When you set up a home aquarium, there are some accessories and supplies that you will need to purchase. You can start small and decorations can come later once you have the essentials. The first thing you will need is a fish tank to create an aquarium. It is best to not use other containers because there is an ideal size that is required for fish to thrive.

In a small body of water, it can be hard to maintain constant water temperature, pH and other specificities. And there is some equipment that will need space to install. The minimum fish tank capacity is about 19 litres. It is recommended not to go smaller than this because it will be hard to maintain the water conditions. You will need an aquarium filter as well and that should be running all the time.

It is very important that it runs all the time because fish can die in the absence of it. The filter will remove toxic ammonia that is released from fish food and fish waste. If this is not removed, it will pollute the water of the tank and kill the fish. The right aquarium filter has to be installed. There is filter media in a filter. You can also ask the local aquarium for recommendations on aquarium accessories that will be safe for the fish.

If you fill the tank with water from the tap, you will need to use some aquarium water conditioner. Tap water contains chlorine and chloramine which are harmful to the fish. A water conditioner is used to neutralise these chemicals and the water will be made safe for the fish. All you need to do is add a few drops of the conditioner to the water and it will last you a few months. You also need to select food that has the right nutrition for your food. You can’t feed them human food. Commercial fish food is recommended instead. Make sure that you read the ingredients to see that it contains useful nutrients for the fish.

An air pump can be used to promote gas exchange between the atmosphere and the water in the tank so that the fish gets enough oxygen. You may not need an air pump if you have a back power filter where surface movement will be created by the waterfall produced by the filter. When you introduce fish to the tank, ammonia will be produced constantly. If the aquarium has been established for some time, there will be good bacteria that feed on this. But you will not have this in a new aquarium. So you will need to introduce bacteria products to establish the aquarium nitrogen cycle. Commonly available fish are tropical fish and therefore you might require a heater for your aquarium if you don’t live in a tropical area.

This will ensure a constant water temperature. It will shut off automatically once the water has reached the correct temperature. There are also non-essential aquarium supplies such as a canopy for the aquarium that will prevent the fish from jumping out, an aquarium stand to mount it, aquarium substrate, gravel vacuum to clean the substrate, a fish net to remove fish and aquarium decorations.