The best equipment for your freshwater aquarium should be chosen.
You’ll save time, aggravation, and money if you are well aware of the equipment you need before setting up your aquarium. The aquariumsolutions.com.au aquarium industry is huge, and it’s easy to become lost in it all. After reading this page, you should have a clearer idea of the kinds of equipment you need and don’t require.
Choosing an aquarium may be a lot of fun. I like visiting my neighbourhood fish shop to browse the options and envision what that tank might look like in the corner of my living room. You may wish to think about the shape and size. Maybe you want your tank to be in the room’s corner. They do, however, produce three-sided aquariums that are well suited for corners. The biggest aquarium that you can afford or afford to pay for should be bought. This is because the larger the total water volume aquariums can hold, the easier it is to maintain a steady system.I often hear in the forum community that “dilution is the answer to pollution.” In other words, the larger our tanks are, the more forgiving they are of human errors, temperature swings, and variations in water quality.
Your aquarium’s shape also has an impact. Greater surface area in your aquarium will improve surface gas exchange and make it easier for oxygen to get into your water. The simplicity of aquascaping and tank care are other factors to take into account when choosing the size and style of your aquarium. A higher aquarium (or a small person) may need a step to be able to reach over the aquarium rim since you need to be able to reach the bottom of your aquarium. To reach the bottom of large tanks exceeding a few hundred gallons, you may need a snorkelling mask and some swim trunks! It depends on your unique preferences when it comes to aquascaping. With planted tanks, you can maintain taller plants in a taller aquarium, but a wider aquarium will provide you with a bigger planting area, so you can plant a variety of foreground, midground, and background plants. A bigger footprint will also provide you more space for decorations and other hidden places. Because they spend their whole lives on the bottom, certain fish need a bigger swimming area. Additionally, the majority of fish swim horizontally rather than vertically. They don’t swim up and down; they swim back and forth. Additionally, you must choose if you want an overflow hole drilled in your tank. A mechanism called an overflow transfers water from the display tank into a sump under the tank. Without a built-in overflow drilled into your tank, it is still possible to have a sump. However, you will need to utilise a less dependable overflow box that syphons water from the tank into the sump via the rear glass. (See filtration for additional information on sumps.) These are just a few considerations you should evaluate while picking your tank.
Backgrounds of aquariums
A backdrop in your aquarium may both highlight your fish and conceal ugly wires. Vinyl backgrounds that you may attach or tape to the back window are the simplest form of backdrop. These come in a variety of colours and designs and may be purchased at your local fish shop. Consider painting the back glass if you want a backdrop that is more durable and has a smoother appearance. A simple blue or black painted backdrop would suffice just fine if you lack creative talent, as I do.
The posture
Personally, I like to construct my own stands so I can customise the style. If you do want to construct your own stand, be sure to construct it level and sturdy enough. Keep in mind that water weighs 8 pounds per gallon in addition to the weight of your furnishings, substrate, and tools. Overall, it’s reasonable to estimate that an aquarium weighs 10 pounds per gallon. Thus, a 50-gallon aquarium will be close to 500 pounds in weight. You may need to reinforce your floor if you have larger aquariums than a few hundred gallons. To be sure your floor can support the weight of huge aquariums before installing them, please contact a professional. If you don’t want to make your own stand, ask your local fish shop to suggest a stand that is suitable for your aquarium.
Location ideas for aquariums
The entire family should be able to enjoy your aquarium, but there are several places you should stay away from. Your fish might be agitated in hallways and other areas with high traffic. Due to changes in humidity, cleaning agents, traffic, and room temperature, you should keep your aquarium away from the kitchen. Additionally, you should steer clear of putting your tank in direct sunlight, which may raise the water’s temperature and promote the growth of unwanted algae. The living room, den, and bedroom are all ideal locations for you and your aquarium to thrive.
Containment tanks (Q-Tank or hospital tank)
The last thing you want is for one of your fish to get unwell, but you should still be ready in case it happens. It is essential for bigger systems to include a quarantine tank, and it is advised for all systems. In order to prevent introducing a sick fish into your aquarium and endangering the health of all of your other fish, you may quarantine new fish in a quarantine tank. Additionally, it enables you to identify any ill fish and treat them separately. Some experienced aquarium hobbyists have a Q-tank operational all the time, while others just keep the tools on hand to quickly put one up as required. You just need a modest aquarium for your hospital tank—typically one between 10 and 20 gallons would do—a heater, and a sufficient filter designed specifically for the Q-tank. You don’t need all the bells and whistles.
Selecting a substrate
Substrate may lighten the burden on your filter and contribute to the overall biological filtering process. The choice of your substrate actually depends on your preferences. Sand, boulders, gravel, river stones, or perhaps no substrate at all, are all options. Only when you have bottom-dwelling fish that need a certain kind of substrate does it really matter. If you want catfish, for example, you need a smooth substrate, like little round pebbles, so their skin won’t itch when they brush against it. You may want to think about using clay or watery soil if you’re growing plants that need a lot of upkeep. Your plants will like this for a few weeks, even if it may temporarily obscure the water. No matter what kind of substrate you use, it is advised that you use 1-2 pounds, or around 2 inches, to completely cover the bottom of your aquarium.
Filtration
The three basic components of filtration are mechanical, chemical, and biological. There are many different methods of filtration in this pastime, some better than others. Through the use of a foam filter or filter floss, large particles in the water column are removed mechanically. Activated carbon is used in chemical filtration to remove dangerous compounds from water. In biological filtration, beneficial aerobic bacteria are drawn to porous media, where they may colonise and promote the nitrogen cycle. You should choose a filter that is powerful enough to filter your water 5–10 times each hour. So you need a filter that can pump 250–500 gallons per hour for a 50-gallon aquarium.
Gravel filters underneath.
Beneficial bacteria may grow in filters that are positioned below the gravel and employ pumps or air stones to drive water through the gravel. These filters are no longer effective, in my view, and should not be used. They are inefficient and sludge up, which leads to future issues.
Towel filters (or internal filters)
Internal filters pass air through a tiny sponge or filter cartridge using an air stone. Due to their poor filtration capabilities, these filters are only suggested for pico aquariums (less than 5 gallons).
Hold onto your filters (aka HOB or power filters).
These are most likely the filters that may be seen on small to medium-sized aquariums. This is in part because they are simple to use and have excellent processing and cleaning capabilities for your tank water. These filters utilise a per, as their name implies, to drive water through mechanical, chemical, and biological filter material before returning it to the tank by a different hose. They hang on the rear rim of your aquarium glass. Because they can process huge amounts of water via a variety of media, canister filters are quite common. This is crucial for fish tank setups with lots of waste-producing creatures. Your water will become crystal pure with the aid of a canister filter. Canister filters have one drawback: they may be a little harder to clean and start to lose flow as they get blocked until they are cleaned out again. Because of this, if you neglect to do routine filter cleaning, accumulated dirt and debris may cause nitrate levels to rise. Because of this, among some aquarists, the canister filter is known as the “nitrate factory.”
