You bought the tank, all the decorations, gravel, and so on. The helpful person at the local fish store told you to get it all set up and let the filter run for at least 24 hours before adding fish.

“What??? You mean I can’t put them in there tonight? Why?”

“Because the water needs to age. Longer is better, if you could hold out a week…”

Nobody did. Not a whole week!

Some of the cutting edge people actually proposed using some magic elixir that would remove the chlorine and let you stock fish right away. I’m sure they were branded as heretics by their peers and fiercely scorned.

So people anxiously aged their water (whatever that meant), then returned to the store with cash in hand (no debit or check cards back then either – and no magnetic strips on credit cards) and they selected their fish. Freshwater, of course – you had to have a tank the size of one of the Great Lakes and a Master’s Degree (PhD preferred) in chemistry to be able to do saltwater. Oh, and a really fat bank account. Bill Gates style – well, Nelson Rockefeller back then.

The fish were taken home and the bag was plonked into the tank. After the eternity of 15 minutes or so, the fish were released into the tank. You could go from an empty space to overstocked in 24 hours!

Within a week or so, fish started to die off. The cloudy water killed them, no doubt. “But why do I have cloudy water?” “Because it’s a new tank. That happens. Sorry about your fish – too bad you’re out of the 24 hour warranty period. You have your check book with you, right?” The best thing you could do for your fish was a water change, and of course remove and replace all of your filter media. After all, look how dirty it looks! That can’t be good… It’s full of bacteria!

More fish died. You must have done something wrong when you cleaned the filter. Or your lights are on for too many or too few hours a day. Just buy more fish, it’ll be OK…

We didn’t cycle tanks back then – we cycled fish and cash. Paycheck in, Dead fish out, Money out, live fish in.

Today it’s sooo much easier. There was no internet then. There is usually more knowledge logged in a forum at any given time than you could find in all the pet stores combined in a major city. A lot of fish have died over the years to get us where we are today. What’s considered an appalling loss of fish today was normal back then – all part of keeping fish. The wisdom spread slowly, until the internet that is. Trust me on this folks, I know it seems like it takes forever to cycle a tank – but that bit of patience is orders of magnitude better than the way things used to be… If this is your first tank, remember, you’ve lived your entire life without one – what’s another few weeks to do it right?

This article may be used freely as long as this resource box, with intact hyperlinks, is included.

CaptnDan is the author of this article, used with permission by Chris Merriman

To Learn How To Obtain, Sustain & Maintain Your Aquatic Mini-World, visit LearnAboutAquariums.com

Selecting and Positioning Your Tank

Always try to choose a tank with the largest possible surface area and volume as most cichlids grow quite large. Make sure you always have a glass cover to stop your fish jumping out.

Position your new aquarium so that you avoid direct sunlight hitting the aquarium for too long as this can cause excessive algae problems.

Choosing Gravel, Decor and Setting Up

Cichlids are quite territorial and the more holes, refuges and interesting “zones” you can create make for a much harmonized community.

A good starting point is to place in your tank a background that can offer the realism and natural environment that these fish will feel very relaxed and unstressed in. Check out the cichlid mansion range from Aquarium + Reptile Rocks Inc (www.aquariumrocks.biz)if you want something extraordinary.

Next is the gravel we advise a fine blended gravel as too coarse a gravel size allows uneaten food and waste to accumulate in the pockets between pebbles away from water flow that break it down. There are several varieties to choose from. Clean your gravel in small quantities in a bucket. Three or four rinses should be sufficient. Place the cleaned gravel into your tank along with a little water.

Next to add some more “zones” you can add cleaned rocks and driftwood and position them. Triangulate your decorations to create a greater depth of field and provide an amphitheatre where the fish can congregate in a community setting. Try to slope your gravel slightly towards the rear and sides using rocks and logs to create tiers and depth. The lightweight rocks from A+RR Inc like quartz rocks, north head ridge, barnacle, rock pool and charred wood make this fun and easy to do. When you have the major decorations in place, add a little water, if this is a little dirty from the gravel siphon this dirty water out again into your bucket.

Next fill your tank. Avoid disturbing the gravel by using a plate or newspaper onto which you can direct the water flow. Some coral sand is a good addition to an African tank, while white Rift Lake Sand looks great for Africans also but can show up detritus badly. These aspects will be discussed further later.

Preparing your Tap Water

Next we must treat our tap water to remove harmful chlorine and ammonia. There are several products that will remove both, the best value is Amquel Instant water Detoxifier.

It is also necessary to replace electrolytes like, magnesium, and potassium making in tap water.

The electrolytic aquarium salts are essential to fishes well being. Not only provide an anti-bacterial effect, but help fishes produce body slime to protect themselves from infection and create an essential osmotic barrier so they do not dehydrate. Make sure it is dissolved before adding to your aquarium.

There are also several products we can use to specific water conditions for African and Discus. To calculate water volume: consider 10cm x 10cm x 10cm = 1 liter. So length (cm) x Width (cm) x Height (cm) divided by 1000 = Volume (liters).

Biological Filter Supplementation The Best way to get crystal clear water is to pro-actively provide bacteria cultures as biological filter supplement. In our opinion WASTE CONTROL and CYCLE used in conjunction with one another or HBH TERMINITE are the best way to enhance your filtration and stay ahead of the game. People using these products simply do not encounter the same problems as people who take a minimalist approach (don’t use a filter supplement) and end up constantly reacting to problems. These bacteria cultures help convert all organic wastes to ammonia then further to nitrite and finally to nitrate. To establish your tanks bacteria populations can take several weeks but is accelerated greatly by adding supplements. Do not overstock your new aquarium during this run in period.

Filtration

All good filters provide ample filter media surface areas for the colonization of aerobic (oxygen breathing) denitrifying bacteria which break down fish waste. The greater the volume of the filter and the greater the flow rate, the bigger the population of bacteria to keep your tank clean. This is Biological filtration. All good filters should provide some sponge as Mechanical filtration. Chemical filtration is also important. We always use ammonia remover as a safeguard. Carbon is also beneficial but Purigen is superior. It is rechargeable and will also remove log stains from your tank (That is if you did not use the Charred wood from A+RR Inc). Remember to rinse loose particles out before adding to your filter.

Filter Types

Freshwater Trickle filters offer the most filtration for large seriously stocked tanks. External Canister filers like the PRIME, EHEIM, FLUVAL or VIA AQUA are the best of the commercially available filters. They offer the largest volume of media and can be concealed from view. All these brands have a simple priming system and excellent taps to isolate water in the tubing while the filter is cleaned. Hang On styles like the AQUACLEAR and AQUAONE are also very good. They possibly provide the best value if your budget does not permit an external canister. Simple fill the filter box with water and turn on. Water is pumped through the filter and gravity flows back into your tank. Internal motorized filters like the CRYSTAL , RIO , and EIHEM are popular for smaller tanks or as a secondary filter for extra circulation in a large tank. Internals usually do not interfere with top glass or hoods. These can be placed under one of your lightweight rocks. Air Operated filtration is often not sufficient for cichlids. We do highly recommend air bubbling in Cichlid tanks. Be sure to use a Check Valve so that water cannot flow back into your pump if power goes off. If you have a Cichlid Mansions or Amazon background from A+RR Inc you can conceal a lot of the plumbing from view which makes for a very attractive set up.

Water Changing

Although nitrate (residual waste) is relatively harmless, the levels will accumulate and become dangerous if regular partial water changes are not performed to dilute nitrates. Cichlids are large fish that eat a lot, so nitrates accumulate quickly. PH is also pulled dangerously lower by organic waste accumulation. Therefore, no matter how good your filtration is, you still must water change regularly. We recommend a 1/3 – water change fortnightly to keep pH above neutral and nitrates low.

The best tool to assist you with water changes is a Lee’s Gravel Vacuum. They allow you to remove the dirtiestwater from around the gravel and replace it with clean, treated tap water. This task is easier to do and a better job done if you have lightweight rocks and dcor. We recommend you test pH and nitrate weekly to ensure your water changing maintenance is sufficient to maintain this balance. PH can be maintained using PH UP, but the only easy way to remove nitrate is by water changing.

An important tip when changing. Rinse your filter media in your old aquarium water rather than under a tap as the chlorine in tap water will kill off the precious filter bacteria living in the foam and other media. If you follow these procedures you should never have to completely break your tank down to clean it out.

Part 2 to come…….

About the Author

Written By: Michael Grosman – Fish keeper, dad and mad rugby fanatic. Partner www.aquariumrocks.biz

How do you use a siphon to clean your goldfish tank?

You will need to use a siphon to clean your goldfish tank because it efficiently cleans up the muck, does not disturb your fish and is easy to use. Its essential to use during the partial water changes. A typical aquarium gravel vacuum would be a wide tube attached to a narrower siphon tube. By cleaning the gravel every week you would get rid of a lot of substances that could turn toxic for your fish over a period of time. Heres how you begin the siphoning process:

* Put a bucket on a low stool or even on the floor in front of the fish tank, and place the wide end of the gravel vacuum in the tank.

* Now gently suck at the other end and hold it over the bucket. Once you feel the water flowing into the tube let it flow into the bucket. Be careful not to swallow the water though- but even if you do, it isnt going to be harmful!

* Now that the siphon has started, use the wider end to suck out the dirt and debris out of the gravel and flow out of the tank into the bucket.

* Pass the vacuum end over all the gravel and keep doing so till you have removed 10 to 15% of the water.

* If gravel gets stuck in the vacuum, release the gravel by plugging the other end of the siphon tube with your finger or thumb.

* When you want to stop the siphon just raise both ends above the level of the tank

* To stop the siphon, simply raise either end of the siphon above the surface level of the fish tank.

There are gravel vacuum that can be attached to a faucet but this would mean that you be putting back tap water directly into the tank which might not be good for your goldfish if there is a marked temperature difference. Also you would be adding all the chemicals present in the tap water without allowing the chlorine to evaporate. The best option is to keep a container of fresh water overnight.

The Weekly 10-15%

Cleaning your tank is essential to your goldfishs well being. In fact, both your plants and your goldfish need fresh, clean and healthy water to survive. All you need to do is set aside a little time every week to do what is called a Partial Water Change or 10-15% Water Change.
This weekly routine will not only keep your aquarium look nice and clean, it will keep your goldfish healthy. Partial water changes are no sweat all you have to do is scrape the algae, vacuum the gravel and replace the water you remove with fresh water. Heres what you need to do:

* Remove the algae on the surface of the tank with an algae scraper before you siphon out the water.

* As the name suggests you need to remove 10 to 15% of the water from your aquarium.

* There is no need to remove your fish to a separate container.

* As you remove the water use the siphon to remove the messy deposits in the gravel.

* In case you have an under gravel filter, then you would have to clean the gravel during weekly water changes.

* Do not take out all the ornaments and decorations and scrub them clean because you might destroy some of the much-needed beneficial bacteria that act as natural biological filter.

* You can clean the filters during the weekly water change but do not change all the cartridges, sponges, carbon packets, etc., as this might remove all the good bacteria and harm your goldfish in the long run.

* Also remember to rinse any new filter media in cool running water before introducing it to the system.

* Once you have siphoned out 10-15% of the water and most of the dirt and the alga, its time to replace the amount of water you removed with fresh, dechlorinated tap water which has been left at room temperature over night, in container free of soap residue.

* Use a siphon to transfer the fresh water into the tank as this would be a gentle way to put the water back in and it wont disturb the plants and the gravel. You would also spill a lot less!

* Do make sure that the fresh water is of somewhat the same temperature as the water in the tank. You cannot just dunk in cold water because Goldfish are not tropical fish.
Do remember to leave enough space between the top of the water and the tank hood so that your goldfish get enough oxygen to breathe in.

What not to do:

* If you see that the level in your aquarium has gone down, do not simply add water to make it level again. This is harmful, as you are not getting rid of the impurities in the water. You are just adding water without removing the dirt and thus making the water harder and more difficult for the goldfish to live in. So dont add water to top off the tank, do a partial water change.

* Never add water directly from the tap. Please keep a separate container only for aquarium use and leave the water overnight so that the harmful chemicals and chlorine evaporate.

* Please do not skip weekly water changes because if you do not partially change the water, you are allowing the build up of waste products like Nitrate that are not removed by the filter, and contribute to the growth of algae.

About the Author

Dane Stanton – Goldfish-Secrets.com

Having 30 years experience in everything Goldfish, Dane Stanton has spent the past 18 months researching the most pressing questions on Goldfish. This information has been recorded in his book titled – “Goldfish Secrets Revealed” – which you can pick up by going to his website – http://www.goldfish-secrets.com

Written By: Dane Stanton