Introduction

Some people think that developing and keeping a freshwater aquarium is expensive and difficult. I have setup and successfully run a 75-gallon freshwater aquarium with little cost and no prior experience.

Here are some questions you may have if you are contemplating a home freshwater aquarium.

Is it expensive to setup?

The most expense you will outlay for the aquarium is the tank and the stand. My initial setup cost of about 700 dollars included the tank, stand, heater, aerator, filters, substrate and plants. The cheapest part was the fish.

That is about 10 dollars per gallon. So if you want a smaller tank, say about 10-gallons, expect to lay out about 100 dollars.

Where can you get information to learn about establishing an aquarium?

There are several ways to get this information and I used all of them. Purchasing books from established Aquarist is the best way I found to get good information. I also used the Internet to get information, but you do not know the experience level of these people. In fact I found many articles that contradicted each other. If you have specific questions, I would suggest a freshwater fish forum where you can receive answers to specific questions you may have.

Is maintenance of an aquarium difficult and time consuming?

The most difficult and time-consuming aspect of a freshwater aquarium is the setup of the tank itself. It can take several months to establish the right environment before you even put your first fish in.

If you have established your aquarium correctly, maintenance of the tank is a breeze. It takes about one hour a week to maintain your aquarium. The biggest maintenance is the weekly change out of the water. I change out 10% of the water in my tank each week and it will take me about 45 minutes.

Other maintenance activities is to clean the filters and prune and remove the dead plants. Another activity you will have to do is rewarding to me and that is feeding your fish. My fish come swimming to me at feeding time and actually take the flakes out of my fingers.

Why should I even get a freshwater tank?

I have my aquarium in my home office and enjoy watching my fish. It is very soothing and relaxing to watch my fish swim around.

An unintended consequence of having an aquarium is the water you take out weekly. It is high in phosphates, nitrates and fish “poop”. This is just the right fertilizer for your houseplants and vegetable garden, plus it is free.