Here is a list for the order of steps you should take if you would like to setup your own fish tank.
Fill tank with water and your gravel and decorations
Add Filter as well as heater and start them up
Add dechlorinator to your water
Wait two weeks for beneficial bacteria to build up in the tank
Add one fish and wait for two weeks before adding more fish
Add remaining desireable fish and make sure your temperature and water conditions are at desireable levels
enjoy your aquarium and care for your fish
To Sucessfully maintain any aquarium with fish you must have a Filter; preferrably one that provides chemical, biological, as well as mechanical filtration. With all three types of filtration your fishe's water will have all the necessary requirements to survive; the only thing else you need is a heater.
The Emperor 400 by Marineland is a filter that provides all three types of filtration.
This is a photo of the Emperor 280 and the Emperor 400. The numbers listed by the names of the filters tell you how many gallons per hour the filter, filters.
My Tank Contains an Emperor 400 Filter as well as 2 Penguin 660 power heads on each side of the tank for good circulation of the water as well as added filtration.
Below is a table that shows you how many gallons per hour (gph) you need of filtration for a specified size of a tank in gallons as well as how many Cichlid fish you can keep in a certain aquarium. All measurements for tank size and Filtration (GPH) are in gallons (g) or (GPH)
