Filling An Aquarium For The First Time
Having an aquarium is not just about putting water and food in it and throwing fish into it. In fact, the initial process can be much slower than most people realize. Filling an aquarium for the first time has its peculiarities.
This is a procedure that doesn’t take just one day. If we want our fish to live a long time and acclimate correctly, the path is much longer, but safer.
Therefore, here we explain how to fill an aquarium for the first time from the beginning and, above all, without errors.
First the aquarium, then the fish
Many people think that first you have the animal, then you create the right home. This may work with dogs, but with aquatic animals it is very different. In fact, the process of filling it, acclimatizing and stabilizing the water takes weeks when everything is done properly.
In the beginning, the correct thing is to remove the powder and rinse with water. Then, we can put what would be the substrate, basically composed of gravel. This is done before filling an aquarium for the first time.
After that, the first filling is done, but we are still a long way from being able to place fish in this nascent ecosystem.
How should the water be put?
In the beginning, we can put it directly with a hose or a faucet. At this point, the correct thing is to add cold or natural water, as it comes from the plumbing. Being precise, it is not recommended that the liquid pass through a pipe that heats it, because these devices have contaminating metals.
After that, we’ll acclimate the water with a heat thermostat, and we’ll also put on the filter. In all cases, the correct thing is that the fish does not enter cold water all of a sudden. In addition, there are tropical species that can only live in environments that are around 23 and 26 degrees centigrade.
From here, what follows is a series of procedures that have to do with the chemical regulation of water. If our fish enter a balanced aquarium with controlled indicators, they will live much longer.
When filling an aquarium for the first time, it is important to dechlorinate the water.
A substance capable of removing accumulated chlorine will always be important. Let’s remember that the water we consume is diluted with this element with the idea of ​​decontaminating it for human use. In the case of fish, the effect is quite the opposite.
When we use products that remove chlorine, chloramines and heavy metals that may be diluted in water are also eliminated. However, the ecosystem will continue to settle and then shelter aquatic animals.
Preparing the surroundings for your fish can take up to 4 or 6 full weeks. The more controlled the filling and settlement process, the more the ecosystem will have habitability for fish.
Creating a colony of healthy microbes
A clean aquarium is not like a kitchen or clean room. In order for it to be habitable, it must have a colony of nitrifying microbes that can process all the toxic waste that originates in this controlled environment.
Precisely, whole weeks are allowed to pass to allow the first layers of purifying protective microorganisms to form. In the early days, ammonia appears, which is why it is not advisable to introduce animals so quickly.
But from the third or fourth week onwards, nitrate oxide is created, which is in charge of oxidizing the ammonia. When this happens, we say that the aquarium is mature and the fish can enter. To facilitate the whole process, small amounts of natural plants and fish feed can be added from the start.
Use measuring instruments
The best way to control is to measure. Therefore, after filling an aquarium for the first time and letting the days pass, the correct thing is to use tests to check the toxicity level of the water.
In pet shops there are tests to check the level of nitrate, nitrite and ammonia in an aquarium. The procedure is very simple.
Also, it is very useful to measure pH. Here, the important thing is also to know the species of fish we buy and study the conditions that are most favorable according to their own composition.
