I want to set up a fish aquarium small average sized one (will keep max to max 4-5 fishes ). Can anyone please provide me pointers and also a basic cost to set up such one.
I am a novice in this section and would like to acquire knowledge.
Hello All,
You could check out the Qualipet website
I also once read on here that in Zurich there is an aquarium rescue where you can offer to re-home unwanted aquariums, there was also a wealth of information on their website but I just cannot remember the name- perhaps someone can advise on this?
Gal
do plenty of research. 4-5 fishes in a 60l tank is probably too few.
an aquarium is an ecosystem with plants, fish, water and a filtration system. You need to get the ph balance right before you put fish in it - this means running the thing without fish for at least 3-4 weeks.
also important is location of tank and light that it gets. Algae is something you will get, trust me.
and also learn how to introduce fish to the aquarium.
I'd recommend a beginner's book to aquariums. Or a good website like this: http://aquariuminfo.org/beginner.html
Having an aquarium is a lot of work, especially the constant cleaning of the sediment and algae that constantly builds up in the tank. Estimate about 2-3 hours of work per week to keep the fish alive and the tank clean. It's also expensive, not just the up-front costs but all the other stuff you have to buy, filters, hoses, and especially replacement fish. If you have a family, make sure you don't end up being the only one taking care of it, otherwise you will end up being fed-up and getting rid of the thing.
Ph shouldnt change unless running CO2 , guess you mean the bacteria cycle for the filter?
Ok, this is from my personal experience (fish tank dimensions 100*40*40 cm).
I had a furniture underneath my aquarium which accommodated the external filter, fish food, medicines, cleaning equipments and few other things.
I was advised not to keep the aquarium close to windows as direct sunlight or cold air (during winter) would be problematic to fish. The idea behind is to maintain the water temperature. And to maintain that properly, i had to buy a thermostat (costs around 15-30 CHF) and to get the indication of the water temperature from outside (visible to us), I bought a small thermometer strip (2-10 CHF)
As you would like to create good atmosphere for fish to live in, you would equip the aquarium with aqua-plants, small rocks, sand base and few other accessories (if desired)... Ideally 5-8kg of sand was enough for my aquarium. It measured almost 5-7 cms of thickness. As plants may need some fertilizers,
I poured that in between sand layers. Then I filled aquarium with water to 3/4th level for a week and then got couple of cleaning fish (Siamese Algae Eaters) inside. These fish are not that sensitive to the nitrate & ammonia level of the water. They infact help produce the good mix of it. Then after 2 weeks more, take the water sample to the shop where you want to buy the fish from. They will do the tests to determine the healthiness of the water and would also advise number of fish you can have (legally) in your aquarium.
You need to buy the lighting equipment so the plants and fish can benefit from. You can manually manage the timings of it or have an adapter to do this job automatically. This helps when you are on vacation.
The shop will help you to buy correct food and correct dosage of it. Again you can manually manage the timings of feeding or have an adapter to do this job automatically.
Your plants and food will cause you to have lots of snails in the aquarium... so better get some bigger snails to eat them up or get some fish (I had 2 sternchenschmerle) which can do the job. Make sure you get such fish which can happily live with your other fish.
the water quality needs to be maintained throughout hence the need of filter. For a big aquarium like mine, the external was the best option. These filters do cost a lot (350 CHF for me) but need maintenance (at home) 3 times a year (which is manageable). we made sure to get some sound of water (like waterfall) when it was poured out into aquarium by the filter. it was kind of soothing sound we liked.
to clean the algae on sides of the tank and also other waste, you need to buy cleaning equipments. Normally you are supposed to throw away 1/3rd of water and pour the same amount of fresh water either every week or 2nd week. You don't throw away water completely for obvious reasons as mentioned above. We had a long water pipe for this purpose. so no need for bucket and more manual work
and make sure you always read and find more info or feel free to drop to any aquarium shop and ask them. They are always helpful whether you buy there or not.
it gave us, specially my daughter, a lot of joy and fun. We enjoyed them thoroughly and actually wanted to go for another small aquarium (but later decided against). the fish fight and chase each other all the time. they do that sometimes in tandem and it is amazing to experience that.
lastly, don't throw away your fish when you decide to sell the aquarium. Give it to another aquarium user or to people who take it from you (for a price) to take care of them.
I hope I have not forgotten few other important points. youtube videos, google search and the shop personnel helped us a lot.
We gave our fish to them to take care of them. they are good helpful people and have plenty of aquariums in their basements and it was amazing to see it.
You only get snails in your tank if you dont dip the plants in bleach or pottssium permangenate solution before adding then to your tank.