The best place to start an aquarium for a beginner is with a 10 gallon fish tank. You don't want to buy an expensive fish tank because if things don't work out, you're going to be down a pretty penny. There are a couple of choices when it comes to tank material; glass and acrylic. Both have their strengths and weaknesses (ie, glass can shatter - acrylic scratches easily).
A common question is often "how many fish can i put in my fish tank?". The rule to follow is one inch of fish for one galleon of water. I know this doesn't sound like much, but you can't pack fish in there like tinned sardines.
One more decision you need to make before setting up your new fish tank is what to stock it with. Are you interested in getting tropical fish or cold water fish like goldfish? I must say, tropical fish are better for beginners. You can fit more tropical fish into a 10 galleon fish tank, because they are much smaller. Your looking at getting about 3 goldfish into a 10 galleon tank, goldfish needs loads of room, they are pretty messy and require a bit morecare than tropical fish surprisingly.
You will need a 10 gallon fish tank stand if there's no other free space in your home, they are relativity cheap. You could look online, ebay or amazon have new and used 10 galleon fish tank stands at a fair price.
Whichever fish type you wish to stock, you are going to need a 10 gallon fish tank filter to clean the water. The most common ones are internal or external filters, internal filters have a sponge that you will need to regularly clean. There is always a fear of an external filter cracking or leaking.
what's the average 10 gallon fish tank price? Well, the prices start from as little as sixty dollars. It's best to shop around both at the shops in your local area and online. Quite a few online companies do free delivery so that's a bonus - but you can ask for advice on which fish to stock and get prices for fish etc at a pet store.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Sunday, 2 August 2009
goldfish tank
Where's the best place to start as a fish tank beginner? Well, there's no better place than to start with a goldfish tank. Starting a goldfish fish tank, is the only true way to start your aquarium hobby and see if your really interested or just mildly interested.. for now. Folks, setting up one of these bowels for a goldfish is cheap, dead cheap compared too a tropical or marine fish tank.
Now, goldfish tank size doesn't matter too much, your not going to have a dozen goldfish - probably only one or two. I recommended you to get the largest one your can fit on a small table, purely for the goldfish's benefit, would you be happy in a small box? There are some wacky goldfish environments you can purchase though, have you seen the glass table with fish inside? crazy. Spend a few moments online looking at some of the various designs for some ideas for yourself - you don't have to just stick with a bowel - there are fancy goldfish tank's on the market.
Your going to need more than just a tank, a hood or cover is highly recommended as goldfish are known to jump out of there containment. A light should be on for at least 10 hours a day, florescent lighting will be cheaper to run and gives off less heat. Gravel is the best 'bed' for your aquarium in this case, it's not going to mess with the PH level. Gravel comes in all sizes and colors - so there's a good chance you will find something that interests you.
let's talk about water. Listen, water consistency varies across the nation. You really should check with the local pet store to find out if the water in your area is acceptable for applying to a fish tank aquarium. In the early day's of adding your new pets to water, you're going to have to frequently check the water PH level up until the environment has settled. PH test kids are widely available on the market today, tests indicate that a goldfish's environment should be around PH 7.
Too many people don't use goldfish tank filters, just like regular aquarium filters, the water needs to be maintained and kept free of rising ammonia. Ammonia is toxic to all fish, so it's important to monitor the ammonia levels and use a system to treat the water. Your goldfish tank filter will require maintenance, check the filters at least once a month.
Goldfish food can be purchased at any pet store, it's not recommended that you attempt to create food from scratch. Try to feed your fish several times a day, with small portions. If the food isn't consumed in 5 minutes then your seriously overfeeding your pets, folks i don't have to keep telling you why this is such a big mistake. Don't over feed your fish!
Now, goldfish tank size doesn't matter too much, your not going to have a dozen goldfish - probably only one or two. I recommended you to get the largest one your can fit on a small table, purely for the goldfish's benefit, would you be happy in a small box? There are some wacky goldfish environments you can purchase though, have you seen the glass table with fish inside? crazy. Spend a few moments online looking at some of the various designs for some ideas for yourself - you don't have to just stick with a bowel - there are fancy goldfish tank's on the market.
Your going to need more than just a tank, a hood or cover is highly recommended as goldfish are known to jump out of there containment. A light should be on for at least 10 hours a day, florescent lighting will be cheaper to run and gives off less heat. Gravel is the best 'bed' for your aquarium in this case, it's not going to mess with the PH level. Gravel comes in all sizes and colors - so there's a good chance you will find something that interests you.
let's talk about water. Listen, water consistency varies across the nation. You really should check with the local pet store to find out if the water in your area is acceptable for applying to a fish tank aquarium. In the early day's of adding your new pets to water, you're going to have to frequently check the water PH level up until the environment has settled. PH test kids are widely available on the market today, tests indicate that a goldfish's environment should be around PH 7.
Too many people don't use goldfish tank filters, just like regular aquarium filters, the water needs to be maintained and kept free of rising ammonia. Ammonia is toxic to all fish, so it's important to monitor the ammonia levels and use a system to treat the water. Your goldfish tank filter will require maintenance, check the filters at least once a month.
Goldfish food can be purchased at any pet store, it's not recommended that you attempt to create food from scratch. Try to feed your fish several times a day, with small portions. If the food isn't consumed in 5 minutes then your seriously overfeeding your pets, folks i don't have to keep telling you why this is such a big mistake. Don't over feed your fish!
fish tank filters
A fish tank filter is required for any form of aquarium, the natural filtration and cleansing of the water has to be replicated to keep any water based species and wild plants alive. So, what makes the water so dirty and harmful? Dead fish and plants will be a large impact on the contamination of the aquariums environment. Listen, your aquarium isn't just about the fish, the plants need just as much care, you know? They go hand in hand with one another, it's all very well looking out for people, but you lose the trees and plants, and you lose both. Look, if you really don't want to put in that much effort into looking after your personal environment (why else would you want a fish tank aquarium?) then don't bother getting real plants.
Another good reason too not over feed your fish (typical beginner's mistake) is that uneaten, wasted food contaminates the water. If you have read any of my other articles, you'll know that i really try and drill home this fact to most beginners, don't over feed your fish! If this means supervising the kids every time they want to feed them, then so be it. A large part of the population don't know how to feed themselves properly, how are they going to know how to feed their pets? Serious topic folks, seek advice on your specific wildlife.
There's only one thing you really need to understand when caring for an aquarium, the nitrogen cycle. Let's take a tiny quick look at the details you should memorize.
The nitrogen cycle explained
A chemical cycle is basically what the nitrogen cycle is (the clues in the title), all life requires nitrogen-compounds (like nucleic acids and proteins). The a large part of the air's content is nitrogen, but most organisms can't use it like this. Plants incorporate in compounds such as; nitrate ions, ammonia and urea. Animals get theirs from plants (or the animals that have eaten plants(see protein)). Nitrogen returns to the air via decay from dead plants, animals and animal excretions.
Now, with the science stuff out of the way, what you need to understand is ammonia is going to be highly toxic to your fish if it reaches a high level. Where does high level of ammonia come from? That's right uneaten food (decay), dead plants (Decay) and fish (again, decay, get it?). Do i have to say don't over feed your fish? okay good!
Right, fish tank filters are going to play a big part in keeping the balance. Don't get to concerned over which internal, external, interexternal, upside down external-internal backflip filtration system to purchase (note. fictional). We'll take a looksy and see which ones suit your needs.
Which type of fish tank filter fits you?
There is no easy answer to which is the best fish tank filter, several different methods are recommended for various sizes of aquariums and its containing species. Let's look at some of the most common fish tank filters used by many a fish tank aquarium enthusiast.
external fish tank filter
Right, for those that don't know (or can't guess), an external fish tank filter pumps water out of the aquarium which is then treated by several different filtration 'media' and then returned back into the encased environment. An external fish tank filter is one of the most common filtration systems on the market, recommended by most pet stores for the beginner fish tank aquarium.
Internal fish tank filter
You guessed it, internal fish tank filters are filters that sit inside your fish tank. Want to hear the best part about it, it's okay if it leaks in the night! Anyone who's seen a fish tank filter up close probably thinks of one of these internal fish tank filters, you know the ones with the 'sponge' filter you have to remove and rinse out because its gone green. I had one of these filters in my first freshwater (aka tropical) fish tank aquarium.
Other filters
There are many filtration systems that are on the market, but i don't recommend using them to beginners, unless you know what these filtration systems specifically do, don't bother installing them. After gaining some experience as a aquarium keeper and looking at expanding your hobby, then this is a good time to research other aquarium systems more advanced that the standard 'beginners' fish tank aquariums.
Filtration systems that you may want to investigate are; Under gravel filters, Diatom filters, baffle filters, airlift filters, (marine specific filters) Protein skimmers, deep sand beds, the Berlin method.
That's all the beginners need to understand about fish tank filters for today, we will take a deeper look at some of the more advanced filtration and aquarium setups in the near future.
Another good reason too not over feed your fish (typical beginner's mistake) is that uneaten, wasted food contaminates the water. If you have read any of my other articles, you'll know that i really try and drill home this fact to most beginners, don't over feed your fish! If this means supervising the kids every time they want to feed them, then so be it. A large part of the population don't know how to feed themselves properly, how are they going to know how to feed their pets? Serious topic folks, seek advice on your specific wildlife.
There's only one thing you really need to understand when caring for an aquarium, the nitrogen cycle. Let's take a tiny quick look at the details you should memorize.
The nitrogen cycle explained
A chemical cycle is basically what the nitrogen cycle is (the clues in the title), all life requires nitrogen-compounds (like nucleic acids and proteins). The a large part of the air's content is nitrogen, but most organisms can't use it like this. Plants incorporate in compounds such as; nitrate ions, ammonia and urea. Animals get theirs from plants (or the animals that have eaten plants(see protein)). Nitrogen returns to the air via decay from dead plants, animals and animal excretions.
Now, with the science stuff out of the way, what you need to understand is ammonia is going to be highly toxic to your fish if it reaches a high level. Where does high level of ammonia come from? That's right uneaten food (decay), dead plants (Decay) and fish (again, decay, get it?). Do i have to say don't over feed your fish? okay good!
Right, fish tank filters are going to play a big part in keeping the balance. Don't get to concerned over which internal, external, interexternal, upside down external-internal backflip filtration system to purchase (note. fictional). We'll take a looksy and see which ones suit your needs.
Which type of fish tank filter fits you?
There is no easy answer to which is the best fish tank filter, several different methods are recommended for various sizes of aquariums and its containing species. Let's look at some of the most common fish tank filters used by many a fish tank aquarium enthusiast.
external fish tank filter
Right, for those that don't know (or can't guess), an external fish tank filter pumps water out of the aquarium which is then treated by several different filtration 'media' and then returned back into the encased environment. An external fish tank filter is one of the most common filtration systems on the market, recommended by most pet stores for the beginner fish tank aquarium.
Internal fish tank filter
You guessed it, internal fish tank filters are filters that sit inside your fish tank. Want to hear the best part about it, it's okay if it leaks in the night! Anyone who's seen a fish tank filter up close probably thinks of one of these internal fish tank filters, you know the ones with the 'sponge' filter you have to remove and rinse out because its gone green. I had one of these filters in my first freshwater (aka tropical) fish tank aquarium.
Other filters
There are many filtration systems that are on the market, but i don't recommend using them to beginners, unless you know what these filtration systems specifically do, don't bother installing them. After gaining some experience as a aquarium keeper and looking at expanding your hobby, then this is a good time to research other aquarium systems more advanced that the standard 'beginners' fish tank aquariums.
Filtration systems that you may want to investigate are; Under gravel filters, Diatom filters, baffle filters, airlift filters, (marine specific filters) Protein skimmers, deep sand beds, the Berlin method.
That's all the beginners need to understand about fish tank filters for today, we will take a deeper look at some of the more advanced filtration and aquarium setups in the near future.
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