How to Set up a Freshwater Tank

Getting a new aquarium is always an exciting time but it's always great to not rush into it and do it correctly, filling a tank with water and fish on the same day just isn’t going to happen.

Once you have the equipment you need, make sure you have a rough plan of where filters, plants, ornaments etc are going to be placed.

Find an area in your house that isn't going to get a lot of temperature variation, so avoid drafts, direct sunlight and not directly near a radiator.

Once your tank is where it's going to stay, put 2 -3 cm worth of gravel or substrate onto the bottom (make sure gravel is washed of dirt and dust first). Make the gravel deeper at the back so it slopes gently towards the front of the tank.

Place any internal filtration and heating devices where they need to be, usually at the back and out of site as possible (don't cover them though) and slowly fill the tank half way. Once there, set up your ornaments and plants how you wish and when you’re happy fill the remainder of the tank.

Switch on your filter, lights and heater (if you have one) to make sure everything is working as it should. If that's ok, add some tap water safe treatment and some beneficial bacteria such as an aquarium bomb and leave it running for a couple of days, turning the lights on and off as you would if there were fish.

After a few days you can start to add a few fish but literally only a few. Too many fish, too quickly, will mean too much waste is produced for the filter and bacteria to handle, which could easily cause premature deaths.

Using test kits, check the ammonia levels and nitrite levels, once they have returned to 0 or very close to, you can add some more fish. Do this slowly and gradually over many weeks and do water changes between stocking. When you're close to your fish limit, It's always advisable to stay under otherwise it won’t take a lot to overwhelm your filter and cause serious problems.