| It is regular knowledge that you shouldn't bring any | | | | biological filtration of your filters. After setting all of |
| fish first to your home until you finish securing your | | | | the necessary equipments, try to turn them all on, as |
| freshwater aquarium tank first, and the other things | | | | if there are already fish in the tank, and check for |
| needed before you can actually bring these fish into | | | | vital errors and fix them if necessary. |
| your home. | | | | Finally, cycle the entire tank |
| Check the tank for leaks | | | | By letting the aquarium have the much needed |
| Testing your tank for leaks is very easy, you just | | | | beneficial bacteria. This process, known as cycling, |
| have to fill it with water and see if the water in the | | | | can be done by fixing the water chemistry needed |
| tank leaks in any way. If there is none, good, but | | | | for the fishes to survive, and this, in turn, can be |
| have your silicone-based sealant ready just in case | | | | done by taking a gradual number of steps over time. |
| there would be leaks. It is important to test it again | | | | Turn all lights off in the surrounding area of the fish |
| in case you found a leak, in order to check if your | | | | tank, and then add a few drops of pure ammonia in |
| sealant has sealed the leak properly. | | | | the water. Check if the water has about 5ppm after |
| Decorate your aquarium | | | | 30 minutes of exposure. After one week, check the |
| You can now proceed to decorate your tank. There | | | | water chemistry again; if the nitrites have already |
| is actually no restriction for this. Just be sure that the | | | | started to rise, and if the ammonia levels are lower |
| decoration's composition would not make drastic | | | | than the nitrite levels, then add more drops of |
| changes in the water chemistry. As for the | | | | ammonia. Wait again for a few weeks, and you will |
| substrate, choose one that can regulate the water | | | | see the nitrate levels start growing. At this point, the |
| pH level of the water effectively. Rinse all | | | | tank is now ready to grow the beneficial bacteria. |
| decorations first with warm tap water before finally | | | | Change at least 25% of the water in the tank, to |
| putting them into place. | | | | make up for the evaporating amount of water and |
| Prepare all necessary equipments | | | | for the loss of chemical substances. Again, wait for a |
| Make sure that each component is nicely placed and | | | | few weeks until a white cloud appears on the water, |
| works properly. Make sure that there aren't any | | | | and wait for it to disappear. Your tank has now |
| broken parts that might disrupt the equipment from | | | | finished the whole process of cycling, and your |
| working properly. All electrical cords should be | | | | freshwater aquarium setup is now complete. |
| properly grounded, and should be fairly safe from | | | | This can take very long if done from scratch, but |
| anything that might cause them to get wet. It is | | | | you can always call your local hobby store, which can |
| recommended that you apply water conditioners at | | | | provide you with a tank already thriving with |
| this point, to de-chlorinate the water for the early | | | | beneficial bacteria. This will certainly speed things up. |
| development of the much needed bacteria for | | | | |