Aquarium setup checklist
The one rule that matters more than any item here: cycle the tank before you add a single fish. Everything else on this list is in service of that.
16 items
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
The items
- TankBuy the largest one you have room and budget for — more water is more forgiving of mistakes, not less.
- Filter, sized for the tankUndersized is the single most common reason a tank never settles.
- Heater and a thermometerMost freshwater fish need a stable temperature, not a warm room.
- SubstrateGravel or sand, rinsed thoroughly before it goes in — cloudy water on day one is almost always unrinsed substrate.
- Lighting on a timer
- Decorations and hiding spotsFish are calmer with somewhere to retreat to. An empty tank is a stressful one.
- Water conditionerTap water contains chlorine that will kill fish outright — never add water without it.
- Liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrateYou'll use it weekly for the first month, so a liquid kit is worth it over strips.
- Bacteria starterSpeeds up the cycle but doesn't replace it — still wait for the readings to settle.
- Buckets kept only for the tank×2One for clean water, one for waste — never one that's had soap in it, since a trace of detergent is enough to poison a tank.
- Net
- Gravel vacuum for water changes
- Algae scraper
- Fish food, appropriate for the species you're planning
- Four to six weeks set aside before adding fishThe cycle takes time and can't be rushed with more product — this is patience, not shopping.
- Research on the specific fish you wantCompatibility and adult size matter far more once they're already in the tank.
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
Questions people ask
- How long before I can add fish?
- About four to six weeks, for the nitrogen cycle to establish. Adding fish earlier is the single biggest cause of a tank crashing in its first month.
- What's the one product I actually need on day one?
- Water conditioner. Tap water without it will kill fish outright, and nothing else on this list matters if that step gets skipped.
- Do I need to change the water once fish are in?
- Yes, regularly — roughly a quarter of the tank every one to two weeks, using the gravel vacuum, topped up with conditioned water at the right temperature.