How to Set Up a Fish Tank
Fish tanks are a colorful and cool addition to any classroom or home. In our Marine Biology class we set up fish tanks for our own enjoyment. We chose to set up two tanks to separate the aggressive and the non-aggressive fish types. While a fish tank can be fun it takes a little bit of work to set it up. These are some guidelines that we found were helpful with setting up the tanks.
Select a tank
The main thing you want to consider when picking out a fish tank is the size and type. The bigger the tank is the more stable the climate will be. In our classroom we chose two 20 gallon freshwater tanks. 20 gallons is a good medium size. Then there's the issue of type of water. A freshwater tank is easiest to maintain. Marine or salt water tanks are costly and extremely hard to keep, especially when those maintaining the tanks are inexperienced. Our advice would be to go with the freshwater. Once you choose a tank you can begin the next step. Pumps, filters and lights
The easiest filter to operate is an under-gravel model. It sits just under the gravel and filters water back up to the top. You need some sort of air pump to keep the dissolved oxygen count up. Lights are very nice for viewing and can help the plants you put inside to grow. Most tanks come with specific instructions on how to set up the tanks so follow them as closely as you can
Cleaning
You need to change at least 25% of the water every two to four weeks to keep clarity and cleanliness optimum. If algae becomes a problem on the glass scrape it off with an easily purchased tank scraper or you can pay a little more and get algae drops from your local pet store. To clean the under-gravel filter vacuuming devices are available. Other than that your fish should be happy and healthy. If you have any problems consult your local pet store or veterinarian.Fish
It is important that you add fish slowly and within compatibility ratings. A fish that is highly aggressive may cause trouble in a tank. Tetras, guppies and coral moons are just a few of the more passive species. Make sure to check with the people at the pet store about compatibility. When introducing new fish to the tank, make sure you let them acclimate to the water for a while before letting them in on the fun.
Other
Decorations such as statues and plants are common and depend on your own taste so let you imagination paint he picture for the landscape and of course make sure that the plants are compatible for the type of tank. If your fish develop some sort of sickness like, "ick", which is deadly, make sure you don't introduce any other fish into the tank and don't transport fish in the infected tank to another tank because they may infect the other fish. Its sad but true if one fish gets it they all die. Our class had an unfortunate run in with the ick, but it might have had something to do with the fact that the fish that died were named after people from the Jackson family. 