Fill aquarium to about three inches from top with tap water. If possible, try to adjust temperature to about 80 fegrees Fahrenheit; this will save a little time later as you set up the heater.

Special note: For most tropical fish, city water that comes from Lake Michigan (Milwaukee, Greenfield, West Allis and other Milwaukee suburbs) is excellent. Well water, that comes from the ground (Waukesha, Franklin, and other outlying areas) is quite full of minerals (hard) and some fishes that prefer soft water have a difficult time adjusting. Softened water is well water that has had most of its calcium exchanged for sodium by a device in the home. A 50-50 mix of hard and soft water seems to yield the best results for most of our customers with wells.