All about quickly starting an aquarium using starter preparations

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Let's look at how to quickly start an aquarium using an old aquarium and aquarium chemistry.

When they talk about starting an aquarium, they mean starting the nitrogen cycle. To explain in a nutshell, an aquarium is a closed system in which living organisms (fish, shrimp, snails, plants) live and release organic substances into the environment. Organic waste contains ammonia (NH3), which is a toxic substance that is dangerous to the lives of aquarium inhabitants. Ammonia is broken down into nitrites (NO2) and nitrates (NO3) by nitrifying bacteria. Nitrates are absorbed by aquarium plants. When this process is fully established in the aquarium, then we can say that the nitrogen cycle is established and the aquarium is completely running.

Ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are toxic substances and are dangerous to living beings to varying degrees. In a fully running aquarium, there should be absolutely no ammonia and nitrites in the water; nitrates should be present within acceptable values. Both ammonia and nitrites are deadly to living things.

Starting an aquarium can be slow (and for some quite painful) as the process can take up to 6-8 weeks. After all, some already have a large amount of fish, or they cannot postpone the delivery of livestock. However, there are certain things that can be done to greatly speed up the start-up of the aquarium (more correctly, the start-up of the cycle, meaning the nitrogen cycle).

How to reduce the concentration of nitrate in an aquarium?

Below are methods for removing nitrate from an aquarium; they can be used together or separately.
METHOD 1: Daily water change of 10%. This method is most relevant when starting an aquarium, when by 3 weeks NO3 can become rampant.

Graph of the formation of the nitrogen cycle in the aquarium after launch

If you see that there are serious deviations from the schedule. Proceed as indicated. By changing a little water, you reduce the concentration of poisons, but at the same time do not disrupt the nitrogen cycle in a young aquarium.

Please note that during an ammonia outbreak, you cannot do deep water changes (don’t listen to all the blessed people on the Internet). Firstly, you can disrupt the biological balance and nitrogen cycle.

And secondly, it is highly not recommended to abruptly remove fish from a nitrified state. From this they, too, can go to the land of eternal and tasty bloodworms.

METHOD 2: Using zeolite. More information about zeolite is written in our article - here. The bottom line is that zeolite is an ion exchanger that takes on NH3+|NH4+ cations. Note that zeolite acts smoothly and this is its advantage, it gently “sucks up ammonia” without disturbing the further flow of affairs in the aquarium.

The point of using zeolite during a nitrate outbreak is that it does not take away nitrate ions, but suppresses ammonia/ammonium, which is the primary source for NO2 and then for NO3.

METHOD 3: Use of drugs - nitrite blockers. For example, Sera toxivec. Such drugs block, and do not remove nitrogenous substances from the water, they simply transfer them to a state that is safe for aquatic organisms; roughly speaking, the drug gives the fish a chance not to get poisoned until the aquarist establishes the biobalance: by changing the water, increasing filtration, aeration, and replanting the fish etc.

At the same time, the nitrogen cycle is just a cycle; the loss of one link entails a failure in the entire chain. We recommend using such preparations carefully, and when the aquarium is simply full of ammonia and nitrite. Note that Sulfur Toxivec does not block nitrate. It suppresses NH4\NH3 and NO2... and without them there will be no NO3.

METHOD 4: Reducing the temperature and acidity of the water. This is not even a method, but a method, but it’s worth mentioning. Nitrogenous ones are more “charged” in warm and alkaline water. Therefore, if you reduce the temperature from 27 to 22 degrees, this will already make life easier for hydrobionts. The same goes for pH; it is desirable that the environment in the aquarium be with a pH of 7 or lower.

METHOD 5: Aquarium charcoal. Coal itself does not absorb nitrite. But it adsorbs “dead organic matter,” which is the primary source of NH3/NH4, then NO2, and then NO3.

METHOD 6: Use of starting drugs. For some reason, these drugs are stereotypically called “aquarium chemistry.” The funny thing is that 99% of such drugs are pure biology. Chemistry is Sera toxivec. Starter preparations are concentrates of beneficial nitrifying bacteria that break down nitrogenous bacteria and/or promote the development of these beneficial bacterial colonies.

Such drugs include, for example, Tetra SafeStart, Tetra FilterActive, Tetra Bacrozym, etc.

The problem of these drugs in relation to an ammonia outbreak can be expressed by the phrase: “a good spoon for dinner” or “it’s too late to drink Borjomi when the kidneys have failed.” We outlined our attitude to starting medications in detail in the article “Quick start of an aquarium.” Here we will only say that if you have already had a complete breakdown with NO2, then it is too late to use “starter” drugs at the “finish line”. Their use takes place when starting an aquarium, then they really smooth out nitrogen outbreaks. That is, they do not act here and now - right away.

Note that such chips as Tetra Nitrate minus Pearls and Tetra Balance Bols Proline also retain nitrates well.

These are the methods for removing nitrate from an aquarium that we have described for you. The most effective scheme, in our opinion, is a combination of methods 1, 2 and 5. In this case, we will quickly and gently remove the poisons.

Remember that high-quality filtration and aeration of the aquarium plays an important role in the formation and maintenance of the nitrogen cycle. And also good soil (light, porous, sloping) laid in a layer of 5-7 cm. After all, it is in the soil that the lion’s share of all nitrification processes takes place.

Starting a new aquarium and nitrogen cycle.

By introducing a fish into an aquarium, it will release ammonia (waste), which provokes the growth of bacteria "nitrosomonas" that process it into nitrites, and they, in turn, with the help of "nitrobacter" will be converted into nitrate, which plants consume through photosynthesis convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into oxygen which is breathed by fish and other aquatic organisms in our aquarium.

If the nitrogen cycle is not started in the aquarium, then there is a high probability of death of fish, shrimp, crayfish, crabs, snails and other aquatic organisms from ammonia poisoning.

In this article we will tell you how to “start an aquarium” and eliminate the risk of losing fish in a new aquarium.

As you probably already understood, the main work is performed by various colonies of beneficial bacteria that serve as a biological filter. These bacteria mainly live in the filter, but also in the soil and on the surfaces of the aquarium.

Ammonia isn't just released by fish. Every day when feeding the fish, part of the food remains uneaten and over time begins to decompose and release ammonia. Decaying plant debris also releases ammonia, as do toxic gases produced by anaerobic bacteria in dirt.

Nitrite is obtained after ammonia is processed by colonies of bacteria “nitrosomonas”, which feed and reproduce.

Nitrate is a product of the conversion of Nitrite by nitrobacter bacteria, which tends to accumulate over time in your aquarium and must be removed through periodic water changes. Living plants will consume the nitrate, which is an excellent fertilizer for them, thereby removing some of it from the aquarium.

The nitrogen cycle is a constant balance of consumption and conversion of ammonia and nitrites by bacteria before levels become toxic to fish.

For beginners, we strongly recommend getting live aquarium plants as they grow and consume nitrates like fertilizer, removing it from the aquarium. Live plants, as we already wrote in the article about “8 simple ways to make an aquarium beautiful,” will make the aquarium more natural, create shelters for fish and thereby reduce their stress levels.

There are several ways to quickly start the nitrogen cycle in a new aquarium, but they all boil down to one thing: we need to artificially introduce a source of ammonia. By slowly adding ammonia to the water, colonies of nitrite-producing bacteria will begin to grow. When there is nitrite in the aquarium, bacteria will appear there, producing nitrate, and at this stage you can stop adding ammonia artificially, do a water change to remove excess nitrates and introduce fish.

At all stages of startup, we recommend acquiring tests to monitor water parameters.

The traditional way to start an aquarium is long

For this method, you don’t need anything other than time. Set up the aquarium, plant the plants, add water, turn on and adjust the lights. That's it, now all you have to do is monitor the water parameters in your aquarium. The entire process will take approximately 2 weeks. Do tests daily and at some point you will notice how the water parameters change. The aquarium may become cloudy as in the photo below, but do not worry, this is just a bacterial outbreak, that is, those same bacteria are now very actively multiplying.

After the first week you can do tests for nitrites, and after 2 weeks for nitrates. When ammonia and nitrite levels drop and nitrate levels rise, you can do a 30% water change and start introducing fish into the aquarium.

Adding fish should be done very carefully, because this can cause a new surge in the growth of bacterial colonies and water parameters, and especially ammonia. You should not plant 30 neons in 30 liters, they will not only be cramped, but, most importantly, it will be a huge load on the biosystem and it may not be able to cope, which will lead to the death of the fish.

In general, it is better for beginners to take a larger aquarium, from 100 liters, since it is much easier to set up and maintain this biosystem, and it will forgive the mistakes of a beginner, unlike small and nano-sized ones.

Add fish gradually, a couple of fish at first, then increase over time. We have discussed the rules for planting fish many times, and we will repeat it again.

To begin, place the closed bag with the fish in the aquarium and let it float there for 10-20 minutes until the temperature of the water in the bag and in the aquarium is equal. The next step is to open the bag and gradually add water from the aquarium to the bag to equalize the water parameters. First add 25% of the volume of water in the bag, after 25 minutes another 25%, and so on until the water in the bag is replaced with water from the aquarium. Now we need to put the fish in the aquarium and here 90% of all aquarists make a mistake. Water from the bag must not be poured into the aquarium! Make it a rule. Take a net and slowly pass water from the bag through it until all the fish are in your net, now you can carefully release the fish into the aquarium. That's not all, now you need to watch the fish, because now it is experiencing stress (a film about the stress of aquarium fish can be seen here), you may have to temporarily turn off the lights in the aquarium and install additional shelters where the fish can hide.

If you or someone you know has an existing aquarium, you can take water from there and “squeeze” the dirt out of the sponge, this will speed up the process of starting up your aquarium.

The second way to start an aquarium is fast and modern

The main difference from the previous method is the use of bacterial cultures to start the aquarium. At the stage when you have added water, you need to add special hydrochemistry designed for the displacement of your aquarium, for example, Tetra SafeStart, Sera Bio-Nitrivec or Dennerle BactoClean Bio. You can also add Tetra AquaSafe when pouring water into the aquarium; it will remove heavy metals from the water and protect the gills of the fish.

After adding biocultures, you can start planting fish; the process is no different from that described above. Then again we observe the behavior of the fish. If the fish has rapid breathing, the gills are not naturally red, capillaries may be visible on the body, there is noticeable lethargy and the fish is trying to swallow air from the surface of the water, then most likely it has ammonia poisoning, this means that the biosystem of the aquarium cannot cope, it is possible that it is overcrowded or not completely the aquarium is launched. It is better to transplant the fish into a separate aquarium.

Conclusion

The nitrogen cycle plays a significant role in the life of your aquarium. The life and health of your pets depends on the correctness of its operation. Starting an aquarium is not such a difficult process, and with modern hydrochemistry, even children can start an aquarium!

Take care of your pets and do not place fish in a neglected aquarium. According to statistics, 40% of beginners do not know simple rules and this leads to a negative experience. We hope this article will help you start your first aquarium.

Just a little theory

As we wrote above, an aquarium is an open system into which various substances enter from the outside. This is basically fish food that the fish eat, releasing waste products. The most significant and toxic part of this waste in chemical terms is ammonia; even in small concentrations it can cause poisoning and subsequent death of fish and other aquatic animals. However, in nature there are bacteria (they are called nitrifying bacteria) that consume ammonia, oxidizing it to nitrites. Nitrites are not much better for fish than ammonia, but there are other types of nitrifying bacteria that, in turn, bind them, turning them into relatively harmless nitrates.

This entire system of bacterial colonies, which turns poisonous ammonia water into water with nitrates, quite suitable for fish, is called a biofilter. Since the efficiency of a biofilter directly depends on the number of its constituent bacteria in the aquarium (it is clear that two or three microscopic nitrosomonas will not be able to convert ammonia released by a dozen large goldfish into safe compounds), these bacteria must be given the opportunity to multiply to the required numbers. To do this they need three things:

• nutrition (ammonia and nitrites);
• substrate (surface to which they can attach);
• and for some time, since bacteria multiply quickly, but still not with lightning speed.

From the editor: Starting an aquarium from A to Z

And now, finally, we will formulate what starting an aquarium is: this is a set of measures that allows the biological filter to mature and begin to work fully. Or, in other words, growing in an aquarium enough nitrifying organisms to process the ammonia and nitrites released by all the inhabitants of this aquarium.

Biological cycle

Why, exactly, can starting an aquarium with a large number of fish be a problem? The main task of the aquarist is to establish the necessary biological cycle in the aquarium. What kind of cycle is this? Fish in an aquarium, like all living beings, eat, and release waste into the environment, that is, sorry, they pee and poop. In nature, this waste does not harm fish, since it dissolves in the huge mass of water in the reservoir. And in an aquarium, in a confined space, they accumulate, and every day there are more and more of them.

So-called nitrifying bacteria can help cope with this, which, consuming this waste, release other compounds that are harmless to fish. These compounds are well-known nitrogen fertilizers that are successfully consumed by plants (if they exist). If there are no plants, then there will be no one to consume them, which means sooner or later there will be an excess of them.

In the new aquarium there are no bacteria at all yet, or they are present in small quantities and are simply not able to cope with too much discharge from the fish. This is why overpopulation can be a problem. Therefore, it is often recommended to fill a new aquarium with water from the old one in order to quickly populate it with microflora. But where will bacteria settle in an empty aquarium without soil? On the filter sponge (if there is one), but this is too little, so the soil is the second, perhaps even more necessary filter of the aquarium. Well, the plants must be in order to consume all the fertilizers received (I will not write about the light necessary for plants, this is the topic of a separate article).

Another way to quickly populate a new aquarium with nitrifying bacteria is to install a filter from an old aquarium. The filter material of an old filter cannot be boiled or washed under running water; it can be rinsed in water from an old aquarium. If you are restarting one aquarium, the filter must remain completely submerged in water during the restart procedure.

One more thing that is very desirable for a quick start, although not required, is the so-called biostarters. They contain ready-made bacteria, so everything will go much faster and safer.

Lighting

High-quality lighting is necessary not only for fish, but also for plants. When selecting such devices, you should take into account the individual characteristics of each fish, since different species need different amounts of light per day and its different intensity. Therefore, it is better to immediately populate the aquarium with animals that are similar in conditions of detention.

For lighting it is better to use fluorescent lamps. They use electricity more economically and, due to their length, cover a larger area of ​​the aquarium.

It is better to attach lighting fixtures to the lid of the aquarium.

The optimal lamp power, suitable for most fish species, is 0.5 W per liter, and the luminous flux is 30 - 50 lm per liter.

How to make the process of starting an aquarium easier?

We wrote above that for the proliferation of beneficial bacteria, food and substrate are needed. And, of course, the initial size of the bacterial colony matters. Thus, in order to speed up the maturation of the biofilter and, accordingly, the launch of the aquarium, you can immediately introduce a significant amount of bacteria into the artificial reservoir and prepare a large-area substrate for them (there is already enough food for bacteria in the starting aquarium).

Bacteria are introduced using industrially made starter cultures (we also mentioned them above) or with water, soil, or filter media from a functioning, healthy aquarium. To provide sufficient substrate area for bacteria, it is recommended to use filters with porous ceramic fillers or large-volume filters with other fillers, plant plants with narrow, feathery leaves, and use fine gravel of even size as soil. All these surfaces will be colonized by nitrifying bacteria.

Aquarium start-up control greatly facilitates the use of ammonia and nitrite tests for aquarium water. These tests are produced by different manufacturers and are not uncommon in pet stores. With their help, you can monitor the level of these toxic compounds in the water and adjust the stocking of fish in the aquarium you are starting.

As you can see, starting the aquarium correctly does not take much time - two or three weeks is quite possible. It does not require a colossal amount of strength or special academic knowledge. But it helps to avoid many problems in the future, preserves the life and health of the fish, and therefore the nerves and good mood of their owner.

How to properly start an aquarium

Starting an aquarium correctly for the first time is an important stage in the life of every aquarist. It is not enough to purchase all the equipment and put it in the tank; you need to follow the exact sequence of actions so that the first aquarium is successful and does not lead to the death of aquatic inhabitants.

Before introducing the fish, you need to prepare a water tank. Fish need soil, shelter, vegetation. First we start the aquarium from scratch without any fish.

The soil is selected according to the type of inhabitants. If your starting aquarium will contain fish of different sizes, buy universal soil consisting of medium-sized pebbles. Large fish can accidentally swallow small pebbles, and this is dangerous for their life. The soil is poured into a tank filled 1/3 with water. Before filling the tank with soil, it is recommended to check for compatibility. Drop vinegar on the pebble and see the reaction. If the stone begins to hiss or bubbles appear, look for another soil. The general microclimate in the tank depends on the soil.

Even if you bought ready-made soil in a store, you cannot immediately lower it into the fish tank. It must first be thoroughly boiled to prevent the entry of harmful microorganisms. After pouring the soil, you can add water to the desired level.

A day after laying the soil and aerating, you can begin planting vegetation. Plants create the necessary microclimate and prepare the biological environment for living inhabitants. It is recommended to start an aquarium by planting unpretentious plants that provide the correct microclimate:

• winged carrots;
• fern;
• hornwort;
• fast growing grass.

Plants will create ideal soil for the proliferation of previously launched bacteria, so by the time the fish are released, a favorable biological environment will be created. But you should not introduce fish on the same day that you planted the plants or into a tank without plants. It should take at least 5 days to install the microclimate, but it is better to wait about a week.

Turning on the equipment

As soon as you fill the aquarium with water (you can directly from the tap), turn on the filtration and heating of the water in the aquarium (set the heating temperature to 25°C). After a couple of days, check the water temperature with a thermometer to make sure that the temperature you set is maintained in the aquarium. Even with the most expensive heaters, the thermostat scale may not be accurate.

Leave the aquarium alone for a few more days with the equipment turned on. This is necessary for the initial colonization of the soil and biofilter with colonies of beneficial bacteria. A certain amount of the necessary bacteria is always present even in a new aquarium. In addition, you can introduce a starter culture of bacteria (you can buy them at a pet store) or take some water or soil from another existing aquarium, unless you are afraid of introducing pathogenic bacteria. Since there is no sludge in the new aquarium for the bacteria to feed on, they need to be fed. There is no need to use special products; for this purpose, just add a little fish food to the water, the result will not be worse.

From this moment on, it is important that the thermostat and filters work constantly; this is a necessary condition for starting the aquarium.

Nitrogen cycle and beneficial bacteria

The nitrogen cycle is the process of converting toxic nitrogen-containing waste created by aquarium inhabitants into harmless components. It is also called biological filtration . To start the cycle, it is necessary to populate the filtration system with beneficial bacteria that feed on this waste.

Starting the nitrogen cycle is the most important step in the process of setting up a new aquarium. However, you shouldn’t worry too much about this, since most of the process of starting the cycle occurs automatically. All you need is patience and consistent testing of the water in the aquarium. In this guide, we'll walk you through the process of starting the nitrogen cycle through a few key steps.

Used at startup

Equipment

• Aquarium with LED lighting Tetra 54 l.
• Aquarium cabinet Tetra AquaArt 60 l.
• Tetra Tetronic led 580 lamp
• Filter Tetra Ex400 plus

Water products

• Tetra AquaSafe – at every water change
• Tetra Bactozym – once, when starting the aquarium
• Tetra SafeStart – once, when starting the aquarium

Fertilizers and dosages as recommended by the author

For aquariums with a large number of live plants.

• Tetra PlantaMin – 10 ml per 20 liters of water every 2 weeks
• Tetra PlantaPro Micro – 5 ml per 20 liters of aquarium water 2 times a week
• Tetra PlantaPro Macro – 5 ml per 20 liters of aquarium water 2 times a week
• Tetra CO2 Plus – 5 ml per 20 liters of aquarium water 2 times a week
• Tetra PlantaStart fertilizer – at start-up

How to create ecological balance?

The ecosystem in the tank is created artificially by aquarists. But for successful development, it is necessary to launch certain processes, the regulation of which will be regulated by the inhabitants of the reservoir.

Aquarists perform the following processes:

• Optimize water temperature.
• Correct lighting.
• Perform mechanical cleaning and filtration.
• Fertilize regularly.

But even when using functional filters, it is difficult to completely purify aquarium water. That's why bacteria are purchased to start an aquarium.

driftwood

Driftwood is also used for aquarium decoration, while also providing shelter for fish.

• The tree used for decoration must be dead and free of sap. It is better to use those samples that have been in high bogs in black peat for a long time.
• Trees containing mold or rot should not be used.
• Before using branches collected from nature, they must be thoroughly cleaned of dirt, boiled, washed with running water and dried well. This will remove all the air from the pores of the wood and make it more buoyant.

Today you can buy many types of driftwood in pet stores, which can be immediately placed in the aquarium without any processing.

Priming

The type of soil, its color and size not only determine the attractiveness of the reservoir, but also play an important role in the functioning of the entire aquarium ecosystem. The base for the bottom should be selected according to the following requirements:

• It should not affect the chemical composition of water, changing its hardness or acidity. The neutrality of the soil can be determined by adding it to a strong acid (for example, hydrochloric acid). Hissing during this experiment means that the soil has reacted with acid and it is better to avoid using it.
• The soil particles must provide good water circulation. Elements that are too small, as well as elements that are too large, will prevent water from penetrating to the roots of the plants. The optimal size of one particle is 1 – 5 mm.
• It should contain nutrients that, when dissolved, will feed the plants.
• The soil should be rounded, its particles should not pose a danger to fish with their sharp corners.

From the editor: DIY aquarium lighting

The most common types of soil are sand or gravel. It is better to give preference to their dark shades, because such colors absorb a large amount of heat, which has a beneficial effect on the development of plants.

It is important to remember that any soil should be purchased only in specialized stores. Because soil collected independently near artificial reservoirs may contain bacteria and infections that are dangerous to the health of fish and plants.

Very useful notes

• When nitrifying an aquarium, do not allow substances that reduce the amount of ammonia or completely destroy it to get into the water. Otherwise, you will be faced with a counterproductive situation, as the beneficial bacteria will not have enough nutrients.
• If you are a supporter of the nitrogen biocycle with fish (although, in our opinion, a cycle without fish is preferable), then be prepared for the fact that the fish may not survive such stress. The risk can be reduced if you change 10-15% of the water every few days to help remove waste.
• When performing a nitrogen biocycle with or without fish, try not to rush and not add additional fish to the aquarium until it has completely completed the colonization cycle with beneficial bacteria. As we have already said, extra fish will slow down the biocycle and can cause an increase in ammonia concentration, and therefore an increase in mortality among the inhabitants of the aquarium.
• If you already have a working, well-regulated aquarium, then you can take soil and filter materials from it. This way you can stimulate the development of beneficial bacteria in your new aquarium and reduce the time it takes to nitrify. However, these supplements, of course, cannot completely replace the cycle.
• Don’t be afraid to add plants to the aquarium during the cycle. With the help of plants, you can get rid of excess nitrites and improve the health of the aquarium after the completion of the nitrogen biocycle. Increased concentrations of ammonia will not affect plant development. Just remove dead stems and leaves in time, as their decomposition will lead to an inevitable spike in ammonia.

Now, after purchasing, installing and running your first aquarium, you can consider yourself an experienced aquarist. Surprise your family and friends with the interesting vegetation of the aquarium, turning it into a real garden. The inhabitants of the aquarium and the aquatic plants growing in it will make it truly beautiful.

Let's launch the fish

We fill the aquarium with water, and bubbles can be seen appearing on the walls. This is due to the fact that a large amount of gases are dissolved in tap water, including nitrogen, small bubbles of which can negatively affect the health of fish. Therefore, it is recommended to run the filter and wait until the bubbles disappear. This usually takes several hours.

Before starting the filter, place one Tetra Bactozym capsule in the lower basket. It creates a thin nutrient film on the surface of the sponges, which will accelerate the growth of beneficial bacteria.

Tetra Bactozym accelerates the colonization of the filter with beneficial bacteria

Add the required amount of Tetra SafeStart directly to the aquarium. It contains a culture of live nitrifying bacteria that reduces ammonia levels by 14 times and nitrite levels by 10 times, allowing you to immediately introduce fish into the aquarium.

Copper tetras were chosen to be introduced into the aquarium.

The copper tetra is a popular peaceful schooling fish.

Testing the water for basic parameters a day after the launch did not reveal the presence of compounds hazardous to fish in the water. If you plan to keep several species of fish in the aquarium, then it is best to plant them gradually at intervals of several days so as not to load the filter.

After five days there are no problems with fish or plants. There are no signs of disease in the plants, some species are growing, and the tetras are active and cheerful.

The startup process is complete.

Launching fish

Well, all the stages have been completed, it’s time to launch the fish into the tank for the first time. For beginners, it is better to start their immersion in the world of aquarium keeping with the most unpretentious fish: zebrafish, guppies, neons.

The first fish need to be launched correctly:

• new fish from the store cannot be immediately released into the home pond; they must be given the opportunity to adapt to the new biological environment;
• lower the bag of fish into the tank so that they feel the temperature change;
• pour some water from the aquarium with plants into the bag with the fish, let them stand in the mixed water for two to three hours;
• then drain the store water and add more water from the new aquarium;
• repeat the procedure after an hour;
• the procedure must be repeated until the water in the bag is completely changed;
• After adaptation, we begin to move the fish into the pond.

It is recommended to feed the first fish with live food for several days. Dry food is contraindicated for new inhabitants of the pond. If you cannot provide your fish with live feeding, begin introducing dry food gradually, arranging fasting days two to three times a week.

For the first time after starting, there is no need to constantly change the water. The first water change can be done when the behavior of aquatic inhabitants changes. A water change is required if:

• the fish sank to the bottom and do not rise to the surface;
• representatives of the aquarium gather in a group and do not swim away from each other;
• the fish tuck their upper fins.

You cannot change all the water at once. No more than 20% of the total volume must be replaced. Give the animals some time to adapt. After settling in a common reservoir, each fish organizes its own chemical environment, so the natural formation of the balance of the aquatic environment cannot be interfered with.

We populate the fish

After establishing biological balance, the aquarium will be ready to accept new inhabitants:

Rhodostomus, or red-nosed tetra

Rhodostomus, or red-nosed tetra, is a small fish from the Characin family, which is very often a resident of aquascapes. Creators of underwater landscapes choose this tetra because of its specific color. The body of the fish is gray, the tail is striped, and there is a bright red spot on the head. Peaceful schooling fish that will not cause damage to living plants.

Red-nosed tetra

Befortia Leveretti

Befortia Leveretti, also known as pseudoscat due to its unusual body shape. The pectoral and pelvic fins form a kind of suction cup, which allows the fish to stay in places with strong currents. The body color is a light brown background and numerous dark spots. Maximum body size 8 cm. Well compatible with peaceful, proportionate species.

Befortia Leveretti

Determining the location for installing the aquarium

The ideal place to place an aquarium must meet the following requirements:

Ease of care. The aquarium must be freely accessible so that feeding the fish or changing the water does not cause any difficulties. No irritating factors. These include: prolonged exposure to direct sunlight, close proximity to electrical appliances (especially those that create noise - TV, radio, computer, etc.), location near the battery. Slight traffic of people near the reservoir. If people often walk around the aquarium, the fish may experience constant stress associated with sounds or movements. On the other hand, installing a pond in a deserted room can make pets shy and wild

In this case, it is important to maintain the golden mean by placing the aquarium in the living room, but in a place that is not easily accessible. Easy access to outlet. A current source is needed to connect the lamps, compressor, filter and heater.

The most common place to install an aquarium is the wall along which it is placed.

First animals

The next day you can introduce the first animals into the aquarium, which are more tenacious than fish. For these purposes, based on my experience, a large snail, apple snail, is better suited. Firstly, these snails lay eggs above the water level, and you can always control their numbers. And secondly, if you feed them once a day, then, as a rule, they are indifferent to plants. At first there should not be many of them, 1-2 snails are quite enough. At the moment, they are needed only so that bacteria begin to multiply faster and the plants begin to receive natural fertilizer. This is an important stage in starting an aquarium.

The first inhabitants of the aquarium can also be shrimp, newts or aquarium frogs.

I'm warning you. Do not introduce small snails such as phisa snails, bobbin snails or pond snails into your aquarium. It is then incredibly difficult to get rid of them, and when they reach large numbers, they will begin to eat plants.

The launch of a new aquarium without fish will continue for another week, this is necessary to adjust the biological balance. Afterwards you can start introducing fish into the aquarium.

Reason for slow cycle in new aquariums

All new aquariums start with close to zero numbers of beneficial bacteria of both types (Nitrosomonas for ammonia conversion and Nitrobacter for nitrite conversion), it takes time for them to grow quantitatively, and changes in test readings will help you see this. But what is important is that Nitrobacter will not even begin to grow until there are no nitrites in the aquarium, and nitrites will not appear until there are Nitrosomonas converting ammonia. It may take 2-3 weeks for Nitrosomonas to grow in sufficient numbers, at which point they will begin to provide the Nitrobacter with the nitrite they need. That is, without the first stage, the second will not begin, which delays the process. But if you make sure that both stages begin at the same time, this will significantly speed up the start-up of the aquarium.

Heaters

Heaters are able to maintain a constant temperature in all layers of water for a long time, which is very important for fish and plants. Today rod heaters are widely used.

They are a glass flask containing a heating element. They are fixed to the wall of the reservoir using rubber suction cups or a metal support.

Today rod heaters are widely used. They are a glass flask containing a heating element. They are fixed to the wall of the reservoir using rubber suction cups or a metal support.

From the editor: Background for an aquarium, how to glue and secure

When choosing a heater, you should give preference to a device with a graduated scale to make it more convenient to regulate the temperature.

Launch equipment

Before starting the fish, you need to buy the required equipment for their successful maintenance:

• compressor: saturates the water with oxygen, which is necessary for plants and fish for normal life;
• filter: purifies water, can collect small contaminants;
• thermometer: needed to monitor temperature changes in the tank;
• lighting: a lamp is needed to change the “day - night” mode, fish and plants need to change the light intensity, periodically darken the tank;
• lid: some fish and aquatic animals can jump out of the tank, so a lid is required;
• additional accessories: net, sponge, toothbrush, scraper, pump with pump - all the products needed for care should be at hand.

Cloudy water in the aquarium

After launch, you can often observe cloudiness in the water, signaling that it is too early to move in the inhabitants. It is necessary to find out the reason why the water has lost its transparency:

1. If the turbidity has a whitish tint, then most likely a bacterial boom has occurred; this is a normal phenomenon after startup. Due to the abundance of food, ammonia and nitrifying bacteria began to multiply. As a rule, the outbreak lasts a couple of days, after which it gradually subsides due to the proliferation of ciliates, for which bacteria are natural food. The process can be speeded up by adding water from a healthy aquarium, but you need to take it from the bottom or near the filter, since these are the places where most ciliates live. Sometimes the water can become cloudy even in long-running aquariums due to too large changes.
2. Green haze is caused by an overgrowth of microscopic algae. This mainly occurs from too bright light and long daylight hours. In this case, it is necessary to reduce the brightness of the light in the aquarium and make sure that it is not exposed to direct sunlight.
3. Sometimes yellowish turbidity can appear from insufficiently washed soil. As a rule, it settles within a few hours.
4. The water becomes brownish from snags and a filter with peat. Humic substances are harmless to fish, and for some species they are even beneficial, but they greatly affect the acidity of the water, which, in turn, can negatively affect species that prefer alkaline water. In this case, it is necessary to drain the water and soak the wooden decorations themselves in running water for several days.
5. Water can be colored by brightly colored soil or artificial decorations. It is better not to use such decorations at all, since they often have a negative impact on the health of the inhabitants due to the dyes.

Selection of fish

I'll start, in my opinion, with the main thing. If you have very large fish in the future, for example goldfish, veiltails (and other relatives of goldfish), angelfish, gourami, large catfish (tarakatums, ancistrus, etc.), cichlids and many others (search in Google, look at the future size of the fish) , and the aquarium is less than 100 liters, then the main thing to understand is that this fish is not suitable for you. There are two options here: either prepare to buy a large aquarium, or take the fish back to the store and exchange them for smaller ones. Understand that these fish, even if they are small now, will not last long with you. You can survive for some time with very frequent water changes and soil siphoning, but the end is always the same, very sad.

Once I witnessed a conversation in a store. A young guy asks the seller: we take angelfish, they live for a while, several months (that is, until they grow up), and then they die.

Seller : what is the volume of the aquarium?

Buyer : 60 liters.

Seller : well, quite enough for scalar, I don’t know what’s the matter:

But the fact is that one angelfish needs at least 40 liters of water, and preferably 50, and no matter how much you take, they will still grow and die! And store salespeople are most often incompetent in these matters, so they may well advise keeping a veiltail in 5 liters of water.

If the fish is small, but there is a lot of it, it is better to give away the extra. Although, with proper arrangement of the aquarium and care for it, a large population may well exist. In my 30 liters (actually 27 liters of water) there are now about 20 adult fish, about a dozen fry, all alive and well, but my jar is very densely planted with plants and regular water changes are done according to all the rules. There were much more fish, but during my absence on vacation the poor animals were regularly simply covered with food, as a result of which several residents died.

What needs to be done before launch?

Even before the start-up procedure begins, a number of important issues must be resolved and some necessary steps must be taken:

Decide what kind of fish or aquatic animals you want to have. Find out what conditions they require. Be sure to find out if they are compatible with each other! Depending on the decisions on the first point, select the volume and model of the aquarium, as well as the list of necessary equipment and design items. Based on the species and the number of future inhabitants, decide whether, for example, a heater with a thermostat is needed, how powerful the filter should be, whether an additional compressor is required, what to decorate the aquarium with: stones or snags, what plants to plant, and so on. Choose a place for the aquarium - not in a draft or in the sun.

It is also important that access to the aquarium is convenient, and that there are a sufficient number of sockets nearby. Buy and install an aquarium (be sure to place it on a flat surface, so that its edges do not hang over the shelf or cabinet even by a centimeter). The aquarium is pre-washed without using chemical detergents. Place equipment in the aquarium: filter, compressor, heater and thermometer, lighting fixtures.

Cover the soil with a layer of 3-4 cm. Depending on the type of soil and its source of origin, it may require preliminary calcination, boiling or washing. The same applies to stones and driftwood.

Now the aquarium is ready to fill with water and start up. But before we give step-by-step instructions for launching, we will try to figure out why this notorious launch is needed and how a launched aquarium differs from an unstarted one.

Starting an aquarium from scratch. Substrate preparation

Soil can be purchased at any pet store. The soil should not oxidize water and should not have sharp edges. It is better to purchase dark-colored soil, as it looks more advantageous and does not reflect light, blinding the fish.

We wash the soil with hot tap water to remove all the turbidity. Then pour boiling water over it for five minutes to disinfect. After this, we lay the soil in the aquarium three to five centimeters thick.

It is customary to level the substrate in such a way that its thickness gradually increases towards the rear wall. In the future, bacteria will settle on the soil and the soil will become one of the links in the biobalance of the aquarium.

I almost forgot: you should avoid all kinds of colored primers, as they are harmful and, in addition, over time the paint will disappear anyway.

Water

After laying out the soil and decorations, you need to start pouring water into the aquarium. Do not fill the tank with liquid from the tap - such water contains harmful impurities and elements. Before pouring, the water must be left to stand for 2-3 days so that gaseous and solid impurities are eliminated. It is important to maintain a certain hardness of the water in the aquarium.

The prepared water is poured into the tank in a thin stream so as not to damage the laid substrate and decorations.

Starting an aquarium from scratch. Installation and masking of the filter

The filter can be selected either external or internal. Internal ones are cheaper. External ones are usually used for filtering large aquariums from 80 liters. Internal Polish FAN filters from AQUAEL are very popular.

When using the latter, we also get aeration as a bonus to filtration. It is impossible to do without aeration, since in artificial reservoirs, which include an aquarium, due to the lack of water movement, enriching it with oxygen in any other way is simply impossible.

The larger the size of the sponge in the filter, the more effective the mechanical (cleaning of dirt particles) and biological (processing of fish waste by aerobic bacteria) filtration.

Do not forget that filters require periodic cleaning (about once every two weeks). If the filter is equipped with aeration, then it is very easy to understand when the time has come to clean the filter: as soon as the air bubbles have stopped flowing or the intensity of the bubbles has decreased to a minimum, it is necessary to clean the filter sponge and the air intake hole. The filter must be cleaned in water drained from the aquarium, and not in boiling water or tap water.

Starting an aquarium from scratch can be speeded up by squeezing bacteria out of the filter of an already running aquarium with “live” water.

Equipment

So the population has been decided. The next thing you need to take care of is the aquarium filter, external or external, bottom or any other, it should be there and work in the aquarium around the clock. The filter is turned off only during the water change, the sponge is washed in the water drained from the jar and the filter is turned on again. If the situation is hopeless, then temporarily the fish can be kept in an aquarium with only water and a filter, but it is better to throw any unpretentious plant into the aquarium, for example, hornwort.

Even in low light, unpretentious plants will grow and perform their function of purifying water. I now have a didiplys diandra plant growing in my first 7 liters; it would seem that a rather demanding plant lives there completely without additional lighting, far from the window.

If you are committed to a long life for your fish and their prosperity, you need soil for your aquarium. The soil is fine, with a fraction of 2-5 mm, preferably all of about the same size. You can buy it (soil is not that expensive), or you can sift out the soil to the desired size yourself. The important thing to know here is that coarser soil is a problem and shouldn’t be there. Firstly, plants with a large root system will not be able to survive in coarse soil, and secondly, the excrement of your population will settle between large stones and it is impossible to get rid of them even with the help of a siphon.

The soil needs to be laid in a layer of 3-5 cm. Why won’t an aquarium last long without soil? And the launch itself without soil is simply impossible. It is on the surface of the soil that the bacteria necessary for the normal existence of the aquatic world settle, and the finer the soil (but not finer than 1 mm, acidification is possible), the more bacteria will settle in it, which means the more promising the existence of your aquarium.