Five common mistakes first time aquarium owners make

Owning a fish tank for the first time can be a pretty rewarding experience, overall – but if you aren’t careful about certain things – you can accidentally cause a lot of damage.

With that in mind, this week’s blog is all about some of the common mistakes new tank owners make when they get into having an aquarium for the first time as well as some of the things that you can do to make sure you avoid them. Let’s jump right in!

Overfeeding

Without a doubt – the biggest beginner mistake is overfeeding their fish. It’s hard to know when your fish are hungry and in many cases, they always appear to be hungry. And true to life, if you feed your fish – they will keep eating. That being said, too much food produces a ton of waste and can badly mess up the nitrogen cycle.

When you start your tank, only feed your fish once per day. This will keep waste to a minimum and leave you with a much cleaner, healthier fish tank.

No biological filtration

We’re partial to this because of our bio balls – but it’s the truth. Airstones and a pump are simply not enough to keep your water clean. You should always have some sort of biological filter present so that it can grow beneficial bacteria that is crucial to your fish staying alive.

Not enough water changes

The general rule of thumb is to change 15% of your tank’s water each week. Beginners frequently neglect this and think that it’s possible to get away with less change over. That’s simply not the case. Water changes are a vital ingredient towards keeping your aquarium healthy. Especially early on it’s important to make sure you’re not scrimping on your water changes.

Cheaping out on filters

Most aquarium start up kits come with filters that simply aren’t strong enough for the tanks that they’re in. Most will only turn the water over a few times an hour and not only is this simply not adequate to keep the tank clean, it can be very unhealthy for your fish. Filters are an essential component of any tank and you shouldn’t cheap out on it. Always be on the lookout for a filter that turns water over at least 4 times per hour.

Too many fish

Adding too many fish too quickly can seriously destabilize your water chemistry and mess up the overall composition of your tank. We don’t recommend adding any more than 3 fish at a time to your tank and wait until your nitrogen as cycled through a time or two before adding more.

If you’re an aspiring aquarium enthusiast and have questions about how to set up your tank, feel free to give us a call and we’re happy to give you a free consultation. Until then – try to avoid these mistakes and you should find your fish will be much better off because of it. Good luck!