What the heck is “Substrate”, you ask? Well, basically your substrate is the material that you have on the bottom of your aquarium. You can have sand, gravel, small stones, or almost anything really. Half of the fun of owning fish is doing the interior decoration of your tank. Let your imagination run wild, but make sure that you use materials that are safe for your fish.
The most common substrate is gravel. You’ve seen those bags in your local pet store; they come in every color of the rainbow. You can also go to any hardware store and buy natural gravel if you are going for a less artificial look. Just make sure that you rinse whatever you use before you put it into your tank and remove any bits that are unusually sharp.
Gravel gives your tank a nice aesthetic appeal while also anchoring your plants and helping you develop the biological filter within your tank. It’s also the easiest substrate to clean when you are using your gravel vac during your water changes. Gravel is heavy enough to resist being siphoned out of the tank, but light enough to swirl around and release all waste that has become sediment. It is also fairly cheap, especially if you purchased a large bag from the hardware store.
Many hobbyists, especially cichlid owners, prefer to use sand. If you are keeping fish that sift sand looking for food, going with something finer than gravel is the ONLY way to go. Like gravel, you can find it in many different colors, although it is harder to find than gravel; most pet stores carry only white and black, and the black is quite expensive. Here too, you can find a cheaper alternative down at your local hardware store.
Most stores carry bags of sand marketed as “play-sand”. These sands are generally used to fill children’s sandboxes and as such, are safe and ready to go. They’ll require a great deal of pre-washing before you put them into your tank though, because of the dust that they contain, but they are attractive to use and quite cheap. Some larger stores may actually carry some colored sands, but they are harder to find and will probably require a special order. Avoid “silica” sands as they have sharp edges that can cut your fish.
Sand is more difficult to clean however, because of its light weight. You can’t plunge your gravel vac into the sand without sucking it up with your waste water. You have to be a lot more careful while siphoning, and periodically make time to stir the sand by hand to release trapped pockets of waste and biological matter. If you want easy to maintain, sand is not for you.
You can also buy bags of crushed shell or limestone. These are useful if you are putting together a marine tank or an African cichlid tank as they are made up of calcium carbonate and this tends to raise the water hardness and pH, which both of these types of fish will enjoy. This is obviously a poor choice for fish from soft water, low pH environments like many river fish from South and Central America.
Whatever substrate you chose, it will require occasional maintenance. Generally not much more than doing a quick stir and a little redecorating when your fish move it around, but your substrate will last just about forever, so pick one that you can live with.
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Lighting your Aquarium
You spotted a great looking fish at the local pet store so you bought him; you brought him home, and now he doesn’t look the same! Why does this happen? Your problem could well be a lighting issue. Yes, the type of lighting in your tank has a major impact on every aspect of your aquarium.
When it comes to aquarium lighting, it isn’t just a question of how many watts that your bulb has; there is much more to it than this! You can use incandescent or fluorescent lighting, you can position your light source in different locations over the tank, and you can even purchase bulbs that give off different spectrums of light. Yes, the perfect tank just got harder to obtain, and more expensive too, but the way you light your fish can have a huge impact on your enjoyment of your hobby.
First of all, incandescent bulbs (the normal light bulbs in your home) are really unsuitable for anything other than a very small tank. They emit a very low spectrum of light and they produce more heat than is healthy for your fish. In addition, this type of bulb uses more energy than a fluorescent bulb, so unless your tank is 10 gallons or smaller, I wouldn’t even consider incandescent.
Fluorescent bulbs are the way to go. They emit much less heat, use less energy and come in a variety of spectrums. Most of the bulb manufacturers have bulbs specs listed on the side of the package, but a handy reference is usually included in the bulbs name. They have names like aqua-glo or sun-glo or plant-gro. Their names hint at what spectrum they produce and this is a good cue about which color(s) of fish look best under that lighting. For instance, if the bulb is rated high in the blue scale, then blue fish tend to look remarkable under that bulb. If your goal is to promote plant growth, then the plant bulb is the one for you.
As important as the right bulb is, the location of your fixture can be even more important. Most canopies are constructed with the opening in the front, for ease of feeding, and this is unfortunate. Almost every longtime aquarist agrees that tanks look much better when they are “front-lit”, in other words, the fixture sits toward the front of the tank, rather than where the hoods position them—in the back.
Experiment with the set up that you currently have. Take the top off of your tank and move the light around. Try it in different locations. See if it makes a difference to you. Where do you want the light? Where do you want the shadows?
A front-lit tank presents the light on the front of the fish, emphasizing their colors and bringing your fish out of the shadows. If your tank came with this sort of hood, you might consider exchanging your hood for a simple pane of glass or plexi-glass. You can get these made at any glass shop and even at many of the hardware warehouses. It’s a cheap, one time expense that will pay dividends for the life of your tank.
Whatever you decide, do not be afraid to experiment. Bulbs do eventually need to be replaced, so try a different kind of bulb next time. See what you like best; it’s all part of making your tank the best that it can possibly be.
When it comes to aquarium lighting, it isn’t just a question of how many watts that your bulb has; there is much more to it than this! You can use incandescent or fluorescent lighting, you can position your light source in different locations over the tank, and you can even purchase bulbs that give off different spectrums of light. Yes, the perfect tank just got harder to obtain, and more expensive too, but the way you light your fish can have a huge impact on your enjoyment of your hobby.
First of all, incandescent bulbs (the normal light bulbs in your home) are really unsuitable for anything other than a very small tank. They emit a very low spectrum of light and they produce more heat than is healthy for your fish. In addition, this type of bulb uses more energy than a fluorescent bulb, so unless your tank is 10 gallons or smaller, I wouldn’t even consider incandescent.
Fluorescent bulbs are the way to go. They emit much less heat, use less energy and come in a variety of spectrums. Most of the bulb manufacturers have bulbs specs listed on the side of the package, but a handy reference is usually included in the bulbs name. They have names like aqua-glo or sun-glo or plant-gro. Their names hint at what spectrum they produce and this is a good cue about which color(s) of fish look best under that lighting. For instance, if the bulb is rated high in the blue scale, then blue fish tend to look remarkable under that bulb. If your goal is to promote plant growth, then the plant bulb is the one for you.
As important as the right bulb is, the location of your fixture can be even more important. Most canopies are constructed with the opening in the front, for ease of feeding, and this is unfortunate. Almost every longtime aquarist agrees that tanks look much better when they are “front-lit”, in other words, the fixture sits toward the front of the tank, rather than where the hoods position them—in the back.
Experiment with the set up that you currently have. Take the top off of your tank and move the light around. Try it in different locations. See if it makes a difference to you. Where do you want the light? Where do you want the shadows?
A front-lit tank presents the light on the front of the fish, emphasizing their colors and bringing your fish out of the shadows. If your tank came with this sort of hood, you might consider exchanging your hood for a simple pane of glass or plexi-glass. You can get these made at any glass shop and even at many of the hardware warehouses. It’s a cheap, one time expense that will pay dividends for the life of your tank.
Whatever you decide, do not be afraid to experiment. Bulbs do eventually need to be replaced, so try a different kind of bulb next time. See what you like best; it’s all part of making your tank the best that it can possibly be.
Monday, 28 March 2011
Chemicals in your Aquarium
You’ve seen all those chemicals at the Pet Store, and you’ve wondered if you’ll need one bottle of each of them. And then you wondered if you still want to get into this aquarium hobby after all. Well, here’s the good news, most of that stuff is unnecessary, even worthless. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll occasionally need some of these products, but there is only one of these chemicals that you’ll always use, so let’s start there.
The tap water that you are using to fill your tank, it contains chlorine. It’s harmless to people, deadly to fish, so you’ll need to remove it. Now, don’t panic, you won’t need one of those kits that Grissom uses on CSI. Indeed, a single bottle of dechlorinating liquid is cheap and lasts for months. Just make sure that you read the label because some of the products are concentrated differently, so some of them require fewer drops per gallon of water.
The chlorine in your tap water actually dissipates fairly quickly, completely breaking down in about 24 hours. So in a pinch, you could just fill your bucket and let it stand for a day before using the water, but with the cost of dechlorinating products so low, it hardly seems worthwhile. Just remember, if you chose to use the “let stand” method, make sure you place your water in a location where it will not be contaminated.
You should also invest in a bottle of test strips. These strips, after being dipped into water, will show you a variety of information about your water. Your Ph level, water hardness, ammonia level, nitrates, and nitrites can all be tested using the most common dip strips. That’s a lot of information; in fact, it is more than you’ll actually need.
The truth is that most commonly sold aquarium fish will do just fine in any normal Ph range or water hardness level. Don’t worry if your fish type comes from Peru where it lives in soft acidic water because the fish you bought was probably born and raised in a fish farm in Florida. Then it was packaged up in a big bag of water and sent to your pet store where it was dumped into the local tap water. Most fish are NOT that picky, but they do need clean water, and that’s where the test strips come in handy.
When your fish eats, it produces waste. This waste then breaks down into ammonia, which in turn changes to nitrites, and then into nitrates. Like chlorine, these chemicals can damage and even kill your fish. So you need to remove them if they rise to a high level. The test strips will tell you if your levels are too high, and if they are, your answer is fairly simple—it’s time for a water change.
Once your tank has been established for a few months, you will not have to test it as often because your tank will develop beneficial bacteria that help break down these chemicals more quickly. For the first few months though, you should probably check your tank once per week or so, making sure you have time to do a water change if it should prove necessary.
And that’s basically it. Oh, there are chemicals that will lower your Ph, or raise it, medications for sick or injured fish, chemicals to destroy algae, expensive aquarium salts, and all manner of other niche products that you really do not need. These products are available to keep the fish store in business. Most people and their fish NEVER need these products, so unless you have a sick fish, just stick to the basics. You’ll save some money and avoid driving yourself crazy.
The tap water that you are using to fill your tank, it contains chlorine. It’s harmless to people, deadly to fish, so you’ll need to remove it. Now, don’t panic, you won’t need one of those kits that Grissom uses on CSI. Indeed, a single bottle of dechlorinating liquid is cheap and lasts for months. Just make sure that you read the label because some of the products are concentrated differently, so some of them require fewer drops per gallon of water.
The chlorine in your tap water actually dissipates fairly quickly, completely breaking down in about 24 hours. So in a pinch, you could just fill your bucket and let it stand for a day before using the water, but with the cost of dechlorinating products so low, it hardly seems worthwhile. Just remember, if you chose to use the “let stand” method, make sure you place your water in a location where it will not be contaminated.
You should also invest in a bottle of test strips. These strips, after being dipped into water, will show you a variety of information about your water. Your Ph level, water hardness, ammonia level, nitrates, and nitrites can all be tested using the most common dip strips. That’s a lot of information; in fact, it is more than you’ll actually need.
The truth is that most commonly sold aquarium fish will do just fine in any normal Ph range or water hardness level. Don’t worry if your fish type comes from Peru where it lives in soft acidic water because the fish you bought was probably born and raised in a fish farm in Florida. Then it was packaged up in a big bag of water and sent to your pet store where it was dumped into the local tap water. Most fish are NOT that picky, but they do need clean water, and that’s where the test strips come in handy.
When your fish eats, it produces waste. This waste then breaks down into ammonia, which in turn changes to nitrites, and then into nitrates. Like chlorine, these chemicals can damage and even kill your fish. So you need to remove them if they rise to a high level. The test strips will tell you if your levels are too high, and if they are, your answer is fairly simple—it’s time for a water change.
Once your tank has been established for a few months, you will not have to test it as often because your tank will develop beneficial bacteria that help break down these chemicals more quickly. For the first few months though, you should probably check your tank once per week or so, making sure you have time to do a water change if it should prove necessary.
And that’s basically it. Oh, there are chemicals that will lower your Ph, or raise it, medications for sick or injured fish, chemicals to destroy algae, expensive aquarium salts, and all manner of other niche products that you really do not need. These products are available to keep the fish store in business. Most people and their fish NEVER need these products, so unless you have a sick fish, just stick to the basics. You’ll save some money and avoid driving yourself crazy.
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
The Boston Aquarium Society
Boston is the capital of Massachusetts, U.S.A. and the largest city in New England. It has been described as “a state of mind almost entirely surrounded by water”, this is because almost all parts of Boston is water.
A society has also risen from Boston. A specific society that was founded in 1916 is called Boston Aquarium Society. It is the longest running and the second oldest aquarium club in the entire planet today.
The Boston Aquarium Society is focused more on the interests and knowledge that can be taken from the activities made especially for the members of the society. If you want to be a member of the Boston Aquarium Society, you need to stay in this particular society for a long period of time. The society will encourage you to stay longer so you will go out full of knowledge and new ideas. The society has many activities like plant and fish growing projects which allow placing aquarium in most of the classrooms. If you are an aquarium hobbyist, you will truly enjoy the affordable activities of the Boston Aquarium Society.
In Boston Aquarium Society, every member is involved in all the activities and all aspect in growing marine plants and breeding fishes in many ponds. Some members are even members of many associations related with the preservation of marine life. Some members also write about the Boston Aquarium Society in national magazines and newspapers. Aside from being a part of some organizations, Boston Aquarium Society is also a member of The Northeast Council of Aquarium Societies.
Boston Aquarium Society is also focused on giving advanced knowledge to all the members. The members are allowed to donate any type of fish breed, plants, time and knowledge to the society. The society uses these particular donations for the students that visit the place for educational tour. This will encourage more kids to make some of the activities in Boston Aquarium Society as a hobby.
They also build programs, seminar and workshops with highly respected and well educated speaker that can teach you plenty of new ways to improve your knowledge about fishes and other marine creatures. They are more than willing to share their knowledge by giving the members the knowledge they need to learn.
So if you want to improve your knowledge about fishes and other aquatic creatures, be a member of the Boston Aquarium Society. The information you need is just within your reach.
A society has also risen from Boston. A specific society that was founded in 1916 is called Boston Aquarium Society. It is the longest running and the second oldest aquarium club in the entire planet today.
The Boston Aquarium Society is focused more on the interests and knowledge that can be taken from the activities made especially for the members of the society. If you want to be a member of the Boston Aquarium Society, you need to stay in this particular society for a long period of time. The society will encourage you to stay longer so you will go out full of knowledge and new ideas. The society has many activities like plant and fish growing projects which allow placing aquarium in most of the classrooms. If you are an aquarium hobbyist, you will truly enjoy the affordable activities of the Boston Aquarium Society.
In Boston Aquarium Society, every member is involved in all the activities and all aspect in growing marine plants and breeding fishes in many ponds. Some members are even members of many associations related with the preservation of marine life. Some members also write about the Boston Aquarium Society in national magazines and newspapers. Aside from being a part of some organizations, Boston Aquarium Society is also a member of The Northeast Council of Aquarium Societies.
Boston Aquarium Society is also focused on giving advanced knowledge to all the members. The members are allowed to donate any type of fish breed, plants, time and knowledge to the society. The society uses these particular donations for the students that visit the place for educational tour. This will encourage more kids to make some of the activities in Boston Aquarium Society as a hobby.
They also build programs, seminar and workshops with highly respected and well educated speaker that can teach you plenty of new ways to improve your knowledge about fishes and other marine creatures. They are more than willing to share their knowledge by giving the members the knowledge they need to learn.
So if you want to improve your knowledge about fishes and other aquatic creatures, be a member of the Boston Aquarium Society. The information you need is just within your reach.
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Keep it Glowing with Aquarium Lighting
If you have your own aquarium at home, you need to take care of your fishes just like they were family because a bit of carelessness may cause them some trouble. You need to check if there is good aquarium lighting. This is important for aquarium plants and the fishes.
If your aquarium has poor aquarium lighting, your colorful fish may not be seen properly and it will also cause it to fade and turn the shades to other colors. If you want to have good aquarium lighting, you can choose between fluorescent or incandescent light.
If this is your first time to put up an aquarium, trying out the light may be from trial and error because you need to check if the light matches with the environment of your aquarium. Try to see first whether it is too dark or too light, then you can start adjusting the lights.
If you have too much aquarium lighting, it might cause the water to look green. If you have little light, it might cause to inhibit plant growth. You may choose whether you want artificial light or natural light. You can even make a combination to see which does better in giving light to your aquarium.
If you want the best aquarium lighting, you can place the light facing a window in the north. It is a good way to provide light in this manner because indirect lights are being spread. You can add artificial light to it if you want to. If it is daylight, it will be fine to shut the artificial lights off but when the natural light goes out, you need to let light stand in the aquarium for at least 8 hours.
You can also use light colored bulbs for your aquarium lighting. This will give impact to the nice colors of your fishes and the colors may even be enhanced. If you want your aquarium lighting to give a good effect to your aquarium, use light from behind. This will show the best features of your aquarium and the plant growth will stay healthy too.
Start gathering the best light that you wish to put in your aquarium. After setting up a good lighting, you might never take your eyes of your aquarium. A lot of people will surely notice and appreciate your aquarium because of the aquarium lighting that you have installed.
If your aquarium has poor aquarium lighting, your colorful fish may not be seen properly and it will also cause it to fade and turn the shades to other colors. If you want to have good aquarium lighting, you can choose between fluorescent or incandescent light.
If this is your first time to put up an aquarium, trying out the light may be from trial and error because you need to check if the light matches with the environment of your aquarium. Try to see first whether it is too dark or too light, then you can start adjusting the lights.
If you have too much aquarium lighting, it might cause the water to look green. If you have little light, it might cause to inhibit plant growth. You may choose whether you want artificial light or natural light. You can even make a combination to see which does better in giving light to your aquarium.
If you want the best aquarium lighting, you can place the light facing a window in the north. It is a good way to provide light in this manner because indirect lights are being spread. You can add artificial light to it if you want to. If it is daylight, it will be fine to shut the artificial lights off but when the natural light goes out, you need to let light stand in the aquarium for at least 8 hours.
You can also use light colored bulbs for your aquarium lighting. This will give impact to the nice colors of your fishes and the colors may even be enhanced. If you want your aquarium lighting to give a good effect to your aquarium, use light from behind. This will show the best features of your aquarium and the plant growth will stay healthy too.
Start gathering the best light that you wish to put in your aquarium. After setting up a good lighting, you might never take your eyes of your aquarium. A lot of people will surely notice and appreciate your aquarium because of the aquarium lighting that you have installed.
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