Setting up an aquarium

Procedure for setting up an aquarium:

*Place the aquarium on furniture that can support it. Count on a kilogram per liter of water + decorations + gravel or substrate.

*Decide where the filter will be. If you have an internal one, it is ideal to place it in one of the back corners.

*Pour a layer of substrate or gravel onto the bottom of the aquarium. We recommend a minimum of three centimeters.

For beginners, we recommend a substrate that does not contain nutrients (this will limit the problem with algae).

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*Place the roots and stones.

*Start filling the aquarium with water. It can be ordinary lukewarm tap water.
If you have a familiar aquarist, ask for some of the water from his aquarium or add starter bacteria. This will shorten the aquarium's running-in time! The direct stream of water will swirl the gravel and mix it with the substrate. It is advisable to pour water into a container that you place on the bottom of the aquarium or bubble wrap.

* When the water level is up to a third of the aquarium, you can start planting plants.
Gently release plants in pots and those rooted in cotton wool under running water.
If they have long roots, it is recommended to trim them to 4 centimeters. This encourages their growth.
Short plants forward, tall ones back.

*Add water, but not completely, because you still need to put a heater there.heater
Install the heater and set it to the required temperature
(the average temperature for many fish species is 25 °C).

*Now you can add water completely - that is, up to the limit specified by the aquarium manufacturer. Usually this is up to the lower edge of the upper plastic rim.

filter hang on

*Start the filter.

Adjust the direction and strength of the flow so that as many plants in the aquarium as possible gently sway. But the current cannot be strong! It is ideal if you set the filter outlet so that it ripples the surface. Do not turn off the filter anymore. From now on, it is the heart of your aquarium!!!

*Connect the light.controller
It is advisable to connect the light to a timer so that the lighting is regular. At first, it is advisable to light for about 6 hours and gradually reach 8 hours of lighting in the following weeks. Over time, you will notice whether the plants require a longer or shorter period (depending on the lighting and the demands of the plants).

Over time:

Try to tame your aesthetic sense and think three times about each transplant. The plants need peace now. The less intervention, the better.
First, the level of nitrites will increase significantly, i.e. the result of the decomposition of biological waste. Nitrites are poisonous to fish - they prevent them from producing red dye in their blood. The fish cannot bind oxygen from the water into their blood and will suffocate.
But nitrites are also needed. They are food for nitrifying bacteria. They use oxygen to convert nitrites into nitrates – which are nutrients for plant growth.
Nitrifying bacteria inhabit all surfaces in the aquarium, especially the bottom and the media in the filter. However, they need time to spread throughout the aquarium. By then, dangerous substances in the water can rise to levels that are incompatible with fish life.
That is why old bottom, water from a used aquarium or a bottle with bacteria helps – they will speed up the creation of a chemical climate acceptable to fish and other aquatic animals.

The first week
The aquarium should be run-in for two weeks to a month – without fish and other living creatures. Fluctuations in chemistry could be dangerous.
You certainly won't ruin anything by waiting patiently. But we are all looking forward to the first inhabitants.
Therefore, if the aquarium is free of turbidity and the plants are not affected in any way, you can buy snails (ampularia, nerites, turgids). You can feed the snails sparingly with pellets for bottom fish.
You will probably find that you already have some snails in your aquarium without buying them. They came to you on the plants. This is no reason to panic. The vast majority of them do not harm the plants, on the contrary, they rather clean them and this is useful in the beginning (there are many types of fish, traps or snails that eat other snails, but you can deal with that after the aquarium has run in).

Second week
If you really can't stand it and there is no mess in the aquarium, you can buy some hardy fish - suckers, Siamese clams, garra rufa, armadillos... Something has to be dirtying the water, so that the bacteria have something to digest. Four pieces max to start with!
If the plants are doing well, gradually increase the lighting time. You should end up with somewhere around 8–12 hours of light per day. Tropical plants are used to these values ​​in their homeland.

After the first month
You can start carefully adding fish.
One group at a time, with a few days break in between so you can monitor how they are doing and what they are missing.
As for deaths, there will always be some. It is sad, but firstly not all the fish you buy are in tip-top condition and secondly, as a human being you make mistakes. Maybe your water is too hard for the type of fish, maybe you have too strong a current, etc.

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Many plants are grown above water, give it time. It may seem like the plant is rotting but that is not always the case! The plants need to adapt to the change.
If none of the plants are doing well, don't buy any fish yet! You have bad chemistry and that needs to be fixed first.