aesthetics.
We recommend you check out these corals for a beautiful aquarium setup that will dazzle your guests.
Fill With Water
Now you want to continue filling the water in the home aquarium until it reaches the top frame. However, be careful not to go to the “tippy top.” Leave some space from the top of the water to the aquarium cover.
Set Up Filter
Fill your filter with a filter cartridge and position it per the manufacturer’s instructions. Before turning it on, ensure the filter is full of water. Once everything is complete, and the water is safe, aquarium fish is the last thing to add.
Home Aquarium Setup
Once you gather all your materials, follow these steps. Clean everything thoroughly, add gravel and one-third of room temperature water and arrange your aquarium plants. Then add your airline tubing, fill it with water, and install the filter.
When you are ready, enjoy your new pet fish!
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