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Aquarium Set Up
If you do buy an all-glass tank, make sure that you place a layer of expanded polystyrene about 1.25cm thick under the base. The polystyrene will not collapse under the weight of the tank, but if there are any uneven places between the tank and the stand the polystyrene will absorb them and prevent the bottom glass from cracking,which can be expensive! The initial setting up is nearing completion now but there are a few loose ends to tie up. Firstly, there needs to be a cover glass; this glass or plastic cover goes over the top of the tank and stops any splashes coming into contact with the electricity and also stops fish jumping out- yes, they jump as well as swim! Whether you have a tank with a ho odor not you still need a cover glass just to be safe. You can either buy plastic cover glass from your dealer or get a piece of glass cut to size Bata glass shop, but remember, if you do use glass, ask for each corner to be cut off to allow space for your wiring and airline to run through.Also have the edges smoothed to avoid damaging your hands on the glass as you maintain the aquarium. The next thing to do is to wire everything into the electricity. The heater/thermostat and air pump need electricity all the time, whereas the light needs a switch in the circuit so that you can turn it off during the night. The best thing is buy a switched connecting block called actable tidy from your dealer. This will accommodate all the wires from your tank and allow you to use just one plug. A cable tidy has a switch for your light plus another spare switch and makes a good investment. Having wired everything correctly and checked it all to make sure there are no water splashes on the electrics, plug in and switch on. With water and electricity so close together, it is vital to make sure that they do not come into contact with each other. Should this happen while you have your hands in the tank, you could suffer a nasty shock. A wise buy is a circuit breaker. This plugs into the mains and your plugs fit into it. Should a short circuit occur, the power to the tank is cut off in fraction of a second before any ill-effect becomes apparent. Tests kits are available for measuring the acid/alkaline balance of the watering your aquarium and most work on color dye principle. The scale used is pH, which runs from pO (very acid)to pH 14 (very alkaline), with pH7 as neutral. Either side of the neutral point the scale is logarithmic. This means that pH6 is ten times more acidic than pH7 and pH5 a hundred times more acidic than pH7. The pH values of natural freshwater sources vary from about pH6for the soft acidic water of an Amazonian river to about pH8.5 for the hard alkaline water of Lake Tanganyika in Africa. Some of the less tolerant fishes from these environments only flourish if the pH value of their tank water reflects the conditions in their natural habitat.The safest way to make your water more acid or alkaline is to use a pH adjuster from your aquarium shop.here are other ways, such as filtering through peat to increase acidity, but these methods are a bit 'hit or miss' and may stress your fish.
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Fish Care Tips
Anemone Fish
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Before considering the size of aquarium and where to put it in your room, you should first step outside the home and locate your nearest aquarium dealer. Once you have found your local aquarium shop, have a general browse around inside before buying equipment or deciding on anything for certain. Is the shop going to be able to supply the goods you need? Are the staff helpful? Most important of all, are all the tanks nicely presented and kept clean and tidy? Do the fish look healthy? If you peer into a tank and there are several dead fish in it or if several tanks have the odd dead fish, leave and take your custom elsewhere. Are there plenty of customers going inland out of the store? If so, this is usually a sign of a reputable shop. Inmost cases, it is better to go to a specialist aquarium dealer rather than general pet shop. Although there are many pet shops that have good stocks of tropical fish and keep them in excellent condition, they are usually dealing in a wide range of animals and may not be able to give you the specialist help you need. Once you have located a dealer nearby and you've seen all those lovely exotic fish, you'll want to get started.