Your personal preferences and the type of fish you want to keep will determine the supplies you need for your aquarium. Your choice may be as simple as keeping a coldwater species such as a goldfish or Betta (Siamese fighting fish) in an open bowl, but you can also have an elaborate reef tank of 150 gallons or even more.
Assuming, however, that you are going to keep a basic aquarium, you will need the following items before you bring your new fish home:
- A variety of fish food appropriate to the species that you intend to keep
- Appropriately-sized aquarium
- Aquarium stand
- Aquarium gravel
- Aquarium salt to help cure and prevent fish diseases (freshwater only)
- Hood/lighting to provide plants with grow lights and shelters fish
- Heater to maintain constant water temperature
- Thermometer to monitor water temperature
- Filtration system to maintain water quality
- Filter media to eliminate debris and other harmful substances from the water
- Water conditioner to remove chlorine from the tap water
For a saltwater tank, you will also need:
- Marine salt to provide essential trace elements
- Marine substrate to keep pH high
- Hydrometer to measure salt content
Some additional supplies are highly recommended:
- Air pump to add oxygen to the water
- Check valve to eliminate back-siphoning of the water
- Air line tubing to provide oxygen path from pump to aeration devices
- Gang valve for multiple aeration devices
- Ammonia test kit
- Nitrite test kit
- pH test kit
- Algae scrubber to scrub away algae on the aquarium glass
- Fish net so human hands do not touch the fish
- Hiding places
- Live plants
- Rocks appropriate to the type of aquarium
- Driftwood for decoration and hiding
- Coral to buffer the pH level and provide a hiding place
- Aquarium background