Start bigger than you think
A small tank is not easier — it is less stable. Water chemistry in a 20-litre nano swings wildly with a single overfeed; in a 100-litre tank the same mistake is diluted. For a first aquarium, 80–120 litres is the sweet spot: forgiving, cheap to run, and large enough for a proper community.
Cycle the tank before any fish arrive
Fish produce ammonia. Beneficial bacteria in the filter convert ammonia to nitrite, then nitrite to nitrate. Until those colonies establish — four to eight weeks — the tank is lethal. Fill it, run the filter and heater, dose a bacterial starter or a pinch of fish food daily, and test weekly until ammonia and nitrite both read zero.
Gulf tap water needs treatment
Desalinated and blended municipal water here is often very soft and low in buffering capacity, so pH can crash overnight. It is also chlorinated or chloraminated. Always treat with a conditioner that binds both chlorine and chloramine, and consider a carbonate hardness (KH) buffer to hold pH between 7.0 and 8.0. For a reef tank, use RO/DI water and reconstitute with a marine salt mix — never household salt.
- Test kits: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and KH. Liquid reagent kits beat strips.
- Acclimate new fish by drip for 30–45 minutes, and never pour shop water into your tank.
- Weekly 20–25% water change, matched in temperature. Gravel-vacuum the substrate each time.
- Lights on 8 hours, not 12 — algae in a warm bright room is inevitable otherwise.
This summary is provided for convenience. The full registered text governs.
