Thursday, December 25, 2008

If you are interested in having a freshwater aquarium in your home follow this simple steps



Let’s begin, what you need,
· A aquarium with stand & a roof
· Filtering system
· Aquarium lighting
· Live or plastic Plants
· Gravel
· Heater
· A small aquarium hand net
· An air pump, airline tubing
· And other decorative stuff.

AQUARIUM
When choosing a tank I recommend a tank size like 3*1.25*1.5ft. You can use smaller one because it’s easy to handle. But a bigger tank gives your fish more space so they feel more comfortable. You can maintain a good community tank in big tank. Bigger tanks may be hard to clean but they can be kept for much longer time without a full clean than smaller tank. Aquarium comes in many shapes but box shaped is better. Round and other shaped tanks may be beautiful but they can’t offer you a natural look.
Wall mounted & bowls are decorative but they are too small. Fish want live much longer in those.
ROOF
Use a practical roof for your aquarium. Make it light (make sure you can remove it when ever you want to). Don’t put a small window just to feed you will need more than that. I mean you must be able to put your hand in move around the tank comfortably.
LIGHTING
Recommend a simple Fluorescent tube bulb. I think it’s the simple and the best choice. Use something 1.5’-3’(15W-30w). there are many colors. RED is good for tropical fish. I think it’s the best color. Blue is for salt water I don’t recommend it for fresh water. Don’t use domestic lights buy bulbs designed for aquariums. Make sure you don’t mix water with electricity.

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FILTER


There are lots of brands and models in aquariums. It’s up to you to choose what suit for you. Under gravel filter is the most simple and the cheapest. But it can’t be cleaned without emptying the tank. My choice is an underwater power filter. It’s very powerful and you don’t need an air pump with this. You can mount this type of filter to the glass wall so it can be cleaned whenever you need. (That’s why I mentioned you need a practical roof) Some models come with a carbon cartridge which gives better results.

I can’t recommend a filer for you because there are lots of different mechanisms. You must consider facts like water type, species in the tank, how often you can clean the tank and also your budget & electricity bill.

GRAVEL

I have seen three colors of gravel in my country. White, Black & Brown-yellow color. You can use any color combination but more white color will give more light. Lay a thick layer about 1.5 inches. Most important thing is you must wash the gravel at least 10 times before you put the in your aquarium because there is lot of dust in them.


PLANTS

Plants will add your aquarium a natural look and a alternative food source for fish.It can be a problem to you when fish eat a whole plant even you feed them well.This is a big problem to myself and I keep a backup tank which with some small fish so the plants can be grown freely :without getting eaten:.Plants release O2 so you good backup for the sudden loss of air supply!.But remember plants give out CO2 in the night.

Amazon Sword Plant
Scientific NameEchinodorus amazonicus
SizeUp to 20 inches
pH6.5 - 7.5
Temperature
Aquarium Light Needed
Water Hardness2° to 15° dH,
OriginSouth America
CareGrows better in softer water than hard water. Optimal growth may not occur if the water is too hard. Plant in a loose substrate and supplement with an iron fertilizer.


Java Fern Plant




Scientific NameMicrosorium pteropus
SizeUp to 8 inches
pH5.5 - 7.5
Temperature68°F - 82°F
Aquarium Light NeededShould be able to grow in even low lighted tanks.
Water Hardness2° to 15° dH,
OriginSoutheast Asia
CareYou will see better results if you tie the roots to drift wood or rocks instead of planting the roots.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I never thought setting up an aquarium would take such work. Whew! now, I'm having second thoughts. Haha.

Thanks for sharing!
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Anonymous said...

Excellent, informative post. Very detailed information. Wishing you all the best in 2009.

Andri Faisal said...

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