# Aquarium Essentials



## super7star (Apr 7, 2010)

Hi there

Other than the tank (and fish) what other items do I need for my tank. This is a small starter tank (15 ltr). Kit contains tank, lid, base, undergravel filter, Air pump, Airstone, Airline, Nonreturn Valve & Filter Mat.

Do I need the air pump?

Would it be better to get a different filter system?

Many thanks for your help.


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## Guest (Apr 7, 2010)

Unless you intend to keep very small fish, you need a bigger tank. Fifteen litres is simply too small for the majority of species, despite wild claims by manufacturers and illustrations on the box showing several goldfish. With the addition of a heater, you could try a small group of Microrasboras or maybe a single _Betta splendens_, however that's pushing it.

Ideally, I would look into replacing the undergravel filter with something more suitable. Undergravels are pretty much out-of-date pieces of junk dating back to the 80's. A small internal filter would be much better and far easier to maintain, in comparison to undergravel filters which are highly prone to clogging.

Air pumps aren't essential for established aquariums, however they can be useful if you have large fish which have higher oxygen demands. They can however cause more harm than good in some cases, such as when you are keeping live plants. The excessive surface agitation produced by the air pump will drive off dissolved CO2 required by plants for photosynthesis.

You don't mention if you have a test kit and a dechlorinator, if you don't, add them to the shopping list. A net, gravel cleaner, algae scraper and two clean, plastic buckets would also be useful.

Finally, do look around for a bigger tank, and read a few articles on fishless cycling and water quality. A basic understanding of aquatic chemistry goes a long way to being a successful fishkeeper.


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## super7star (Apr 7, 2010)

Many thanks for the reply and the useful information. The tank is small but I only intend to have one or two of the smaller fish, I simply want to introduce my son to an aquarium.

Do you have any recommendations for which filter I could buy?

Thanks again.


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## Guest (Apr 8, 2010)

super7star said:


> Many thanks for the reply and the useful information. The tank is small but I only intend to have one or two of the smaller fish, I simply want to introduce my son to an aquarium.
> 
> Do you have any recommendations for which filter I could buy?
> 
> Thanks again.


The thing is with smaller fish, is that most of them (i.e tetras, rasboras, danios) have to be kept in groups. A 15 litre tank simply doesn't have the capacity to support the bioload (or in other words, the amount of biological waste produced by all of the fish put together) of these fish.

Larger tanks are much easier to care for, simply because larger volumes of water are more stable chemically, so there is more room for error. Many parents buy small tanks to introduce their kids for fishkeeping, however they are only setting themselves up for trouble when things go wrong. When the problems start, the bills to rectify the problems mount up and the kids lose interest due to disappointment.


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