Aquarium Equipment - Basic Guide
The following subjects are extensive, we will provide only basic advice on these pages:
Aquaria
Your fish will react to the conditions you provide for them, Your fish will thrive and provide you with full colour and rapid growth, if you give them enough room and feed them a good varied but balanced diet. For this reason buy an aquarium that offers volume and a large surface area, if your buying a smaller aquarium then reduce your stocking levels and buy smaller species! I own a Juwel Rio 400, the Juwel range offer cleverly designed beautifull aquaria and stands, that would compliment any room. If your considering a Juwel aquarium use the link on our links page to visit the Juwel site.
Filtration
One of the most important parts of your set up will be your filter, the filter will contain media, offering a large surface area to allow a colony of bacteria to grow, by passing water through this media any harmfull ammonia and nitrite in your water will be removed, providing healthy clear water for your fish community. I would strongly recommend encorporating more than one filter system in your tank, I would definitely advise backing your internal filtration up with an external system, or running two internal systems alongside each other!
Internal systems
One of the best systems is the undergravel filter, water is drawn down through your aquarium substrate and up an uplift tube using a powerhead or an air pump, this system utilises the whole of your substrate as the filter media allowing a substantial bacteria colony to develop, it also has little impact on the interia of your aquarium, all you see is the uplift tube which can easily be hidden with some tank décor. Another benefit of this system is any small particles or debris in your aquarium will be drawn down onto the substrate surface which will improve the water clarity.
Internal cannister type filters are similar to undergravels, they contain their own media inside the body of the filter and propel water through it using an impellor, they are normally positioned onto the side or back glass, with their outlet an inch or so below the surface of the water, this is advantageous as it provides surface ripples, increasing surface area and allowing more O2 to enter the water. I would recommend a “fluval” internal if considering this option.
External systems
The main advantage of an external is that they do not reduce the space available to your fish inside your aquaria, and you can carry out cleaning / maintenance on them without disruption to your tank, you will however need to consider routes for piping in and out of your aquaria.
I run a large Fluval external on my tank and I have run the pipes through the wall, the filter is situated in a cupboard on the other side, everyones situation is different you will need to consider the best option for yourself.
Other Systems
As you advance and become more confident and knowledgeable, you may wish to consider a centralised system running a number of tanks, or a specialised sytem such as a trickle filter.
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Heaters
Tropical fish require a temperature between approx. 20-30oC (68-86oF), with many species being kept at a ‘middle value’ of 24-25oC (75-77oF). Maintaining a stable temperature (and more importantly avoiding rapid changes) is vital to avoid stressing fish. The temperature of a tropical aquarium would normally be maintained using a combined heater/thermstat, placed inside the tank. These are available in a number of standard wattages between 25 watt and 300 watt. Some hobbyists will recommend, buying two heaters rather than one ie, instead of one 300 watt heater, use two 150 watt heaters, this is in case a heater sticks in the on position, it will have less of a heating effect on the tank. I would recommend buying one good quality heater such as a visitherm, these are extremely reliable and very rarely, do they give any problems, I would also recommend buying a thermometer to check water temperature, the ones that stick onto the outside glass are fine, check water temperature daily. Buy a heater with the smallest wattage rating for your size of tank, an increase in temperature has little impact on a fishes health, but a sudden fall in water temperature can cause harm. The table below gives examples of recommended heater wattages for various tank sizes. The modern combined heater-stats use very reliable thermocouples to maintain a stable temperature.
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Lighting
The lighting used in an aquarium is governed to a large extent by whether the tank is to contain live plants. If the tank will not contain plants (or only plastic plants) then the light need only provide a means to view the fish. The choice of lighting is then only governed by choosing a light which enhances the colours of fish. There are many different types of light tube available with varying spectrums, some give a strong blue light some give more of a yellow light. A light with more blue in its spectrum will bring out the blue colours in your fish, a light with more yellow in its spectrum will bring out the yellow colours in your fish. Think about the dominent colours in your fish selection and pick a light tube which will make the most of your fishes colours.
Planted tanks need more light than fish only tanks, and the type of lighting becomes more important. The light requirement of different plant species varies somewhat, but generally the light will need to be at least double that recommended for a fish only tank. A number of manufacturers produce fluorescent tubes designed to provide maximum plant growth. These include Arcadia’s Freshwater tube, Interpet’s Triton tube and Hagen’s Floraglo and Powerglo.
For heavily planted tanks, some may opt for metal halide or mercury vapour lights, which are normally suspended above an open-top tank. These are able to punch light deeper than fluorescent tubing and are therefore useful for tanks 24″ or more high. It should be remembered that when higher intensity lighting is employed to boost plant growth, it will be necessary to balance this with an adequate amount of nutrients and CO2.