Monday, May 14, 2012

Easy Freshwater Aquarium Setup

By Kent Henry


Are you planning to start-up your own freshwater aquarium setup? Then, you must possess background knowledge on this type of hobby. There are lots of advantages if you are equipped with proper knowledge.

Setting up your aquarium will be as easy as reciting the ABC?s. You don?t have to worry when you encounter problems during the process of setting it up because you already know how to deal with it. Guessing will be out of your burden.

If you think that freshwater aquarium setup is difficult well it is not. Anyone can engage in aquarium keeping. It even does not require age. This will be easy task to do when you take one step at a time.

What filtration system to choose? Filtration is the fundamental aspect of a freshwater aquarium. There are three types of filtration that you must consider in your freshwater aquarium setup that will give significance on the health of your fish and the time expended on maintenance. In you freshwater aquarium setup, you should not make any shortcuts as possible. You make the most out of your filtration system to avoid spending too much for your freshwater aquarium.

There are many filtration equipments that are available that will satisfy with the standard requirement of one unit, but you can always install more than one type just make sure to consider the following:

Mechanical filtration - this is when bits and chunks of drifting stuff from your water will be eliminated. It is best goes with a power filter.

Biological filtration is the development of nitrifying bacteria colonies (the good guys) to break down the surplus food and fish waste; under gravel filters are one example.

Removing floating small pieces of substrates of beautification materials from the water is known as mechanical filtration. The best filter device for this is the power filter.

Heat your water. Fish do not produce their own body heat, so you need to provide a source of heat to them by heating the water. Always remember that the internal temperature of a fish is maintained by the water they live in.

There are two heater styles: immiscible and submersible. There are also other types that are for special application like planted tanks which are not common. There are two elements that will need to choose from considering the size of heater or wattage you will choose: the temperature requirements of the fish and the ambient room temperature where you place your aquarium.

A 20 gallon tank, most in standard calculation of 50 watts should raise the water temperature of 9 degrees above the room temperature.

The customary bulbs in use today are fluorescent and compact fluorescent; some of the smaller aquarium setups may still use a screw in type incandescent bulb. If your aquarium did not include a cover with built in light fixtures, you can certainly buy one separately.

You can purchase standard bulbs as the artificial light for your aquarium. The bulb is either a fluorescent, incandescent, or a compact one.

When it comes to how many hours you should turn your lights on each day, a good rule of thumb for standard freshwater aquarium setups is 8-10 hours per day, more if you have live plants. If you are experiencing excessive algae growth, adjust the lighting period until you achieve a happy balance.

Normal aquarium setups requires to open the lights for almost 8 to 10 hours each day if does have natural plants. If you observe multiple productions of algae, try to adjust the lighting to have an equal distribution of light.

It is advisable to test the water first before filling it into the aquarium. The quality of water may of course affect your pet fish. Bad water will result from some illness of the animals. They might be stress and subjected to death. Aside from bad water, immediate alterations in the water temperature or the water ph level can also contributes in the tension or pressure of fish. Even the production of ammonia and nitrates is the other contributor of stress.

There are four crucial parameters that need to be tested for about 2 to 4 times per month. These are the ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. In new aquariums, it is vital that you will undergo the stages of cycling in testing ph, ammonia and nitrate daily. Take notes of the results and abnormalities you see in your aquarium. Always remember that knowing freshwater aquarium setup will make your work easier.




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