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Tropical Fish Aquariums: Do They Need To Be Different? |
Tropical Fish Aquariums: Do They Need To Be Different?
by Brittney Foster
Are you interested in adding a collection of fish to your home or your office? If so, have you decided which type of fish you would like to have displayed? When it comes to fish keeping, there are a relatively large number of individuals who are interested in owning tropical fish. Are you one of those individuals? If so, you may be wondering what type of aquarium you need to purchase. Better yet, you may be wondering if you can use a traditional aquarium or if you need to have a tropical fish aquarium.
What type of aquarium you need to use for tropical fish is one of the most commonly asked questions, especially among first-time tropical fish owners. When searching for aquariums, you may come across fish tanks that are labeled or described as being tropical fish aquariums. This leads many individuals to believe that they need to have a special tropical fish aquarium to own a set of tropic fish. Honestly, that isn’t always the case. After a close examination, you will likely see that tropical fish aquariums are like any other type of aquariums, including saltwater aquariums and freshwater aquariums. Many times, the only difference between these aquariums is the way that they are set up.
When it comes to setting up a tropical fish aquarium, there are a number of important factors that should be taken into consideration. One of those factors is the tropical aquarium fish that you would like to purchase. This is important because there are some tropical aquarium fish that require special care and have special needs. Familiarizing yourself with the specific type of tropical aquarium fish you have or are about to have is one of the best ways to ensure that you go about setting up your tropical fish aquarium correctly. To do this research, you can either perform a standard interenet search or speak with the individual who sold you or is about to sell you your tropical fish. Doing this research ahead of time will help to ensure that your tropical fish are placed in an aquarium that will allow them to live long and healthy lives.
When setting up your tropical fish tank, it is extremely important that your water is in optimal condition for the fish. One mistake that many first time tropical aquarium fish owners make is using tap water. While it is possible to use tap water, will you not want to place your fish into the aquarium right away. In fact, you will need “cycle” the aquarium water and test your water and make sure that it is chlorine free. This is important because certain levels of chlorine can be dangerous to many fish, including tropical aquarium fish. It may be best to fish tank water test supplies to determine the exact condition of your aquarium water. These supplies may include a tap water conditioner. It is also advised that you allow your aquarium to run or “cycle”, once the filtration system has been set up. This will help to clear your tropical fish tank of harmful chemicals.
Since, as previously mentioned, the aquarium that you use isn’t necessarily as important as how you set it up, you are advised to examine your wants and needs when it comes to purchasing an aquarium for your tropical fish. You will want to keep your preference in mind, appearance wise, as well as the space that you have available for an aquarium. When it comes to purchasing tropical fish tank supplies, such as a filtration system or a heater, you may want to seek the assistance of a professional for more information. This assistance can come from a professional tropical fish keeper or from a fish tank supplier or manufacturer, such as Tenecor, who is willing to assist you with buying one or more of their products.
By keeping the above mentioned points in mind, you should easily be able to go about finding, purchasing, and setting up a tropical fish aquarium. If you would like to learn more about tropical fish, you are encouraged to perform a standard internet search and review the numerous tropical fish websites that can be found online. It might also be a good idea to invest in a topical fish keeping book or resource guide. The information that you may learn may help you for years to come.
About the AuthorNothing says luxury like aquarium furniture. What is aquarium furniture? Simple, it can be a custom aquarium or acrylic aquariums for the home or office. If you buy make sure it is directly from the factory like Tenecor.com/
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Tropical Fish - A Beginners Guide |
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Allen Jesson
Owning tropical fish can provide you with immense enjoyment and can become a wonderful hobby that not only you but other will benefit from also. Although most tropical fish can be relatively easy to care for it is important to educate yourself before buying tropical fish because without proper understanding of their needs your new hobby could become extremely expensive. You will need to know and research how to set up an aquarium, understand the size you will need for the amount of fish you are hoping to keep. Also be aware of the sizes your fish will grow to as most tropical fish are not purchased at adult size. By reading books and looking on the internet you will be able to find out what temperature the water in your aquarium needs to be and will know how to test the ph levels, water hardness and for any toxins. |
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How To Set Up A Freshwater Fish Aquarium |
How To Set Up A Freshwater Fish Aquarium
by infoserv
Equipment you will need: Aquarium, Aquarium gravel, Aquarium filter, Replacement filter media, Heater, Other decorations (such as fake or real plants), Aquarium test kits to test water parameters and monitor the infamous aquarium nitrogen cycle, Fish food, Aquarium vacuum, Fish net, Aquarium Glass Scrubber, 5-gallon bucket, Pasta strainer,
Realize the responsibility involved. Learning how to set up a fish tank is not all that difficult, but there are some steps you should follow. First, you must realize a few things about an aquarium setup. A tropical fish tank is just like having a dog or a cat when it comes to the amount of effort on your part. In order to have a successful freshwater tropical fish tank you will have to work at it. Once a week, or at most once every two weeks, you will need to perform some kind of maintenance on the tank. Most of the time you will be performing water changes. You will also have to feed your fish at least once a day. If you are up to the challenge, please proceed!
Decide on an aquarium size. It's a good idea to have in mind what kind of fish you want to keep before you purchase an aquarium. Some fish only grow to be an inch or two, whereas other types of tropical fish can grow 12 or 13 inches or more in length! Knowing what kind of fish you want will help you decide the size of the tank they will need. If this is your first time with an aquarium, it may be a good idea to start with a 10 or 20 gallon aquarium setup for now and stock it with some smaller and hardier species.
Decide on the aquarium's location. Place your aquarium in an area where the light and temperature of the tank won't be affected by external sources such as windows and heater vents. Sunlight that enters the room through an unshaded window could affect the temperature of your tank. This could also lead to green algae problems for your tank down the road. You will want to place your aquarium on a stand that will be able to hold its total weight. You also want to be sure that the floor is able to support the total weight of the aquarium and stand. A good rule of thumb for determining the total weight of a full aquarium is 10 pounds per gallon of water. For example, a 55-gallon tank will weigh approximately 550 pounds when filled with water!
Buy your aquarium and equipment. Now is a good time to decide on the type of aquarium filter you will want to use. You will also need to purchase a heater capable of heating the tank size you have. Buy the gravel, plants, a power strip and other decorations. A good rule of thumb for the amount of gravel that you will need is 1 to 1.5 pounds of gravel per gallon of water.
Set up your aquarium and stand. Wash out your tank with water only! Do not use soap or detergents. Soap residue left behind will be harmful for your tropical fish. If you are going to use an under gravel filter (not recommended) now would be the time to set it up as well.
Wash Gravel, plants and decorations. Be sure to wash the gravel thoroughly before adding it to your tank. An easy way to do this is to put some of the rocks in a pasta strainer and wash them out in your bath tub. Then place the clean gravel in a clean 5-gallon bucket for transport to the aquarium. After adding the gravel you can place your plants and decorations.
Add water to the aquarium. To avoid messing up your gravel and plants, you can place a plate or saucer in the middle of your aquarium and direct the water flow onto the plate. Use room temperature water when filling. To remove the chlorine and chloramine, use something like Tetra AquaSafe for Aquariums. Don't completely fill up the aquarium until you are sure of the layout of your decorations. Otherwise, when you place your arm in to move stuff around water is going to spill over. Doh!
Set up equipment. Install your heater but don't plug it in until the thermostat in the heater has adjusted to the water temperature. This usually takes about 15 minutes or so. Hook up your filter and any other equipment you have, then top off the aquarium water to just under the hood lip. Place your hood and tank light on the aquarium and then check your power cords to be sure that they are free of water. I would also recommend using a drip loop on all of the power cords to be extra cautious. For more information on safety, read this great article on aquarium electrical safety. Plug all of the equipment into a power strip and then "turn on" the aquarium.
Wait, wait, wait and then wait some more. I know, you want to add some fish. But, in order to do this right you must wait until your aquarium has cycled before adding any fish. There are ways of speeding up this process. Check out the nitrogen cycle to learn more about starting the nitrogen cycle and how to speed it up. If you must use fish to cycle, try to get a hardier species like the zebra danio or cherry barb. You may notice your fish tank cycle kicking in gear if you start to get some white cloudy aquarium water after a few days.
Add tropical fish. Only add one or two fish at a time. Adding a couple fish at a time gives your filtration system the time needed to take on the increased biological load that the new fish introduce. When you bring the fish home let the bag float in the tank for about 15 minutes so that the fish can become acclimated to the temperature and pH of the aquarium water. After 5 minutes of floating the bag you should add some of the aquarium water to the bag so that the fish can become acclimated to the pH level in the aquarium. This will help reduce the amount of stress imposed on the fish. Stressed fish often leads to dead or diseased fish! Don't feed your fish on the first day. They probably wouldn't eat any food on the first day anyway. Let them get acquainted with their new home.
Get ready for regular maintenance. Be prepared to spend some time once every week or two to clean your tank. Performing regular water changes will reduce the nitrate levels and keep your tropical fish happy and healthy. As you can see, the steps for how to set up a fish tank are not that complex and hopefully you now have your aquarium setup and running! Have fun, take care of and enjoy your fish!
About the AuthorKeith Londrie II is the Webmaster of http://fish.about-animals.info A website that specializes in providing information on fish that you can research on the internet at your own pace.
Please Visit http://fish.about-animals.info now!
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