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Setting Up an Aquarium
Before buying or making an aquarium, an aspiring aquarists to work out what sort of fish are going to be kept since the type of fish, their size and their numbers are going to govern the dimensions of their home. Two considerations need to be taken into account - first, there should be sufficient living space for each animal and secondly the surface area must be large enough for the water to absorb enough oxygen from the atmosphere to enable the fish to 'breathe', and this latter requirement varies according to the type of fish. As a general guide, always calculate that a trop i-cal freshwater fish ought to have a minimum of 30 sq cm (41/Hz sq in),a tropical marine fish 120 sq cm (181/4 sq in) and a codetermines water fish about 75 sq cm (111/Hz sq in) per centimeter (0.4 in)of fish. For example: a 90 cm (3 ft) tank will hold 90 cm (3 ft)of tropical freshwater fish, say nine fish X 10 cm (4 in) long or 30 fish X 3 cm (12 in) long. If you intend to keep marine animals, it is imperative that the whole container is made only of glass as seawater will corrode metal frame. In fact, nowadays, it is almost impossible to buy an aquarium with a frame as this is an outdated form of construction,and all modern tanks are made solely from glass. Trying to make anything waterproof is difficult which is why virtually all fish keepers buy their tanks rather than make them. However, if you would like to make a tank yourself, then you will need five pieces of 6.5 mm (1/a in) float glass for the sides and bottom. Bevel all the sharp edges with emery cloth. The next stage, which is really tedious, is to carefully clean all the areas where adhesive is to be applied with a solvent, such as mentholated spirit. Unless every last scrap of finger mark is removed the result could be an empty tank and a great waterfall. Silicon rubber tank adhesive can be bought from aquarists shops and beads of this will need to be applied to the appropriate edges and the whole thing stuck together with sticky tape, and left alone for 24 hours after which further beads of adhesive should be applied to the inside of the seams and run along their lengths with a spatula of some sort to completely sea leach seam. Twenty-four hours after that your basic tank is ready .However, if you set it up as it is the water will evaporate, the fish will leap out and, if it is a tropical tank, all your precious heat will escape. It is essential to fit a hood, and to keep this in place an arrow shelf made from strips of glass should be glued in place inside the four walls, 2.5-5 cm (1-2 in) from the top. This not only supports the hood but serves to strengthen the structure appreciably. Hoods of all sizes, completely fitted with lights and feeding hatches and all sorts of refinements, can be bought from a dealer,or can be constructed from glass or aluminum depending on your particular requirements. Now you can get on with setting up the tank. A tank full of water with a layer of gravel on the bottom weighs far more than you might think, so do not even contemplate moving it unless it is empty. Bear this in mind when you are deciding where the tank is going to live because the supporting piece of furniture will have to be strong. Before you put an aquarium on it, place on top of it at hick slab of expanded polystyrene, the size of the tank, which will even out any surface irregularities, otherwise, you might end up with cracked glass. Have a last think to check that you have an electrical socket nearby and that the tank will not be in direct sunlight, or you are going to be fighting a losing battle with algae,and put the tank in place. A very important piece of equipment now needs to be considered - a filter, to get rid of all the rubbish that accumulates wherever animals live. There are various types on the market and choice is up to the individual. My own preference is for the under-gravel filter and this needs to be fitted in the bottom of the tank before any gravel is added. Do not be tempted to grab a handful of gravel from your driveway or anywhere else for that matter. It might look fine but could be heavily polluted or could cause alchemical imbalance in the water, either of which is going to give you real problems. Buy proper aquarium gravel which has particles of around 3 mm ( Viol in) and spend some time rinsing it in clean running water until the water runs clear. Put the gravel into your tank together with any rocks you might have bought from the same place and arrange it all carefully and artistically, sloping it up towards the back. You will need about a plastic bucketful of gravel for each 0.28 sq am (1 sq ft) of tank base. You are now ready to add the water, so start filling gently fro ma tap, but do not let the water whoosh directly onto the gravel orally your careful work will be undone: instead, let it trickle over rock. Remember not to fill the tank completely or you will have flood when you start to dabble about while you add plants to the set-up. Tap water is only really fit for human consumption, so do not try to introduce any fish until you have let the water sit for few days. In the meantime, fit the tank with a water heater and thermostat if you are intending to keep tropical's and put thermometer handy so that you can keep an eye on the temperature, which ought to be about 24°C (75T). You can also spend this time installing an aerator which is a device for pumping lots of tiny air bubbles to increase the oxygen in the water, and to cause slight movement which ensures that the water temperature is even .Whatever fish you have decided to keep will require certain conditions in which to live, so you might need to make the water more acid or more alkaline; a dealer will sell all that is necessary to make your water chemistry just right for your fish. Remember that you will now have several electrical parts on the go - lighting in the hood, an aerator and a filter, both running off a pump, and possibly a heater and thermostat. Make sure these are all doing what they should, and that they are safe. The next stage in preparing a tank is to introduce some plants,which help the water conditions, provide hiding places for fish,food for herbivorous species and somewhere to lay eggs. Most newcomers to fish keeping are parsimonious with their plants ando not realize that for a 1 am (3 ft) tank you really need about 100plants. Incidentally, if you are thinking about keeping sea creatures. When all our greenery has beer. planted to your satisfaction, do not immediately add the fish to the tank. Wait instead for a few weeks until the plants have established themselves, and show signs of growth. Not only will they survive better but the delay will enable the tank to settle down and look far more attractive than when freshly planted. This intervening period should not be wasted, as the time can be filled by reading up on fish, drooling over the tanks in dealers' premises and window shopping through the advertisements in aquarists magazines; and resisting any aberrant urges to buy divers, treasure chests or Chinese bridges to spoil the appearance of your tank.
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Fish Care Tips
Anemone Fish
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If you have a goldfish bowl, throw it away now Goldfish bowls are great as ornaments when filled with glass marbles but for keeping fish they are terrible things and should not be used. What is necessary is an aquarium.