Setting up your aquarium requires patience and diligence. A lot of people usually brush off this important step and thus do a bad job creating a healthy and comfortable environment for their fish. So, if you do a good job, your fish will thrive and live a long and healthy life! Here is how you should set up your fresh water aquarium.

Clean out your fish tank with warm water. Do not use any chemicals as this will poison your fish. Place your fish tank in a room that gets a lot of naturally light. Positioning your tank in front of a window will definitely stimulate great plant growth.

Hook up your filtration system, lighting and under gravel filter. Make sure you connect everything correctly and that your gravel filter is clean.

Thoroughly rinse the sand. I usually pour the sand into a big bucket and rinse the sand with running water. Use your hand or a stick to circulate the sand so that all the dust and dirt can float to the surface and out of the bucket. Once the water in the bucket is clean, you can pour the sand into your tank.

Soak your driftwood for a few days and change the water regularly. Failing to clean your driftwood will color your tank.

If you have plastic plants, place them in boiling water and leave them there for a few minutes. This cleans the plants and revitalizes the plastic.

Scrub any rocks that you are planning to use in your tank. Make sure that you do some research before choosing the rocks. You cannot simply go outside in your garden and pick up some rocks as these may contain metals. I suggest that you go down to your nearest pet store and buy your rocks there. These rocks are usually safe to use.

You can now landscape your tank. Now is the time where you can be really creative but remember to make the environment natural and habitable for your fish. Place tall plants along the outer perimeter of the tank and smaller plants in the middle. If you are using real plants, select a good spot for them and leave them there. Constantly repositioning your plants will destroy any roots that your plants may have made. Use your rocks to build caves or just place them randomly in your tank. Once your driftwood has soaked for a few days and you feel confident that it is clean, place it in the tank.

If you know for sure what type of fish you want, go down to your pet store and buy the correct pH chemicals. If you are not sure what pH your water should be, ask a salesman at the pet store. These chemicals usually come in sachets or bottles and include a formula that dictates how many sachets per gallon you should throw into your water.

Let your tank run in for at least 10 days. A lot of people rush down the pet store as soon as their tank is set up, but this is wrong. In order for your fish tank to create some biological life and for an ecosystem to start developing in your tank, you should let your tank run in for at least 10 days. I saw a sign in a pet store saying that you should run your tank in for at least a month to ensure that your fish will have a healthy and more natural environment, however I think that is a bit extreme. 10 days will suffice.

Remember to keep your fish tank light on for about 12 hours per day. Doing so will stimulate plant growth (if you are using live plants) and will build up some natural algae.

Wipe off the front pane of glass once a week. Change 1/3 of your tank's water every 2nd week, but make sure that you get the pH level of the fresh water right. Do not just throw in pure tap water. Check the pH level of your tank every 2nd week.

Now that your tank has been run in properly, you can begin adding fish. Ask a salesman at the pet store for beginner's fish. These fish will usually breed easier and are very easy to keep happy. Do some research online to find out which fish will co-exist with other fish.

Following these simple yet seemingly unimportant steps will ensure that your fish will have a healthy and realistic environment. Keep your fish tank in good shape and your fish will thrive and reward you by breeding and being healthy, vibrant fish.