How to Stabilize an Aquarium

Keeping pet fish in the home involves more than filling a fish tank with water and adding fish. An aquarium also needs a filter, stones at the bottom and plants for the fish. You must also achieve an adequate pH balance to ensure the fish remain healthy. When you first set up the fish tank, it is important to only add a few fish at first to get the tank stabilized and healthy for any future fish.

Things You'll Need

  • Fish tank
  • Rocks
  • Water
  • Fish
  • Filter
  • Tank heater
  • Water treatment drops
  • pH test strips
  • Ammonia test strips
  • Nitrite test strips
  • Nitrate test strips
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Instructions

    • 1

      Place a layer of rock in the bottom of the fish tank and fill the tank with water. Secure the heater to the side of the tank and set it between 74 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

    • 2

      Add water treatment drops to remove the harmful chemicals from the water.

    • 3

      Purchase inexpensive hardy fish. These fish are capable of living in harsh conditions and work well to stabilize your tank. Buy two or three fish for a 10 or 20-gallon tank. Some examples of hardy fish include danios, barbs and mollies.

    • 4

      Maintain the fish as normal, feeding them once daily with just enough food that the fish can eat within a few minutes. Overfeeding the fish results in more waste, and it becomes more difficult to stabilize your tank and keep it that way.

    • 5

      Use an ammonia test strip once a day to detect the drop in ammonia. These levels should be undetectable on home test strips if the fish tank is healthy.

    • 6

      Use the nitrite test strips daily once the ammonia begins to drop. This level should peak and then begin to fall as the tank goes further into its natural cycle.

    • 7

      Check the nitrate levels when the nitrite levels begin to drop. Monitor for levels that approach 50 ppm. If the levels are approaching 50 ppm, you must do a partial water change to lower the nitrate levels. If you have baby or young fish, lower levels may be toxic so change water frequently when younger fish are present.

    • 8

      Check the pH level in your water daily using testing strips to ensure the level remains stable. The actual pH number is not as important as stability, but should fall between 6.5 and 8.5 for best results.

    • 9

      Wait at least six weeks before adding more fish to your tank. Once the tank is thriving and is stabilized, you can increase the number of fish slowly.