Buying Items for First Freshwater Fish Tank

I’ve been a serious fish hobbyist for three years now with my primary interest being Lake Tanganyika cichlids.  When I began, I wish I had known what to buy ahead of time so I could have saved money and avoided those emergency trips to the fish store.  

To start, here’s a simple list of the basic things needed to start your first aquarium.  This guide is really written for 30 gallon tanks and smaller.  When you buy something bigger, there are additional filtration issues that do not necessarily apply to a smaller tank. 
 
• Tank
• Heater
• Filtration
• Decorations
• Water Conditioner
• Siphon
• Food

Buying The Tank

A minimum size of ten gallons is recommended.  With smaller tanks, the water is sensitive when it comes to swings in ammonia, nitrite & nitrates.  These are things that you want to avoid building up in your aquarium by doing weekly water changes.  Ebay often times has tanks for local pickup or even for available shipped.  Try doing an advanced Ebay search by zip code to see what's available in your area.  Don't forget to get a basic hood light for the tank as well.  Most will come with them though.   

Buying The Heater

Tank heaters are rated by wattage.  Below is the recommended wattage based on tank gallons.  If you live in an environment where your tank's recommended temperature (generally around 77 degrees Farenheit) is going to be nine degrees different than the temperature in your room, then add another 25 watts to the heater. 
 
• 10 gallons - 50 watt
• 20 gallons - 50 watt
• 25 gallons - 75 watt
• 30 gallons - 75 watt

Product Recommendation:
 
My personal product recommendation for heaters is the Visi-Therm Stealth.  It has an outside plastic case which protects them, overheat sensor protection which shuts it off and lastly (my favorite feature) a specific temperature dial instead of hit & miss guessing.  Another model that's typically less expensive is the regular Visi-Therm Heater.  It's a slightly less feature-enriched model than the stealth with the ever convenient specific temperature dial.  
 

Buying Tank Filtration

There are a lot of options when it comes to tank filtration.  The purpose of filtration is to keep toxins from building up in the aquarium and to oxygenate the water by keeping it moving. I'm going to talk about three kinds:  biological, mechanical and chemical. 
 
Biological filtration:  This is by far the most important kind.  Your biological filtration will consist of sponges either by themselves or as part of another filtration system.  A tank must have this kind of filtration.  Biological filtration is a colony of bacteria that live in the sponge.  They turn the ammonia that happens because of fish by-product and decomposition into nitrites and then eventually into nitrates which are then removed by water changes.  Ammonia is extremely toxic to fish and without this kind of filtration, fish would die quickly.
 
Mechanical filtration:  This is how fish detritus (aka fish poop) and excess food are removed from the tank and into the filter for the bacteria to process.  This too will often times be a sponge that catches the material from the water flow.
 
Chemical filtration:  Activated carbon (charcoal) is the traditional means of chemical filtration.  It removes microscopic organics that biological and mechanical filtration can't; including, perfumes, nicotine, organic compounds, etc.  In short, pollutants.  
 
So what to buy?  I recommend filters that combine at least two elements, preferably biological and mechanical filtration.  They come in many forms - hang on back, submerged, canister, etc.  In general, for your first fish tank, I recommend either a hang on back or a submersible.  They're easy to clean and set up.
 
Product Recommendation:  For my small tanks less than 20 gallons, I prefer submersible filters like Duetto, Fluval and Tetra.  For larger tanks (remember for this guide it means up to 30 gallons), I'd recommend a hang on back filter like Aquaclear.  Aquaclear is very commonly used among serious hobbyists. 

Buying Aquarium Decorations

This is where you can get creative.  You can recreate .  There's a whole world of aquarium decorations available for you buy.  When it comes to substrate, the primary choices are aquarium sand or gravel.  Gravel is easier to clean because you can stick the siphon into it and remove the excess fish waste and food.  However, depending on the type of fish you choose, watching them dig around in sand can be extremely rewarding.  It depends on the type of fish you choose and the look that you want. 
 
Product Recommendations:

• Tahitian Moon Sand - This is what I have in my tank.  It's black with delightful sparkles to give it some contour and depth
• Rock Caves - Caves are great for fish that are shy.
• Texas Holey Rock - Use this rock only if your fish need a high pH.  It's a beautiful type of rock but it buffers the pH and makes it climb slowly overtime into the 8.x range.
• Silk Plants - These are more lifelike than plastic but easier to maintain than the real stuff.
  

Buying Water Conditioner

Water conditioner is required for an aquarium because the chlorine that is added to tap water can damage fish.  There are several different kinds out there but all you want is a basic chlorine remover. 
 
Product Recommendation:
 
Hands down, I recommend Prime water conditioner.  In addition to removing chlorine, it also neutralizes any ammonia that may have slipped into the water.  If you use something other than city water, this is really the product you need.  Ammonia is extremely toxic so this is an important benefit of Prime.

Buying Cleaning Supplies

One thing you can't escape is cleaning the tank.  This means doing a water change of around 25% weekly or biweekly.  In addition, you may need to periodically scrub the algae off the tank glass and clean out your filter.  Tip:  When squeezing out your filter sponge, always do it in a container of tank water that is the same temperature as the tank.  Doing it any other way can injure or destroy your helpful bacteria in your filter.  It is generally recommended to clean your filter every couple of months but it's ultimately up to how big your fish load is.  (Fish load refers to the number of fish in your tank)  More fish mean more water changes.  Lastly, don't forget your fish net.  Dead fish will contaminate your tank extremely fast.   
 
Product Recommendations:

• Siphon - This uses gravity to pull the water out of your tank and into the sink or bucket.  Easiest method of doing water changes.
• Magfloat - This is a neat little tank scrubber.  It has two powerful magnets that separate so that the abrasive side can be used to remove algae while you control its direction by holding the magnet on the outside.  Make sure you get the right one for your tank - you don't want a glass Magfloat on acrylic!
• Digital Thermometer - The water going in the tank needs to be the same temperature as the water coming out to avoid stressing the fish.  Digital thermometers make this a breeze. 

Buying Fish Food

Fish food is largely dependent on the type of fish you get.  Certain foods are designed for certain types of fish so let that guide you toward the right kind of food.  Don't forget the fish treats though!  Frozen fish treats like brine shrimp, daphnia and krill are a nutritious supplement to carnivorous fish.  Spirulina is a frozen supplement that is great for primarily vegetarian fish.
 
Product Recommendation: 
 
I highly recommend New Life Spectrum.  I switched to this food over a year ago from Tetra fish food and I saw a marked difference in fish coloration.  It's a very rich food so they don't have to be fed much so the big container has lasted a long time.  Another premium brand food is Omega One.  I've heard positive reviews on it but I haven't tried it.   

Tips and Advice 

Do your research before you add your fish.  A good understanding of how a tank is cycled is critical to ensuring your fish survive.  A good quality test kit will help you with this.  Talk to your fish seller or look online for more information on aquarium cycling. 
 
I hope this guide helps you in buying your first aquarium.  Fish keeping is an enjoyable hobby and is great for teaching young children how to be responsible.  I've also found that cats like to sit and watch fish as well.  As long as the tank is covered, this is perfectly safe.  Enjoy your new hobby!