Aquarium

When setting up an aquarium we recommend you have a fish tank with a filter system and not just a bowl. Most fish tanks nowadays come with the filter, pump and heater already in them but if they don't all these products can be bought at The Giant Pet Store. If you just buy the fish tank get a pump that will turn over all the water in the tank at least 7 times an hour. For example a Tetratec Air Pump APS400 can move between 200litres to 400litres of water per hour so it is suitable for aquariums up to a 60 litres. If you are hoping to stock tropical fish in your aquarium and it doesn’t come with a heater you also need to buy one. The Tetratec HT range of heaters are reliable and easy to use and come in various sizes to suit the size of your aquarium

Once you have bought your aquarium you need to test it for leaks.This is best done either outside or near a sink - just carefully fill it with water, dry it completely on the outside with a paper towel, put a line on the glass where the water level is with a non permanent marker and leave it.
While you are waiting you can clean your gravel by putting some in a strainer and running water over it, when the water runs clear it is clean enough to use. After a few hours check that the water level hasn’t dropped in your tank, if it is ok empty out the water and position the tank in your desired location. Make sure the aquarium is out of direct sunlight and away from any heating source you may have in the room. If you are going to use an Under Gravel Filter put that into the fish tank and then add a substrate such as Tetra Plant Substrate.

Now add your conditioned water. To condition your water pour the required amount into containers and add a water conditioner like TetraAqua Aquasafe at a rate of 5ml per 10 litres of water. TetraAqua Aquasafe removes all the chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals from tap water that are harmful to fish and also contains colloids and vitamins that helps reduce stress and protect the mucous on the fish’s skin making it less prone to infection. Although it is not essential we recommend that you leave the conditioned water to stand for 24 hours before introducing it to your tank.

Once your fish tank has been running for 24 hours and you are happy that all the equipment is working properly you need to add bacteria to the filter system. A product like Tetra Bactozym adds the bacteria to the filter system and helps speed up this colonisation process enabling you to add fish to your aquarium quicker. Add 2 tablets by placing them in the filter for every 100 litres of aquarium water. This can also be used in conjunction with Tetra Safestart to improve the time it takes for the aquarium to mature. During this maturation period it is also possible to add plants to your aquarium.

After leaving your aquarium running for 1 week without any fish in it test your water for levels of Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphorous and ph levels either using a water test kit like a Tetratest 6 in 1 Strips or the Tetratest Laborett. If all of the tests show the recommended levels then you can start adding fish to your aquarium. We recommend that you add only a few at a time to prevent getting a condition called new tank syndrome. This is where the bacteria in the filter system are unable to cope with the waste produced by the newly added fish, the water quality drops and the fish become polluted by the high levels of Nitrite and Nitrate in the water. This can lead to death or disease in your fish. To help prevent this you can also add Tetra Safestart to your aquarium every time you add new fish. It helps lower the stress levels of the fish when they are introduced to a new system.