Learn About Aquariums

So what aquarium is best for you. If you’ve been to the aquatics or have even seen some aquarium fish in your local pet shop then you may be interested in setting up an aquarium. The problem is most people don’t know where to start and they don’t know what type of aquarium they should get.

When I talk about type of aquarium, I am meaning the type of fish you would get e.g. saltwater or freshwater. There is not just two choices though. You need to decide whether you want coldwater or tropical and then from which part of the world.

There are some great ways to help you decide and here are a few tips to get you started.

Select the top ten species of fish you would like to keep without taking into account whether they are suited to live together. Then sort them out into there groups and research which group that fish would go in.

After you have you groups you may then see that 4 out of the ten are in the tropical saltwater group and are all peaceful fish that can be kept together. The other 6 may be split into ones or twos. This would then mean that the group of four could suit you best.

Another way to help select is look at the level of how difficult each group of fish are. If you are decided on spending a couple of hours per week on your new hobby then you can try something a little harder but if you don’t have much spare time you may be better trying to keep an easier type of aquarium.

You could look at the size of tank you can afford and fit in your home. This will help because unless you can accommodate a large aquarium some types of fish will be suitable because they grow large. If you can only accommodate a small aquarium it may suit you more to go for small tropical freshwater fish like neon’s and other tetras.

Please think about the advice I’ve told you. You could also research some aquarium bio-types you like by looking at books and asking aquatic staff on your next visit.

About the author:

Rob owns a few blogs on aquarium fish and tropical fish and freshwater fish and saltwater fish

Written By: Rob Mellor

You can walk into your local pet store and buy a plain tank and a hood, then purchase all the lighting and accessories and then the fish to go with it. This is an extremely expensive method to start an aquarium. It is like when you go shopping if there is a multi-pack you buy it, because it is cheaper than buying all the items individually. Buying an aquarium is just the same. If you can get all the items in one bundle for one price it is fantastic. But there is only one manufacturer that does this and they are called “Jewel”. Jewel aquariums are ready made aquariums with a stand containing built in filters, heaters and lights, some even include ornaments and gravel.

There are several different kinds of Jewel aquariums: They record 60, 70, 96 and 120. The numbers stand for the size. They all come with the cabinet/stand, light, heater and filter. If you bought this on the internet, it is likely to be a lot cheaper than your fish shop, but your fish shop is likely to be a lot cheaper than you pet shop! There is also the Rio range; they are available in five sizes, the 125, 180, 240, 300 and 400 litres, they come in black and beech. Then you also have the jewel vision series of tanks which include the 180, 260, and 450. This tank offers a curved front glass which makes it different to the other two styles that jewel offers. Last but not least the Trigon range, they are corner fish tanks and stands and are the most expensive of the lot. They include the 190 and the 350. All of the tanks include filtration, heating and heating systems.

All jewel aquariums are beautiful and ready made to suit you. The internet prices usually include delivery. What is great about delivery is that you have a couple of extra people lift the tank in for you which is brilliant as it is very heavy. The cabinets however are to be built at home, they are flat packed!

About the author:

William Nabaza of http://www.Nabaza.com specializes in domains, webhosting, webmaster’s tools, netpreneur’s articles and resources. Stands out as a freebie provider, business opportunity provider and the like. Visit his site at http://www.nabaza.com or contact him directly at william@nabaza.com There’s more pet resources here: http://www.nabaza.com/pets.htm

Written By: William R. Nabaza of http://www.Nabaza.com/pets.htm

Aquariums are built from specially enforced glass to make sure that when the water is added to the tank and all the equipment and the fish are in, the tank doesn’t fall apart and end up all over the floor. The glass itself is terribly heavy and when you add water it is impossible to lift, unless you are the strongest man or woman in the world! Fish tanks don’t just need to be made from glass; they can be made from acrylic too.

Aquarium glass is basically extremely thick and strong glass that is built to withstand the pressure and the weight of at least ninety litres of water. Some tanks are as big as eight or nine feet long and three or four feet wide so you can just imagine the amount of water needed to fill that tank and then the pressure that is on the glass, but the glass never beaks. It is sealed at the sides to make sure that it can withstand the weight of the water. You would not want that tank to break and splash out all that water on your living room floor!

Fish tanks can also be made from acrylic. Acrylic is known to be at least twice as strong as glass and half the weight. The benefits of acrylic tanks are that it can be moulded when heated to suit whatever shape or style of tank that you want. Also when the sides are moulded together with heat they are said to be stronger than the sealant used to hold the glass together. Acrylic tanks don’t sound like a good option to me; I think I will be sticking with glass tanks. Acrylic tanks are new and not many people have used them yet. The glass is still the best alternative for me and my fish!

Aquarium glass is easy enough to pick up although it is quite expensive. As with everything else you can get your aquarium built to suit you, so you don’t have to purchase one from the shop, although unless you are someone who can build a tank it is going to cost you a pretty penny or two!

About the author:

William Nabaza of http://www.Nabaza.com specializes in domains, webhosting, webmaster’s tools, netpreneur’s articles and resources. Stands out as a freebie provider, business opportunity provider and the like. Visit his site at http://www.nabaza.com or contact him directly at william@nabaza.com There’s more pet resources here: http://www.nabaza.com/pets.htm

Written By: William R. Nabaza of http://www.Nabaza.com/pets.htm

Heating in an aquarium is essential for fresh water and salt water fish. They both like their water to be hot as they are both tropical species of fish. Goldfish are cold water fish so you don’t need to worry about a heater for them. Often when winters comes fish shops get many calls asking why their fish have just suddenly died or are acting strange. This is because people have not turned up the heaters in their fish tank! As the weather gets colder people forget that their house temperature drops and so does the tanks temperature so you have to adjust the heater for this time of year! If there is just a one degree drop in twenty four hours it could bring on a fish disease called “ich” or it could outright kill a fish!

When buying a heater you have to look at all the options. You could buy a very cheap heater but then you have the problem where the heater will probably break, the thermostat isn’t as good as regulating the tank and you don’t have a temperature heat setting like others would. Then you have the mid priced heaters, they are generally the ones that people use. They have semi decent thermostats and hold their value reasonably well. After a period of time maybe six months to a year you have to change your heater as the heating element isn’t always working properly after this time!

Try to check your heater every couple of weeks and check the temperature of the tank everyday so that you can make sure that your fish are not suffering! Too hot and you will basically boil your fish and too cold and you can freeze their blood. So try and keep the temperature regulated!

Always try to place your heater near a filter as this helps to distribute the heat. This helps to save your fish from hot or cold spots! Heating is essential in tanks so make sure that you are adequately prepared in the seasons that count!

About the author:

William Nabaza of http://www.Nabaza.com specializes in domains, webhosting, webmaster’s tools, netpreneur’s articles and resources. Stands out as a freebie provider, business opportunity provider and the like. Visit his site at http://www.nabaza.com or contact him directly at william@nabaza.com There’s more pet resources here: http://www.nabaza.com/pets.htm

Written By: William R. Nabaza of http://www.Nabaza.com/pets.htm

Eradication of encrusting algae could be done simply by periodically scraping the sides of the aquarium or scrubbing the rocks. For those with plastic plants and a completely white gravel bed, the situation could be more tasking as it would be necessary to bleach the rocks to remove all traces of algae.

However, if you do this, do make sure that you rinse the gravel thoroughly afterwards. Bleach is highly toxic, and even small amounts can have a drastic effect on the aquarium fish.

Since the primary cause of green algae is too much light. The fist step in the treatment schedule should be light reduction then partial water changes and an adequate stocking with natural aquarium plants. A final treatment with an algae remedy should ensure that the problem is eradicated and is at least kept at bay for some time.

One of the factors mentioned above is the use of natural aquatic plants as a means of algae control. This is really more effective than many people think.

For a start, luxuriant plant growth will filter out some of the light keeping algae in check. In addition plants absorb a large variety of chemicals from the water, thereby starving algae of some of their essential nutrients e.g. nitrates (not nitrites).

Surprising as though it may seem, an adequate plant stocking level is approximately 50 small plants per square root of available space.

The treatment I mentioned is the use of an algaecide. I must stress the word “use:” it is very different to “abuse”!

Yet despite this difference, I know that some people will still persist in pouring the chemical remedy into their aquarium and expect the problem to disappear overnight, even though they have done absolutely nothing to alter the conditions in the tank that brought about the problem in the first place.

The conditions I stated above have to be adhering to for any lasting effect to occur! Now that we know how to curb the menace of the green algae, in another article I shall discuss it’s ugly “sister” brown algae (the brown encrusting algae whose case is the reverse of green algae).

About the Author

For more great aquarium related articles and resources check out http://proteinskimmers.aquariumspot.com

Written By: Nathan Miller