Water conditioner and medication

Once you have the aquarium and filter system in place, we can start set up the aquarium.
Fill your aquarium with tap water , if you're using pail to transfer the water make sure the pail chemical free.....example detergent ........i recommend buy a new pail specifically for aquarium use no sharing with others to make sure no cross contamination.

Water conditioner

After filling the water pour in water conditioner / dechlorine solution according to the measurement recommendation label.
You may also add in PSB bacteria to help start your filter system and make your water more lively.
At this point ,if you like to decorate your aquarium you may.

Water conditioner

After complete decorating you may start your filter system pump to circulate and aerate your aquarium .
Let your filter system to set........ say for about 6 -8 hours or until your aquarium water is crystal clear .
Now is time to go to your favorite aquarium shop to stock up the fish. 
You should also stock up some medication just in case you needed it . Normally one's will keep Anti -Itch , Anti-parasite and general aid medication and there are hundred of brand in the market and all serve the same purposes .

TIP : before you run down to the aquarium shop plan out what type of fish you want to keep :-

         * community type which is there's are several species co exist in your tank
         * carnivore type which only one type and some carnivore will eat or fight with each other so the  best is to keep one

Aquarium Filter system and filter media

Do you need to understand this in order to choose which filter system is suitable for your requirement ? ....Yes.
But the good news is when you buy your aquarium most already have paired with a filter system and the seller would probably ask some question in order to understand your requirement....so tell him/her what type of set up your planning ,type of fish ,quantity of fish and your budget so that he/she can pair accordingly . This is what most aquarist  miss out : How does your aquarium eco system works , well actually to keep the aquarium healthy you got to have a good Nitrogen cycle  

This diagram shows the nitrogen cycle, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate is toxic to fishes as it will encourage disease in the fish. Bacteria in the aquarium will eat up the ammonia and nitrite ,this process the will produce the dreaded nitrate. If nitrate level breach 50 ppm some fish will start to get sick and may die due to the sickness . Here is were your filtering system plays it's role by keeping the nitrate in the filter media so that your aquarium nitrate level is in check.
* For new tank prior to set up it is recommended to add bacteria to your tank, this is to encourage the     Nitrogen cycle to start.

Now here a few sample of available filters :

Tips : the larger your filter the more nitrate it will hold and this prolong the cleaning schedule so it also depend how frequent you perform your tank maintenance 
Size of filter :
 Filter size of about 30% of your aquarium or pond is the most suitable size and require lesser attention , frequency of maintenance 1~3 years ( for indoors recommended yearly due to fishy smell as for outdoor can opt for longer period ) although the maintenance period is longer but the cleaning of filter system is a real dirty job so be prepare.
If your location cannot fit such a big filter , a smaller ones will do also the only thing is have to clean more often. Example change partial water every 2 weeks and clean the filter media or replace with new one .
Tip to prolong cleaning schedule : feed less food, cleaning tank of waste and may try to keep a few life plants .
Or you may also use O3 ionizer to enrich the oxygen  level or use additional filter media ie :zeolite or carbon ( charcoal )
Hope this info be useful to you .

Aquarium selection

Variation of size for aquarium

Build up with cabinet type

First of all before you start selecting your aquarium, you must keep in mind what type of fish you want to keep.For carnivore fish like

Designer tank

arowana, oscar, red tail catfish etc.than you should plan to have a larger tank preferable 100cm x 50cm and above.This large tank also suitable for smaller fish set up also known as community tank because it can mix with a variety of fish as for large carnivore fish you can only keep one or a pair only.
For community tank any size of tank is suitable but you need to decide no. of fish you want to keep.More fish mean bigger tank.

Standard Malaysian aquarium set

Designer aquarium

Standard aquarium set

Build up with cabinet aquarium

 And now there are a lot of designer tank that come in a variety of shape and color , most comes with filtration and ligthing .Tips : the bigger the filter box/compartment the better 

Location, Location, Location.........where to set up my aquarium

First of all before you start running to the aquarium shop to buy your aquarium set , you must find a suitable location , right .......now how to find a suitable location when you sometimes can even find your car keys......hmmmmmm.

First the easy way ...... go find yourself a Feng Shui Master he/she will take out the gigantic compass and point to the best location and make sure there's a power point (electric point) nearby about 1meter proximity and water tap about 2~3 meter proximity , the nearer the better.

Now my way........find your self a cool and cozy location in your house with power point (1 Meter) and water tap nearby (2~3 meter) the nearer the better first of all are you happy with the location if so then you got the right location but as a little reminder to those guys with lady boss (wife) pleasssssseeeeee get your partner opinion if you don't want being nag.

The most important thing is the location have easy access to electricity and water , not in your way or blocking whatever things there and path  in your house

Why I start this blog ...................

Through out my years of experience in retailing tropical fish ,I found that alot of people do not understand how to set up and take care of a aquarium. Most of the people that walk into my shop will normally ask which fish will not die easily or with fish will bring good feng shui.

From the question they asked I knew this is not a hobbyist . So weather you're a hobbyist or not will try to make you understand proper way to maintain a aquarium .And keep posted for up coming tips.
FYI : If you maintain you aquarium properly your fish will not die easily and healthy fish bring good feng shui .