How to set up an aquarium and create the perfect aquarium habitat.

Nothing brings indoor space to life like an aquarium. This body of water, and the fish that swim in it, instantly bring your mind to peace. It also helps with keeping a calm and easy-going atmosphere in your home or work environment. However, if you are planning to take care of any wild animal in unnatural surroundings, you must make this new habitat as natural as possible. This is especially true for fish. We’ll do our best to show you how to set up an aquarium.

You see, unlike other pets that require commodities in moderation, fish need full-time service and genuine care. Firstly, and naturally, they must have a water-filled fish tank. Also, depending on the type of fish you’d like to own – a specific climate and specific water temperature. You even must match the aquarium accessories to the chosen fish type.

The first thing that comes to an inexperienced aquarist’s mind is to bring these accessories straight from nature and scatter them around your fish tank. But things aren’t that simple. Here are a few tips, to make aquarium maintenance as easy, and as for proper as possible.

1. Choose harmless and eco-friendly aquarium backgrounds

Sadly, you cannot just place any rock, and especially not some random nature-given driftwood without preparation. In natural habitats, massive water ecosystems have their own cleaning mechanism. You can hardly mimic all of them in one, relatively small, fish tank.

There are millions of bacteria and other living creatures on just one medium-sized branch. If you bring that branch into your fish tank, you’ll start witnessing changes in Ph levels. Soon, water will become polluted and cloudy. Bacteria, algae, and other small aquatic creatures will mess up your fish tank environment fast.

Surely, you can disinfect rocks and branches, although, you should use chemicals cautiously. This is because the wood will soak them up and slowly release them back into your fish tank. You can disinfect driftwood by boiling it, but during this process, they will lose their appealing look. Still, even after being fully disinfected, driftwood will slowly start to decay. The average aquarium doesn’t have enough water to buffer the residue. So how to set up an aquarium that is adequate as a fish habitat?

You cannot pick just any plasticky rock-and-wood imitation either. Plastic also emits toxic chemicals and contaminates the water. That’s why you should choose accessories specially made for aquariums. These are usually harmless and eco-friendly. The trick is to find those that are safe to use but also amazingly designed.

2. Match the aquarium background with the fish types you own

Apart from picking safe and high-quality aquarium accessories, you should match the aquarium background with the fish you decide to own. Not will this make your aquarium more appealing and attractive, but it will also make your fish happy and healthy.

Backgrounds are more than just cool-looking pieces of aquarium art. They are functional and necessary, in most cases. They are the crucial element in the mimicking-the-natural-habitat game, as well. Fish don’t admire the looks of rock and branches, they have a relationship with them. They hide, they lurk, they reproduce, and they feel safe in the proper surrounding.

Some fish types prefer a bunch of rocks scattered around the fish tank bottom. Others prefer the cliff-like look. Some are accustomed to having driftwood floating around; others prefer pointy branches.

Cichlids, for example, mark their territory. They consider rocks to be markers, and they protect their own territory. They tend to get disoriented if you don’t provide them with carefully scattered bottom rocks.

3. Make sure that your aquarium is adequately lighted

Again, it’s all about mimicking a natural habitat. Some fish live in bright, and some in muddy waters. Some prefer sandy beaches, and some hide between the algae leaves. However, most of them need some light to survive.

Most aquarists use modern LED-lightning solutions, and there are semi-strict rules regarding the lighting of fish tanks. Certainly, you cannot insert a shiny disco ball and expect your fish to thrive. However, you can use aquariums as a nifty solution to softly illuminate your office or home.

Tropical species that live in shallow waters look even better and more beautiful when placed in brightened and lightened aquariums. Clownfish and Discus are the best examples of light-loving fish.

4. How to set up an aquarium and hide the gear

It’s one thing to understand how to set up an aquarium, but completely different to actually do it with style. Filters, pumps, thermometers, lights, and other survival-based knick-knacks don’t look appealing. But, you just cannot have a long-term healthy environment for the fish without them. Luckily, you can hide it all behind the rest of the fish tank accessories, like algae, and especially behind background sets and rocks.

That’s why it’s crucial to find designers who understand the science behind aquarium keep-up, and who have thought about the minor details. The biggest, and probably the most important system on an aquarium is the water filtration system, and some aquarium background designers incorporate heating and/or filtration systems with the background itself, or at least provide you with an option to attach the pipe-systems you already own onto the background. While cleverly hiding it outside the main aquarium chamber it keeps the natural aesthetics unimpaired.

5. Keeping it light

Like with so many other things, the “the bigger – the better” rule rules the world of aquaristics as well. Fish owners always yearn to bring another little creature back home, and only so many can inhabit a certain amount of water. Over the years, dedicated aquarist keeps on upgrading the size of fish tanks as well. Unfortunately, with the bigger volume of water come bigger problems. So how to set up an aquarium that is light?

It’s not the same to have a simple chest of drawers hidden behind the door, and an aquarium of equal volume. We usually keep nothing but air and mismatched socks in a chest of drawers, and an aquarium is packed full of water, therefore quite heavy. Since the water itself provides pressure and weight, and there’s nothing you can do to make it airier, you must save as much weight as you can on other fish tank accessories.

Among accessories, background and aquarium décor are the most problematic. The weight issue is another reason why you should avoid placing real rocks in your aquarium. Also, you can easily damage the glass while moving coarse stones around while you avidly clean your fish tank. So, how to set up an aquarium that is both safe and light-weighted?

Luckily, you can find beautifully designed, low-weight, eco-friendly, safe, and diversely shaped colored aquarium backgrounds which are fairly priced.

We would certainly recommend you to check our models, for which we guarantee you that they are designed with love and knowledge of the world of aquariums. You can easily calculate the price of the chosen model by using our handy price calculator.