How to Make a Fish Tank

How do you make a fish tank? This seems like a very simple question. After all, it’s just taking a glass box, decorating it, and filling it with water and fish, and feeding them, right? Well… no. It’s not quite that simple, but it can also be a lot more rewarding than it sounds! Here are 4 crucial steps to making and maintaining one.

1. Planning. 

This crucial step is the first you should EVER do when making an animal enclosure. It decides the layout, care, setup, and everything else that comes after. 

The main portion of planning is choosing the fish. This ensures you have the right setup and the fish won’t kill each other. The first step is to look at your setup, depending on your budget, space, and caring ability. Make sure you’re not overcrowding your tank or you risk insufficient filtration due to too many fish. Next, make sure that your fish won’t kill each other, like if you were to put a piranha with a suckermouth catfish or rasboras with a betta fish. (Those are tricks: the piranha and catfish will work, and rasboras will harass the betta to death.) I recommend using AqAdvisor, a handy planning tool. Once you have the planning finished, move on to Step 2. 

2. Building

This may be the easiest step of all. First, go to your local pet store. If you already had a plan in mind, look for a tank that is the same size as the one you planned for. Of course, also only purchase something with no cracks or visible damage. If you set up a tropical tank, you will also need a heater. DO NOT buy an Aqueon one. (I speak from experience - they are unreliable. When I had them, they either failed or boiled my fish, each failure causing a casualty.) I recommend AquaTop, since they do a good job of being reliable and not failing. I’ve had one for over five years with nothing going wrong.

You will also need a filter. Generally, the predictions on the filter box are correct. (Lights are rarely an issue unless you plan to have a saltwater tank with coral. Then you need a special blue light, but this is still common in many pet stores.)

When you get home, fill the tank with substrate (what you put on the bottom of the tank) from the pet store. Make sure you wash all substrate and decor thoroughly. If you get some decoration from outdoors, make sure you boil it first to remove bacteria. Then, fill the tank with water and treat it with a chlorine neutralizer to remove bad chemicals. For a saltwater/brackish water tank, get a packet of aquarium salt and dose according to the instructions on the packet. Saltwater and brackish water are different, so make sure you have correctly dosed!

3. Introducing the fish

This is the most fun step. Buying fish! Add no more than seven fish in a two-week period to allow the nitrogen cycle to stabilize. This ensures that ammonia levels don’t get too high from fish excrement, which keeps the fish from getting too stressed from the new bioload and sudden ammonia influx. To continue this balance, add no more than six fish per week until you have reached your stocking goal.

4. Taking care of your fish

This is the least fun part. Depending on the species, this can vary, so make sure you do your research before buying. Most adult fish require feeding once daily, but some fish, like pipefish and seahorses, require multiple feedings a day, and many fry must be fed 2-3 times a day. Most fish require a monthly water change, but larger fish, an overstocked tank, or a sensitive species (like baby fish or stingrays) might require more frequent water changes. Always do your research on fish care before deciding on creating a tank!

Making a fish tank is a lot harder than you would think. It requires planning, preparation, and a willingness to consistently care for your fish. But if you follow these steps, you will end up with a masterpiece that you can enjoy for years.