Aquarium Care

Nature aquarium started as an upgrade from an ordinary aquarium making hobby to an art. It is where an aquarium that was originally intended for fancy fish was aquascaped with real live underwater plants. In ordinary aquarium, the emphasis of the hobby is the fish, while the emphasis of nature aquarium is the habitat and aquascape of the aquarium.

This art was popularized by a renowned Japanese photographer Takashi Amano. His specialty is naturistic photography which gave birth to his new art, nature aquarium. It’s like giving real life to all his photos and putting it inside the glass. His photography brought him to different parts of the world, and his nature aquarium became popular worldwide.

The aquarium that we are talking about is not an ordinary aquarium. Its main idea is about creating a miniature ecosystem inside the glass under a controlled environment, where fishes, bacteria, invertebrates, aquatic plants, and all other aquatic living organisms can live together as if they are living in the open wild.

There are several kinds of aquatic plants that you can plant inside the aquarium depending on your preferences and artistic imagination. “HC” or otherwise known as Hemianthus callitricodes can be a perfect choice for carpeting while Ludwigia Arcuata is a perfect choice for giving a purple color background for your aquarium. Dwarf Hairgrass is a good choice for creating a mountain like view. Again, it is all up to your own artistic imagination.

For the fishes, please note that since it is a miniature ecosystem, it is not really advisable to have huge fishes like Arowana or Oscar. It’s not what we are trying to achieve here. It is best to have small fishes such as Guppy and Tetra. If you can have some other colorful small fish, the better. But please, no Gold Fishes alright?

Also try to consider some invertebrates such as small shrimps and snails. They eat algae and some other harmful bacteria inside the nature aquarium. They can help maintain the balance of the ecosystem inside the tank.

Algae can also destroy the beauty of your aquarium that is why it needs to be controlled. But don’t bother yourself to totally eliminate it. Else, you will have an imbalance ecosystem, and you won’t have some food for your invertebrates. Just note that the goal here is to have a well balance ecosystem.

An alternative to invertebrates is a fish called “Siamese algae eater”. It is one of the best fish algae eater out there. But it is recommended to only have 1 Siamese for every 20 gallon tank.

Lastly, you also need to take care of the CO2 and oxygen, lighting, filtration, and substrate systems of your aquarium. These things are essentially important in growing the plants inside the aquarium. A mediocre quality of these tools won’t do any good to your plants.

Takashi’s hobby has become a business later on when he founded the Aqua Design Amano. He started this company that design high quality equipments for nature aquariums. Though they are quite expensive, the quality of these equipments are just so amazing and perfectly fit for your desired aquarium. It definitely one of the highest quality brand out there specifically designed for nature aquariums.

Bince is a nature lover. To learn more about nature aquarium, you can visit our site www.natureaquariums.org.

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Each component that makes up your aquarium environment plays a significant role in successful aquarium maintenance. However, before you go and buy fish tank materials, there are three key elements that you should look into if you want to achieve a beautiful aquarium. These include aquarium flooring, water, and plants.

Putting gravel or sand at the bottom of your tank is not always necessary, unless you are using rooted aquarium plants. If you find gravel more appealing than a sandy bottom, make sure to buy fish tank gravel that is the same size as-or slightly larger than-bird gravel to achieve the best results. Wash the gravel thoroughly before placing them inside your aquarium. Gravel works great with live plants, but if you prefer to use sand, choose a coarser variety. Fine sand is packed too tightly when wet, and this hinders the growth of underwater plants.

Ensuring the quality of water is among the most crucial tasks of an aquarist. You need to buy fish tank accessories that will make the water suitable for fishkeeping. As much as possible, use conditioned water, which refers to water that fish have already lived in. A strange fact about fish is that their own waste products, or “clean dirt,” make the water more habitable for them. If you plan to buy fish tank cleaning tools, this information will help you save more. Instead of purchasing all those expensive aquarium gadgets for frequent water replacement, you can simply opt for algae scrapers and tools for scooping out only “dirty dirt,” such as uneaten food, dead fish, and foreign particles.

If it’s your first time to set up an aquarium, be sure to let chlorine-treated tap water stand before exposing your fish to it. Chlorine is toxic to fish, and waiting for the water to be at room temperature gives you time to allow the chlorine to dissipate. Buy fish tank thermometers to keep an eye on water temperature, as this is critical in fishkeeping. Newly filled aquariums are normally murky. To provide clear water for your fish, give them a modest amount of food in the first two weeks.

Contrary to popular belief, fish don’t need live plants for oxygen supply and carbon dioxide release. This doesn’t make plants less important, though. If you wish for a more natural setting for your fish, a well-planted aquarium is a good playground for the fish. In terms of aesthetics, it doesn’t really matter much if you want to purchase plastic or live plants, rooted or not. However, live plants in good condition do keep the water from turning green.

Sunlight enables photosynthesis to take place. Hence, direct exposure to it also causes rapid algae growth. As an alternative, buy fish tank lighting, which is just as suitable for fish as sunlight. You must set the timer and keep the light on for eight to nine hours only.

The type of lighting needed by your tank will depend on the kind of plants you use. Fanwort and water thyme are examples of plants that need a lot of lighting. Arrowhead and floating fern can survive with minimal light.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to decorate a home aquarium. If you examine the most important elements of an aquarium, you’ll know which accessories are really necessary and which items you can do without for now.

Grant Smith is a featured member and guest speaker at lots aquarium clubs, as well as having a few very large tanks of his own. If you are planning to buy a fish tank, please go to marinedepot.com to learn more about Current USA aquariums.

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