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Taking Good Care Of Your Acrylic Aquarium

Taking Good Care Of Your Acrylic Aquarium

The practice of keeping aquariums came about in the late 1800′s. They were fairly crude. Usually these ancient aquariums only had one side that was made of glass, with the other three sides being made of metal or wood. Most aquariums consisted of fish that were native to the region of its owner simply because of availability. Also most old school fish tanks contained only fresh water fish. The reason being that salt water would corrode the metal frame that held the aquarium together.

Aquariums drastically changed in the 1960′s with the invention of silicone adhesive.  Metal frames became obsolete and more people started to keep salt water fish and invertebrates. More recently glass tanks have become less frequently used due to the flexibility of acrylic. Literally flexibility! Acrylic aquariums are far more for forgiving than there glass counterparts. If a heavy object strikes a glass tank, it will almost certainly break. The flexibility of an acrylic tank will prevent this catastrophe from happening. In addition, acrylic offers more flexibility in design than glass. Acrylic aquariums have been made into everything from coffee tables to gum ball machines.  

That being said, there is a short downfall to owning an acrylic aquarium. They do scratch more easily than glass. When cleaning your aquarium, be careful not to use paper towels, and harsh or abrasive chemicals, as they can scratch the acrylic surface of the aquarium.  Always use a cleaner specifically labeled safe for acrylic. Use plastic or rubber scrubbers, rather than metal to clean the sides of an acrylic tank. Be careful not to accidentally pick up a piece of substrate or gravel while cleaning the inside of the tank. However, if you do happen to scratch an acrylic aquarium, all is not lost. The tank can be repaired, unlike glass. There are acrylic repair kits available at specialty pet stores, your local hardware store and of course online.

When purchasing an acrylic aquarium kit, there will be many different options to choose from, at many different price points. Aquarium kits can be purchased at places such as specialty aquatic pet stores, from huge retail chains, or again online. A fish lover can choose from small cylinder shaped tanks that can double as a coffee table lamp to wall huge wall sized aquariums. While, there are some basic things that will be included in most kits, such as, a filter, some substrate or coral and sometimes lighting, the kits themselves can vary greatly.  It really doesn’t matter where you buy your starter kit, but keep in mind that it is extremely important to buy your fish from a reputable dealer. Don’t buy fish that are hovering near the surface, or that are located in a tank with other dead fish. Fish diseases are extremely communicable. Be weary of a fish dealer that refuses to catch a specific fish out of the tank for you. After all this is going to be your fish and you have a right to choose.

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Taking Care Of Aquarium Fish – 6 Valuable Tips For Healthy Fish

Taking Care Of Aquarium Fish – 6 Valuable Tips For Healthy Fish

1. Do some research on fish and aquarium care
Learning how to take care of your fish tank and the fish that are in it is quite simple. You could read books on aquarium care, or go to the internet or ask your pet shop about how to go about this. You just must learn the proper way to manage this other wise you will be wasting a lot of money and effort and of course your fish.

Never put fish that do not have compatible living conditions in together, for they will not last and if they are temperamentally not compatible too, will kill one another. So you will have to do a lot of planning and ask for advice before putting different species of marine and non marine fish together in the same aquarium. If you are putting similar fish in the tank then make sure that you put only two of a kind.

2. Testing kits and other paraphernalia
Along with the aquarium and the fish you will have to think of getting some other equipment and accessories like floss, gravel, filters, buffers, testing kits, lights, heaters and plants. If you have salt water fish then you will have to add salt to the water every fortnight. If the water where you live is salt water it is better that you get fish that are salt water fish only. This way you will not have to do a complete treatment for the water but can maintain salt water fish without any problem.

3. Maintaining freshwater fish
Freshwater fish easily adapt to any kind of tank, where as salt water fish find it easier to survive in reef tanks. As freshwater fish adapt easier to any sort of tank it is better to start with these tanks in the beginning until you get the hang of taking care of fish and fish tanks.

4. Think of the location of your aquarium
Even before you get your aquarium you have to think of where you will be placing it. While considering the size of the tank that you want to buy you will have to decide on where you will place it and if you have sufficient place in your home for a tank of this size. It is better no to keep the tank near windows and door ways, or near heaters. The sunlight will make algae grow faster if there is direct sunlight. The room temperature should be maintained at the correct temperature also.

5. Accessories for the aquarium
You will need humidifiers and dehumidifiers to maintain the room temperature along with fish food, medicines, gravel, floss and filters. You would also require lights and heaters for your aquarium.

6. How to select the right filters?
Filters are available as internal or external filters or even under the gravel ones which are good support for your fish tank. You should see what suits your tank best and could get advice on this from the same pet shop where you bought your fish tank.

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Taking Care Of Your Fish Tank

Taking Care Of Your Fish Tank

In all there are more than 20,000 types of fish. There is virtually no way possible anyone can outline how to care for fish and aquariums in a single group of articles. About the best that anyone can do is give you a few basic concepts, care instructions, etc, and allow you to go from there. Since aquariums, rather water and fish produce toxins you will want to learn about such toxins in aquarium and fish care.

Aquariums are containers which provide fish a habitat filled with water. Aquariums are often shaped like boxes, which fish and related aquatic animals, as well as plants are stored. The water supplies oxygen and/or air for fish to breathe, which means the water must be constantly maintained in order for the fish and plants to survive. Temperature is important as well, since unlike furry critters, fish cannot control their essence of temperature. Dehumidifiers and humidifiers can help you maintain a balanced temperature in the air, which will affect water. Ultimately, you have fish gauges, which help you to monitor the temperatures in water.

In addition, fish in tanks or aquariums are subject to bacteria and toxins. Since, bacteria and toxins are produced faster in aquariums for the reason that unlike land, fish in water do not have natural fighters against such contaminants. With this in mind, we see that fish require high eminence of water to survive. In addition, aquariums often tank salt water creatures, as well as fresh water fish. It is important that you understand the difference and how to maintain water supply for both species. Still, the two are similar in comparison as far as fish care.

How do I eliminate toxins?

First, you must understand toxins in order to eliminate them. Fish will produce a degree of toxins; as well, water supplies produce its volume of toxins, such as copper, metals, chlorine, etc. Toxins spent by fish are wasted items coming from the fish life-sustaining chemicals, known as metabolism. Fish then produce pungent gases, which are colorless and highly water soluble.

Water supply often has CHLORAMINE or Chlorine combined, which are additives to fish tanks that work to purify the water. The chemicals combine to eliminate or minimize the growth of bacteria. Bacteria, develops in water pipes, drinking fountains, ground water, etc.

Now to answer your question, you will need a test kit to maintain toxic waste. You can use the kit to test the waters, thus making sure that the aquarium is not overly contaminated. You will also need filters, and pre-treatment water to balance your aquarium.

How do I find pre-treated water?

Water mixed with 1 milligram of sodium THIO-sulfate, includes ten gallons of fresh water combined with 1% sodium will remove toxins such as chlorine. In addition, you can purchase products, which include chemicals that will remove CHLORAMINE and Chlorine respectively. You have the option of removing toxins from aquariums by exposing the tank to air, which allows circulation of air to penetrate the aquarium. Furthermore, you can combine gas converting it to liquids, which charge, or activates carbons. The carbon dioxide will bubble, which removes toxins as well. (Learn more about Aerating before combing gas and liquids)

Using your test kit you will know if the tank has metals, or coppers in the water. If your water supply has copper and metal you will need to purchase spring water, or purified water to remove toxins. Ultimately you can purchase hepa products, which include water purifiers to connect to your tap water. The product will eliminate metal, copper, and other contaminates, thus purifying your water supply.

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