13 Essential and Non-essential Aquarium Equipment and Supplies
Set up a home aquarium is easy if you know what you are doing. However, it might be confusing for the beginners to get started on what aquarium equipment to get. In the following article, we will list all the most critical equipment and supplies for getting started.
Essential Aquarium Equipment and Supplies.
You should not have any fish without them.
1. A Fish Tank
It is obvious that you need a fish tank to set up a home aquarium. Some people somehow feel they can skip it. Some people use a cup, a bowl, a glass, a jar, or any containers for their new fish. It is not a good idea to use anything but a real fish tank of ideal size. Because otherwise, they will die soon.
Not only it is hard to keep the water temperature, PH, and hardness in stable conditions when the body of water is too tiny. But it is also impossible to install the rest of the necessary equipment in a jar or a cup.
Our general recommendation is to get a fish tank of at least 5 US gallon (almost 19 liters). Anything smaller will have a hard time to keep a constant temperature, PH, and hardness. Fish does not like large swings in these readings. They can die from shock.
2. An Aquarium Filter
No one should keep a fish in captivity without having an aquarium filter running 24/7. To make it clear, fish will die for certain in captivity without a filter. It is just the matter of time. It might be days or weeks, but the fish will eventually die an unnatural death. A filter is for biological filtration. Without it, toxic ammonia released from fish waste and leftover fish food will pollute the water and kill the fish.
Make sure you get the right aquarium filter. It is a filter, not a pump. A filter has filter media, unlike a pump which only pumps water.
3. Aquarium Water Conditioner
Aquarium water conditioner is required if you use tap water for your aquarium which is more than 99% the scenario. Tap water is the easiest source of water you can use for your home aquarium. However, tap water has chlorine and chloramine in it. Both chemical compounds are harmless to us, but they can and will kill the fish. Aquarium water conditioner can neutralize both chemical compounds and make tap water safe for the fish.
Most of the aquarium water conditioners on the market are in liquid form. A few drops in a bucket will do the trick almost instantly. Just get a bottle of commercially available aquarium water conditioner, it will last you for months at least.
4. Fish food
Like all animals, fish must eat. They also have their special diet requirement.
Commercially available fish food is the easiest to use. There is a large selection of them too.
Somehow some people feel like they can skip it by feeding the fish foods from a human diet, such as bread and rice. It does not work that way. While some fish will try to eat whatever you give to them if they starve enough, they must eat fish food which is high in protein and fat. Carbohydrate from the bread and rice can’t sustain them. They will eventually die of malnutrition.
Oh, I know what you might be thinking now. Please do not feed the fish with any typical human food. No meat, no fruit, no veggie, no grain, please. The only thing you might feed them from your diet is some raw or cooked plain fish meat with no addictive. It is just so much easier to get a bottle of fish food since it will last for months.
5. Live Bacteria seeding Product to establish Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle (for new aquarium)
If you are setting up a new aquarium, it is uncycled. Once there is a fish in the fish tank, ammonia is produced continuously. In a well-established aquarium, there are lots of good bacteria feeding on the toxic ammonia. An uncycled aquarium will have ammonia quickly build up and kill the fish. It usually takes weeks to over a month to build up the necessary quantity of good bacteria. In most cases, fish will be long dead before a new aquarium is fully cycled.
Fortunately, commercially available live bacteria products have made life so much easier to cycle a new aquarium.
6. An aquarium heater
Most fish species in the aquarium trade is, in fact, tropical fish. Unless you live in a tropical area yourself, you must get an aquarium heater for your aquarium. It will keep the water temperature constant, and it will automatically turn itself off once it has reached the targeted temperature.
Very few fish in the aquarium trade does not need a heater. Goldfish is one of them.
7. An Aquarium Air Pump
In most cases, an aquarium air pump is a must for promoting gas exchange between the water and atmosphere. Without it, the fish won’t get enough oxygen. They will die.
There are exceptions. When you use a hang on the back power filter, the waterfall from the filter outflow already creates enough surface movement. As a result, you do not need an air pump if the filter creates a waterfall.
Non-essential Aquarium equipment and Supplies.
You do not need them, but they can make your life easier and your aquarium better looking.
8. An Aquarium hood or canopy
Many fish species can jump out of the water on occasions. Without a canopy, there is always the possibility your beloved fish might jump to their demise. Better safe than sorry. Have a canopy will not only avoid an unfortunate accident, but it can also slow the evaporation of water. In the case of a tropical aquarium, a canopy can delay the release of heat. As a result, it cost less electricity to keep the water warm as the heater does not need to switch itself on as often.
Most aquarium canopy also comes with the light fixture. While the fish do not need lights to live happily after, it makes the viewing easier with lights on. Not to mention that live plants require adequate lights in order to survive if you prefer planted aquarium.
9. An Aquarium Stand
If you do not have strong enough furniture with a smooth surface and suitable height, you might need an aquarium stand to put the fish tank on. Not only it makes the aquarium look nicer, but it will also make the aquarium safer. It is not a good idea to put the heavy but fragile fish tank on something that might break. It is even a worse idea to put the fish tank on the floor. Not only you can’t view the fish from a normal angle, but you might also accidentally break it by kicking it or have something fall on it.
An aquarium stand can also be used to hide the external filter, other equipment, and supplies for easy access.
10. Aquarium gravel or substrate
While most fish can live in a bare bottom aquarium just fine, some fish might become stressed and shy when the bottom of the fish tank is unnatural to them. Some fish species such as corydoras catfish love to dig around the substrate. They do better with fine, soft substrate. It will show their natural behavior.
Getting suitable aquarium gravel or substrate for your aquarium will also make your aquarium better looking.
In the case of having a planted aquarium, the importance of choosing the right plant substrate is related to the success or failure of the plants.
11. An aquarium gravel vacuum
A gravel vacuum comes in handy for aquarium maintenance. You can use it to do a partial water change for your aquarium. Since you can use it to suck the way out of the fish tank, it can also remove debris such as fish poop from the bottom of the fish tank at the same time. Without it, you might find it much harder to do partial water changes and to keep the fish tank clean.
12. A Fishnet
A fishnet comes in handy when you try to remove some floating debris from the fish tank. It might be leftover fish food, or algae, or even a dead fish. No need to get your hands wet when you have a fishnet.
13. Aquarium Decorations
Aquarium decorations
Artifical plants, rocks, caves, tree logs, castle, or even live plants can all make great decorations. Make sure whatever you put in your aquarium are made for aquarium use. Some nonaquatic decorations are known to leak chemicals which can harm your fish. Buy aquatic specific decorations only.
Conclusion:
We have covered the list of top essential and nonessential aquarium equipment and supplies for setting up a home aquarium. Be sure to get everything on the list of crucial items unless you fit the mentioned exceptions. Without them, the fish can’t survive. If your budget does not allow, please save up for every one of them instead of going ahead without getting the full list. Your fish’s life is depended on them.
As for the non-essential aquarium equipment and supplies, it is up to you. If you have the budget, go for it. They will just make your aquarium more complete, safer for the fish, easier for you to maintain. If you are on a tight budget, you may skip on the non-essential items. Get them when you can.