how do i get tap water ready to put in aquarium

Question
Hi, I really need help setting up my tank  how do i get the tap water ready in my aquarium? do i just put it in or do i wait or something. so far i have a 20g long aquarium a filter,cover,lighting,aero things,gravel, decorations, water conditioner,and a fish net, what else will i need to get started with my aquarium. i want to get red tail shark fish, and and an eel, and algae eaters do these fish need certain care,  and all of these fish i saw at petsmart also the eel.

Answer
Hi Martin;

Welcome to the fish keeping hobby! I am glad you are researching fish choices before buying. It's SOOOO important! All you need to add is a good water conditioner for your tap water and the tank is ready to go as long as everything works. Watch the water temperature over a couple of days to be sure it stays at 76 to 78 all the time.

Redtailed sharks can get pretty big and are territorial so you may want to reconsider that choice. Here is a web page about them;

http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/264.htm

There are many types of eels and they all get to be pretty big too at over a foot long. Here is a page about them to check out;

http://www.fishforever.co.uk/spinyeels.html

There are lots of different algae eaters too but it is best to wait until algae actually starts to grow. Stick with the smaller varieties such as Otocinclus and dwarf plecostomus. Avoid chinese algae eaters. They may look harmless but they get MEAN as they get bigger. Regular plecostomus get to be too big for your tank so avoid the common variety. More importantly, wait until the tank is fully finished with the break-in period. Get hardier fish to get it through that stage safely. The break-in period is a very dangerous time for the fish in a new tank. You have to keep the population very low, only two total inches of fish for a 20 gallon. Put no other fish for 6 to 8 weeks. Two danios, two tetras, or a couple of platies or something will do the job without endangering their lives (as long as you don't overfeed). Here is a link to my own article that explains more about it;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

Here are pages about different types of algae eaters;

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/otto.htm
http://www.fishprofiles.com/profiles/list.aspx?term=pleco (click on the pictures to see more about each one)
http://www.fishprofiles.net/faq/algae.asp#algae-eaters

Do as much research as you can and go from there. Let me know if you have more questions...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins