Planning is Key to the Success of Your First Home Freshwater Aquarium

 by Andrew Bartlett

Having a home freshwater aquarium can be a wonderful and exciting hobby for anyone to take on. If done right, it can provide years and years of enjoyment, but done wrong, it can be a painful source of frustration until you eventually give up.

The most important thing you can do to ensure the success of your venture is to take the time to properly plan. Buying an aquarium should not be an impulse purchase. It doesn't have to be a long, drawn out process either, but if you rush it, the result is likely failure.

So where do you begin? All of the points listed are not really in any order, as they are interrelated. Rather, all of the considerations below are what go into "step one" of buying your first fish tank.

• Size of the Tank - Many newcomers to the hobby get very excited and want to do something grand with their first aquarium. Maybe they have seen the huge tank at the dentist's office and thought about how great that would look in their house. They fail to realize that the expense, upkeep, and demands of a 200+ gallon tank are way beyond that of the beginner. Some people take the opposite approach and think that a 5-8 gallon tank will be easy, but then are disappointed to find out that they can only safely keep a 2-5 fish in it because it's too small. A good target size for your first aquarium is 20-40 gallons.
• Location - It's not just important in real estate, the location of your aquarium within your home is crucial. First of all, those things are heavy! A 30 gallon tank with stand, gravel, and water will weigh about 400 pounds, so choose your spot wisely. Do not put it in direct sunlight as temperature control and algae will be issues. Also avoid high traffic areas in your home as that placement can stress out the fish in your aquarium.
• Get the Right Accessories - Make sure that you get the right filter size. If you just grab one because it's on sale or a friend gave it to you, it may not be rated for the size tank you have and that will mean trouble. A proper fitting hood and stand are important, too. The bottom of the tank isn't "just rocks" either, so do a little research as to the right/wrong gravel before you fill the tank.
• Picking out Fish for Your Tank - This is one of the most overlooked parts of the planning process. In their excitement, many people go to the pet store and start picking out whatever fish looks neat, is the prettiest, or just seems cool, without any forethought as to how the fish will live together. This is very important! It is a terrible feeling to wake up one day to find a bunch of your fish gone because you failed to find out that the cool looking Oscar you just bought will eat anything that fits in its mouth!
• Time Commitment - If you set up your freshwater aquarium right from the start, you shouldn't encounter many problems, but it doesn't run itself. There will be some maintenance involved and please be sure that you are willing and able to do it before you make the investment in the tank, gear, and fish.

Once you take the time to make the important decisions up front, the success of your home aquarium is almost guaranteed. The time invested in the planning stage will pay off in a big way with the years of enjoyment that you and your family will get from your fish tank.