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Quick Start

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My First …
Beginner's Quick Guide: Aquarium Setup
My First Freshwater Aquarium
Quick Start
Selecting Your Aquarium
Understanding Filtration
Understanding Nitrogen Cycle
Oxygenation
Types of Filters
Light Tubes and Light Sets
Decorative
Introducing New Fish
Feeding Your Fish
Maintenance Guide
My First Betta
My First Guppy
My First Planted Tank
Common Aquarium Fish Diseases
Overfeeding
Why Is My Aquarium Water Cloudy?
Marine
About Marine

QUICK START

An illustrated guide on how to go about setting up your first aquarium in just a few simple steps.
Beginner Set up

Rinse aquarium tank thoroughly.

DO NOT use any form of detergents or commercial cleansers.
Beginner Set up

Place aquarium tank on a recommended stand.

Position tank away from direct sunlight.
Beginner Set up

Add Gravels, Decorative, etc.

Rinse gravels, decorative thoroughly with tap water before adding them to aquarium.
Beginner Set up

Slowly fill up the tank with water by placing a small plastic bag on top of the gravels to prevent water directly splashing at it and thus keeping the gravels in place.

Fill up the tank to about 90% full.
Beginner Set up

Position filter and lighting / cover before switching on the power supply.

Condition water with Anti-Chlorine and it is recommended to run the filter and cycle the tank for at least a week before adding fishes into your tank.

The water quality in your aquarium is the most important and basic element in keeping a healthy and successful aquarium.

Why must we treat our tap-water with water conditioners before using it in an aquarium?

Chlorine and chloramine are added to eliminate harmful bacteria in the tap water, and that’s the reason why it’s common in Singapore to hear people saying it’s safe to drink directly from the tap water. The concentration level of Chlorine and Chloramine that is present in the tap water might be safe for human consumption, but they are very harmful to the fish and plants.

Chlorine and chloramine can also affect the growth of the beneficial bacterial in your aquarium, thus it’s very important to remove them by using Ocean Free New Water Guard conditioner when setting up new aquarium and during water change. Ocean Free New Water Guard, not only remove Chlorine and Chloramine effectively, but it is also formulated to reduce stress when the fishes are introduce to your aquarium and also assist in removing metallic Ions and toxic chemical.

It’s also highly recommended to check the pH level of the aquarium water to monitor your water parameter depending on which species of fish that you are keeping. Different species require different pH level and frequent water change might cause some fluctuation to the pH level.

Many people will recommend aging the water instead of using water conditioner to remove the chlorine and chloramine. Aging the water is the practice of  keeping water for 24-48 hours in order for the chlorine to evaporate from the water before using it for your aquarium water change. However one must take note that Chloramine remains present in the water as Chloramine does not evaporate from the water. Thus, unlike the olden days whereby Chloramine is not present in tap water, aging the water that contains Chloramine now does not make the water safe for aquarium use. Therefore it is a must to treat tap-water with water conditioner whenever a new aquarium is being setup and during water change.