Aquarium Care

Although you are new at fishkeeping, it’s possible for you to have a beautiful aquarium at home. Ensuring the health of the fish, plants, and other organisms in your tank can be tricky, but the rules on keeping an aquarium are quite simple.

The tank material and shape matters.

Consider buying rectangular glass aquariums. Although aquariums come in many kinds, shapes, and sizes, the better option for beginners are glass aquariums, as they are not as expensive as acrylic ones. They are also less prone to scratches and discoloration, so maintaining them won’t be so complicated. As for the shape, narrow cylindrical and spherical aquariums may be pleasing to the eye but are not always suitable for the fish. These types have too little water surface open to air. Fish get oxygen and discharge carbon dioxide through the water surface, so narrower aquariums can be suffocating for fish.

Pay attention to details.

If you want to reduce the risk of contaminating the water in your tank and poisoning the fish, know which materials are dangerous and keep it out of your tank. Since glass aquariums are not prone to scratches and yellowing, you get to avoid using polishing compounds that are normally toxic. Other harmful substances include detergent, paint, plastic, and soap. It’s also important to keep even the slightest hint of metal out of your tank because it poisons the fish.

Buy accessories and decors only from pet shops.

Coral, coral sand, marble chips, and other limestone products are among the materials that should not be placed inside your fish tank. Bits of these dissolve easily and make the water tough for the fish to live in. If you want to keep your fish alive and happy, the best choices are granite, quartz, and sandstone, minerals that can be used to decorate glass aquariums. If you don’t know these rules, you will simply think that any material which seems to look great in an aquarium is suitable. Therefore, it’s best to only use accessories and decor that you can buy from stores selling aquarium supplies, as they are made from materials that are safe for the fish.

Get the location right the first time.

The major setback to glass aquariums is that they’re heavy and more prone to breaking and leaking. Imagine how much heavier any tank is going to be once you fill it with water. For this reason, be sure to choose the right location for your tank right away, as moving it might cause the glass to crack.

Where is the best place to put your aquarium?

Aside from wind- and heat-generating equipment, constant and direct exposure to sunlight tends to overheat the water in your tank. Aside from that, it also causes rapid algae growth. Minimal presence of algae can be beneficial, but if it becomes excessive, algae will turn your tank water green. Algae are not only unattractive, but they also compete against fish and other plants for scarce nutrients in your tank. To avoid these risks, avoid direct sunlight except for very short periods. You may use artificial aquarium lighting instead.

Other aquarium care tips

To protect fish and plants inside your aquarium, place a cover on top. Some people think that using a glass cover will cut the supply of oxygen in an aquarium. This is a myth, however. Aquarium covers are designed such that they can allow adequate supply of air into the tank. Finally, avoid moving your tank once it’s been filled, as this may cause the glass to break or leak.

Even a beginner like you can maintain an aquarium successfully. All you need to do is to follow these simple yet effective tips. You’ll certainly be fulfilled as you watch your fish swim happily in your own aquarium.

Dave Bowman is an aquarium enthusiast who enjoys helping others be successful in raising their fish in glass aquariums. He is a guest speaker at many meetings on complete aquarium systems

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Through the reading of this article, I hope you can obtain some helpful information about how to start a new aquarium. You are also likely to learn, through the process, that is is quite an incredible undertaking to get the ball rolling on a project like this. So the best thing for you to do is to plan for the process, and that can begin by understanding the most important aspects and sorting through them now rather than later.

You will find out when you are looking to set up an aquarium in your home or office, that there are a lot of different options and looks that you can achieve through the process. So the question then becomes what you want your aquarium to look like and what type of aquatic life you intend to support. This will help you understand what direction you need to go in getting started.

So, as was said you have to determine what kind of life you hope to support through the aquarium’s use. There are two main types of creatures: freshwater and saltwater. You cannot usually mix the two because you cannot have both fresh and saltwater in the same aquarium. These animals cannot survive outside their required elements. This will affect what other creatures you can choose for your aquarium.

Along with the same decision making process, when you have decided what type of creature you are looking to support, you have to actually choose among several varieties. This is another big decision because you cannot allow certain creatures to be with other creatures because they cannot co-exist. Certain creatures fight with one another, and there is nothing you will be able to do about this. So it really pays to do the research about which specimens exist best together.

The size of the aquarium is another big decision that you have to make. While this might seem trivial in the bigger picture, this will play a very large role in what you end up having in the water. For instance, if you are wanting to get an aquarium based on one fish, you have to get the size aquarium that best suits that particular species, which might require a larger or smaller tank than you might have otherwise considered.

The set up of the actual aquarium should not prove to be very difficult. Usually it comes pre-assembled with simple instructions concerning the working parts of the unit itself. It is important to follow these instructions, however, because instructions such as running the filter for a minimum of 24 hours before housing animals is important to their survival. You do want them to survive, right?

You might also benefit from the purchase of a product like Eco Bio-Block, which will not only improve the quality of life for the inhabitants of your aquarium, but will also keep this habitat cleaner and clearer for you and for the fish. So it is more of a win-win situation on both sides of the coin. A small investment in a product like this, could keep your aquarium much nicer for up to 2 years.

So now, you should have a better idea about the process of starting a new aquarium. While it might be a rather large undertaking, if you plan it all out in advance, you will find that the whole thing can run a lot smoother.

Do you like fish and would like to start an aquarium. Find out the correct aquarium care tips that will have your tank flourishing. Use the EcoBio-Block to help out. Find out more online today!

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Cloudy Aquarium

Many a new aquarium owner has panicked when their tank has taken on the appearance of what one such owner described to me as “a smoke filled room at a party.” In aquarium lexicon, we call such smoky appearance “cloudiness” because of its resemblance to the wispy clouds that sometimes appear in the sky. Everyone who keeps fish as a hobby wants their tank or tanks to be sparkling clean and clear at all times. Cloudy fish tanks look unsightly, and the water in these tanks can seriously harm the health of your fish. What causes these cloudy fish tanks, and what is the best way to get rid of the cloudiness?

The water clarity in a fish tank is generally affected by several factors, and the color of the water can often be a clue as to what is causing it to be cloudy. The water in a fish tank that has just been set up will often display a gray or white tint. This is called a “bacterial bloom” and it is very common in new tanks, for the nutrients and the bacteria in the water are imbalanced.

If your tank is so new that you have not added fish to it, dust from one or more of the decorations you added, or from the gravel or other substrate you placed at the bottom of the tank may be the cause of the cloudiness you see. Any item that goes into your fish tank must be made for that purpose, and you must rinse it well beforehand. When bacterial bloom appears in a fish tank that has already been established, your tank filter may not be working properly. You may be overfeeding your fish, or you may have too many fish in too small an aquarium.

A green cloudiness in your tank water means you are dealing with a sudden algae bloom. There are several reasons for an algae bloom some of which mimic the causes of a bacterial bloom. For example, when there is too much waste matter in your tank, be it left over food or the waste products from your fish, the bacteria from this waste converts into nitrates. As these nitrates grow in number, an algae bloom is imminent. Leaving the tank light on too many hours a day encourages the growth of green algae, and so does a high phosphate level in the tank water.

You may sometimes see a yellow color in your cloudy fish tanks. Decorative driftwood, decayed plant matter from aquarium plantings, fish waste, and dissolved organic carbons, often called DOC, can all be the cause of yellow cloudy water. Occasionally, you may also see a brown cloudiness in your tank water. This is caused from an overgrowth of brown algae. Brown algae can be caused by the tank not getting enough light, or from certain types of driftwood that have been placed in the tank.

By eliminating the causes of the different varieties of cloudy tank water, you can make caring for your aquarium much easier. Partial water changes of 10 to 20 percent of the water can help, as can making sure the filter on your tank is of the proper size. In order to remove the cloudiness from the water, and to make sure it does not come back, you need to see to it that your tank has a good supply of beneficial bacteria. This point confuses many newcomers to the aquarium hobby. They are so sure that bacteria are a bad thing that they balk when told it is needed in their tank! However, once they understand about good vs. bad bacteria, they are eager to know what they can do in order to maintain a colony of the good bacteria. Fortunately, there are some good solutions available. One of the best for cloudy water is the EcoBio-Block. When hobbyists learn of the advantages that go along with placing a product from EcoBio-Block in their aquarium, they agree that this is the easiest solution to the problem.

These products contain live beneficial bacteria, which multiply and make their way into the tank water every 30 minutes or so. They work in new set-ups as well as established aquariums to establish a nitrifying bacteria colony. This will take care of most cloudy water naturally, cuts down on the need for water changes and vacuuming the gravel or substrate, and will last for years. You could almost say that EcoBio-Block products are an aquarium owner’s best friend!

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Introducing new fish to an already existing aquarium is not as easy as it may seem. There are a lot of things to think about and prepare before you can safely transfer your new fish to your aquarium. You cannot just buy any aquarium fish you want then dump them in the tank as soon as you reach home.

First thing to check is the quality of your water. It is stressful enough for all the fish involved when new fish are introduced to their number. Do not add to it by making them suffer in poor water quality. The stress in them might reach fatal levels. Make sure that you have the highest possible water quality by testing for the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. Do the necessary changes or cleaning before you add the new fish to the aquarium. If you dont like frequent aquarium cleaning, add an EcoBio-Block to your aquarium to give it the beneficial bacteria and trace minerals that can reduce harmful substances in your water and keep it clean, healthy and clear.

When choosing what fish to add to your aquarium, you need to determine if they will live companionably with your existing fish. Some fish will eat smaller fish, some others will fight and kill each other. You also have to know if your water will sustain the new fish. This means that you have to get the aquarium fish that will survive the temperature, pH, nitrate and ammonia levels you currently maintain. It is advisable that you add more than one fish at a time, to reduce the chance of any fish picking on just one new fish.

Your first step when preparing the aquarium for a new arrival is to rearrange the tank. Your established fish have their own hiding spots, and may become territorial if a new fish is introduced. Rearrange the plants and decorations, which will remove established territories and make the environment new for all of your fish. Make sure that there are plenty of hiding spaces where the fish can go until they get used to each other.

When introducing new aquarium fish to an established tank, never bring your new fish home from the pet store and immediately dump them into the tank. This will shock their system, and they may not make it.

For best results, you may want to set up a separate tank where you quarantine new fish for a week to check for signs of illness. Sometimes, pet store fish carry diseases, and you don’t want to introduce these into your aquarium. If you decide to transfer your new fish directly from the pet store bag to your established tank, first float the bag with the fish in your aquarium for a few hours. This allows time for the water temperatures to equalize. Then, open the bag to release your new fish into the tank.

Careful preparation to the aquarium, timing of the introduction of new fish, plus proper acclimatizing will ensure a smooth transition with minimal stress to all your aquarium fish.

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