Ten Tips for a
Great Fresh Water Aquarium!

One of the greatest assets you can put in any room of the house is a nice aquarium. There's a lot to be said for having an assortment of beautiful tropical fish in a well displayed aquarium. It's an eye-catching, stress-relieving, fairly low-maintenance thing that really adds to a room.

Here are ten tips that will make your aquarium a little easier to live with:

1. Big aquariums are easier to deal with than little ones. Yes, they take up more room, require bigger stands, and are more expensive to start, but the volume of water in a big tank makes water quality and temperature easier to maintain, and provides room for a greater variety of fish. Some of these extra fish can help clean the tank.
   
   
2. Use the right chemicals. Get a water conditioner to remove the chlorine and other gunk that the  water service adds to your tap water. Straight tap water will slowly kill your fish. There are some other chemicals that a good conditioner will remove as well.
   
   
3. The right filter makes a difference. Never use a 20 gallon filter for a 50 gallon tank, even if it is cheaper. Make sure the filter type is compatible with your style of aquarium. Some hang off the side making an unsightly lump and others are under the gravel.
   
   
4. Maintain that filter! Filter systems need to have the accumulated gunk cleaned out of them  every month or two. More often if you have a busy aquarium. Some have a tube which extends into the tank and draws the water out and through the filter. This end of this tube will get covered in gunk if you have plants in your aquarium. Keep it cleared away and your filter will work better.
   
   
5. Make sure your fish are compatible. A number of tropical fish are fin nippers, others, like Angel fish, get their fins nipped, and still others just eat the smaller ones. Your fish store attendant should be able to help you there.
   
   
6. Some fish, eg. Platies, give birth to live young. If you have fish eaters in your aquarium  they'll take care of the little ones. If you don't then you may find yourself with way too many  fish of one type. It was exciting for the first few sets of babies, but we got really tired of Platies.
   
   
7. Keep your pH at the right level. Generally a pH of 6.8 to 7.0 is good, but some fish and plants like a different pH. Again, read up a bit on what you're buying for your tank, make sure it's all compatible, and you'll do very well.
   
   
8. Only use plants and rocks from a quality fish store. They won't have issues or chemicals that  might damage your tropical fish. Always clean the rocks and ornaments thoroughly first, and make sure any trace of soap is well rinsed away.
   
   
9. Get an aquarium vacuum to clean up the old food, wastes, and goop that will settle over your gravel and rocks. The vacuum is a siphon that will suck water out of the aquarium and into a bucket or down a drain. The goop is siphoned out with the water. This is also a great excuse to change some of the water in your aquarium.
   
   
10. Get some bottom feeders and algae eaters. They'll go a long way to helping to keep your aquarium clean. Different fish eat different types of algae so variety is good.
    
    
11. Bonus tip - Once you get your aquarium up and running it's not at all hard to maintain, but you DO have to maintain it. A few minutes every other day will save you from dead fish and headaches.

Does your aquarium need a little tender loving care? Are you starting from scratch and want somethng that will be the envy of your friends? Get the Definitive Guide to Tropical Aquariums and get started!

Greg Mee