10 gallon aquariums need as much setting up as you would have to do if you owned a much large size aquarium. Certainly if you want to see the fish and marine life you put into a 10 gallon aquarium to thrive then creating their ideal environment is essential.



You have the choice with a 10 gallon aquarium as with any other size of aquarium to keep either freshwater or saltwater tropical fish in them. Yet the principles remain the same no matter whether you want to set up a 10 gallon aquarium or something much larger. Below we provide some details of what one needs to do when you decide to set up a freshwater 10 gallon aquarium.

10 Gallon Aquarium - Things To Do Before Anything Else

As soon as you get your 10 gallon aquarium home then you need to wash it out completely. Into a bucket place some warm water with a mild detergent and then scrub the tank inside and out. Although the 10 gallon aquarium may look clean it will still have various airborne contaminants, dust and debris on it.

After you have washed the 10 gallon aquarium with the detergent mixture then rinse it out well. You should actually pour and get rid of the freshwater to rinse it out several times to remove any debris but make sure that all detergent residue is removed as well.

As well as cleaning the 10 gallon aquarium out properly one needs to do the same with the equipment that you are going to be installing in it. As with the tank remember to rinse each piece of equipment thoroughly several times to remove unwanted debris and detergent residue. If not then this may well cause to problems for the fish and marine life that can be detrimental to their health and may well kill them.

When you need to clean the gravel that you are going to be placing in the 10 gallon aquarium the easiest way of doing this is by placing it in a colander and then situating it under running faucet and leave there for a while. As for plants (no matter whether they are live or plastic) they need to be cleaned and the most effective way is by putting them in a bucket of water and leaving them there until you need to put them in the aquarium.

Setting Up A 10 Gallon Aquarium - Other Things You Need To Do

It is important that before you start preparing the 10 gallon aquarium so you can put aquatic life into it you test to make sure that it won't leak. To do this you fill it with water completely and then monitor it over the next few hours to see what happens. Only if you are happy with the results can you now start to prepare the aquarium in readiness for aquatic life to be placed in it.

The first thing you need to put into your 10 gallon aquarium before you add any water (which must not contain chlorine) is to put in place the filtration system (side or under gravel one) and the gravel. To ensure that the water you are putting into your aquarium contains no chlorine is to add to it a product known as chlorine remover. It is crucial that you follow the dosage instructions to the letter provided by the manufacturer when adding this product to the water.

To avoid you disturbing the gravel too much when adding the unchlorinated water to the 10 gallon aquarium first put a dish on top of it. Now rather than pouring the water directly on to the gravel slowly and gently pour it into the dish and let it gently flow over the sides. Once you have filled the 10 gallon aquarium with water don't forget to remove the dish.