You, first, want to wash the gravel thoroughly. Place it under running water and keep stirring the gravel until the water is clean after it flows through the gravel. Also wash any decorations that will be going in the tank. Next, clean the tank and check for leaks. Always empty after the cleaning before refilling. Before you fill the tank check to see that everything is right such as the light, heater, filter and thermostat. Information is also essential before getting started. I recommend looking around and perhaps studying some material that discusses the care of tropical fish before getting started.

After you are ready to start, gravel obviously will be the first to be added to the tank. If you use an underground filter, be sure to place it far enough under the gravel - about one and one half to two inched in front and three to four inched in the back.

When adding the water, you only want to fill the tank half way to begin as this will allow you to finish adding the plants and decorations that you desire to please your pet fish. Make sure that the plants have enough gravel for the roots. When you are installing the filter, attach it so no plants or rocks are in the way. Attach heater and thermostat firmly also. If you use large rocks, make sure that they are firmly bedded in and can never topple other. This is very important.

Next, condition the water. This needs to be done before adding the fish. Get rid of all of the chlorine in the water. That can harm the fish. There are lot of water conditioners on the market and they must be used. Before adding any fish, let the filter run for 5-7 days, so any last chlorine will be able to escape. Its not a bad idea to add a couple of flakes of food without the fish to start off the nitrogen cycle before your fish arrive. You can also take some water from an aquarium that is already in use and pour it in. Make sure that the temperature is correct, at about 24 degrees Celsius.

Add only a couple of fish to start off with. You will need to "equalize" the waters by floating the fish using their bag. Leave them there for 15 - 20 minutes. Then release them.

The absolute balance of an aquarium world is not usually possible to start with. Usually the fish give off more waste matter than the plants will absorb. And plants almost never provide sufficient food for fish life in an aquarium tank. You will need to work to start the "ecobalance" in the tank and then maintain the environment afterward.