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The everyday maintenance of an aquarium is relatively easy and does not require much time or money. You can even set up an aquarium for the first time without spending a lot of cash, as long as you don’t get too crazy in the beginning and are willing to add to your system as time goes by.

To set up an aquarium you only need to follow a handful of very simple instructions.  The key to getting it right is obtaining knowledge and coming here was a good start.  A good aquarium book and the Internet can provide you with all the information that you are going to need.  A little bit of studying will help you gain the knowlegde and confidence that you need to be a complete success in this hobby.  If you do your homework you will achieve complete success in your aquatic dreams.

A good place to gain knowledge is from the various online discussion boards and forums available.  There are almost always numerous people that are more than happy to help you get started and solve any problems you may come across.  Simply type “Aquarium Forum” or “Aquarium Discussion Board” into any search engine and many will pop up.  My personal favorite is AquariumForum.com. They are the definition of community and provide a friendly, helpful environment. There are bigger forums out there, but I don’t believe there are any better ones. (If you sign up be sure to tell them “roc-aquarium” sent you!)

The first question you are going to need to answer is “what type of aquarium do you want?”  There are three basic types of aquariums.  A freshwater, saltwater or brackish water system.  The equipment needed and fish and plants available for each system is significantly different.  I will try to provide an overview of each type and discuss what is involved with each one.

Freshwater Systems

The freshwater system is the most popular aquarium type.  It is considered the best for the beginning aquatic hobbyist for the following reasons:

• -The freshwater system is the least expensive to set up and maintain.
• -Freshwater fish are usually cheaper and more readily available than saltwater or brackish fish.
• -Freshwater fish are typically hardier and easier to care for than saltwater or brackish fish.
• -Many freshwater fish will easily breed in the home aquarium.  This allows another level of enjoyment for many people as well as an opportunity to sell some of your offspring to recoup some of your investment in the hobby.
• -More freshwater fish than saltwater fish can be kept in a given space.

Freshwater systems can be further broken down into tropical systems or coldwater systems.  The main difference between the two is the temperature in which the aquarium is kept.  The majority of fish that you find at the local pet store will be tropical freshwater fish.  Except for goldfish most coldwater species are difficult to find.  Because of these reasons you will have the greatest number of options if you decide on a tropical freshwater system.  Please be advised that unless you live in a consistently warm environment you will need a heater to maintain proper water temperatures for your tropical fish.

Information on Saltwater and Brackish systems will follow in a later post.