The following are some very important beginners Tips to setting up a successful, maintenance free aquarium.  Of course, not everyone has the time to properly maintain their Aquariums which is where Aquaripure's Aquarium Maintenance Services comes in!  In addition, these are only a few beginner's tips to help a do it yourself type get started.  If you want to maintain your aquarium yourself read as much as possible on the subject and be prepared to make a commitment.  If you maintain your aquarium yourself then Aquaripure's Nitrate Removal Filter can help save you time and money.    

1)  Make sure you have enough filtration and that the water flow in the tank is sufficient to aerate the water.  

Make sure you have enough filtration to physically filter the water.  Just make sure it's enough to keep the water aerated, clear and generally free of sediment.  Use some activated carbon or a synthetic adsorbent to polish the water.  Just put in a stocking or a filter bag and change every month or so.  You can also use phosphate remover if phosphates are high.

2) Be Patient!  Wait for your tank (and denitrator) to cycle.

If you are setting up a new tank then start off with a few cheap, hardy fish like damsels or tetras before you get the good fish.  Try to be patient and wait a couple of months to be sure your tank is completely cycled.   

3) Monitor Nitrates, pH, salinity (in saltwater tanks), and phosphates.

The best way to tell how your tank is doing is to get a test kit.  For fish only systems, once your tank is cycled, you really should only have to test for nitrates and occasionally pH.  A cheap, safe, and effective way to increase pH is baking soda, just don't add too much at one time.  kH should be monitored if it is a freshwater planted aquarium or coral reef aquarium.  Phosphates should also be tested once a month or so even though they are not considered harmful to fish.  Of course, salinity should be tested in saltwater aquariums. 

4) Choose your fish very carefully!

Before you buy any aquarium fish, be sure to read everything you can about it.  Make sure it will be compatible with both your tank chemistry and with your other fish.  Make sure you note if it has any special diet.  Of course, choose only healthy looking fish that don't have any signs of Ich or other disease.

5) Don't Overstock your Aquarium

I know it's tempting to go and buy another fish or to put a big puffer fish in that 55 gallon, but you are doing the fish and yourself a disservice.  The tank will just become quickly polluted and you will wind up doing a lot of water changes.  Aquaripure recommends stocking your aquarium with no more than one inch of fish per two gallons of water for freshwater and only one inch of fish per three gallons of water for saltwater tanks.  

6) Stock your fish tanks well with scavengers.  

Of course, every freshwater tank has an algae eater, but how about a freshwater crab or some freshwater snails or shrimp?  These eat just about anything and probably pollute the tank less than an algae eater.  Whether the tank is freshwater or saltwater, you should get a wide variety of scavengers which will further greatly reduce the level of nitrates in your tank.  For saltwater aquariums this includes cucumbers, crabs, snails, and starfish.