Experimental BBS Explossion 3/Experimental BBS Explossion III.iso/others/ttfrg20.zip/N10.DAT

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Starting a Tropical Fish Aquarium
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        - by Don MacElrath


So, you decided to take the plunge?  Or, you have to be at least
thinking about it.  Starting out can be difficult due to the fact that
there are so many conflicting opinions.  The purpose of this article
isn't to tell you how to accomplish this task, but rather to offer
some advice and perhaps some tips.  Feel free to disagree with
anything mentioned in this article.  My word is not law.


Choosing an Aquarium

There are many different styles and sizes of aquariums to choose from.
When looking to purchase a new aquarium, keep these things in mind:

  1) Cost.   How much can you spend?
  2) Size.   Where is the tank going to be placed?
  3) Fish.   What kind of fish do you want to keep?
  4) Style.  Do you want a designer tank?  All glass?  Acrylic?

Smaller tanks are more difficult to maintain than larger tanks.  I
know some people who started out with a 10 gallon tank and were so
frustrated that they just gave up.  I'm not saying you can't use a 10
gallon tank, many people do, and are very happy with them.  I would
never want to keep fish in one, although they do make great hospital
tanks (and they're cheap!).  I would recommend starting out with a
29 gallon tank.  Sure it's going to cost more, but in the long run it
would be worth it.  If you're like the majority of other aquarists,
you will become obsessed and soon have more than one tank.

Try to avoid aquariums constructed out of acrylic.  They are extremely
easy to scratch and tend to turn a yellowish color after a while.
Most of the odd-shaped aquariums that are available are acrylic.  If
you decide to get one of those units, be very careful when handling
it and cleaning it.


Choosing Fish

Community fish are suitable for the smaller aquarium.  Semi-Aggressive
to Aggressive fish are usually territorial and require a little more
space.

There is a general rule of thumb which you might want to use:  Allow 1
inch of fish (body) for every gallon of water.  With good aeration and
filtration that figure can be doubled or tripled.  You are also going
to have to use some common sense.  A 55 gallon tank with 55 1 inch
aggressive fish probably wouldn't be a very good idea.

It's also a good idea to quarantine all new fish for a period of time
before adding them to your tank.  Six weeks should be more than
enough.  This will help to eliminate any accidental introduction
of diseases.

Experience will guide you.  Good luck.


Filters

A combination of mechanical filters and a biological filters is a very
effective method in providing filtration.  Refer to the article on
Undergravel filters and the Nitrogen Cycle for information on
biological filtration.

Many of the starter kits that you could purchase in a store come with
what I like to call a "do nothing filter".  These are filters powered
by an air pump and you usually have to shove cotton and carbon in
them.  I really don't see any purpose for these things, the only
thing they seem to be good for is providing aeration.  Don't skimp on
your filter, get something like the units that hang on the back of
your tank, or maybe even a canister filter for larger tanks.

When choosing a unit, you want to make sure it will turn the water
over in your tank AT LEAST 4 times per hour.  Many of the filters tell
you on the box what size tank they are good for.  I usually look at
the next model up.  Don't get one that would be to strong or your
smaller fish just might get caught inside the filter.

Many mechanical filters use activated carbon to remove impurities from
the water.  This carbon isn't very effective over a period of time.
It needs to be replaced at least once a month, possibly every 3 weeks.
Even if your filter isn't dirty, you have to change the carbon.


Temperature / Heaters

This one is easy enough, get a heater that the wattage is 5 times your
tank capacity.  If you have a 29 gallon tank, a heater in the area of
150 watts would be good.  If you need more than 150 watts, I would
suggest breaking it down and purchasing two units instead of one.
For example, a 55 gallon tank would require a heater in the area of
275 watts.  You could purchase one unit that matches that requirement,
but that's not a good idea.  You should purchase 2 smaller units,
say 125 watts each.  The reason for this is simple; HEATERS BREAK.
When they do break, it's usually in the ON position.  You'll stand a
higher chance of 'cooking' your fish with a 275 watt heater that has
decided to take a dive than you would if a smaller unit malfunctioned.

In the summer time, you might have problems with the temperature
getting to hot.  If this is the case, here are some suggestions:

 1) Setup your tank in a climate controlled environment,
 2) Use a fan blowing towards the aquarium, or in a window
    as an exhaust type setup.
 3) An aquarium chiller (extremely expensive)
 4) Ice - This is the method I use.

In my opinion, ice is the best method.  You can either take the ice
out of the container it was frozen in, or just float the container in
the water.

There is one method that was left out of the list, water changes.
Assume the temperature of your tank is 90°F.  If you were to do a
water change with water that was 70°F, you would have to change 50% of
your tank to get the levels down to acceptable levels (80°F).
What happens tomorrow, or later on that day when your temperature
goes back up to 90°F?  Are you going to do another 50% water change?
I certainly hope not, otherwise your tank is going to start cycling
again, sooner or later.  The increased ammonia levels combined with
the high temperatures is most likely going to be fatal.

I should also mention here that at higher levels, fish need more
oxygen.  You should increase aeration.


Gravel

This is a popular question.  How much should you use?  If you are
going to use an undergravel filter (always a good idea), you want to
make sure that it gets completely covered.  That's going to require
about an inch to an inch and a half of gravel.

If you want to keep live plants AND an undergravel filter, you will
need much more, maybe in the area of 2 to 3 inches.  Plants don't
really appreciate UG filters.  I would not give up my UG filter for
plants, but you might decide that it would be better.

If you aren't using an undergravel filter, or aren't keeping live
plants, you would want a smaller gravel bed so the debris doesn't
build up.


Decorations

Have fun, don't spend to much, save some money so you can register
this software <grin>.  Make sure you provide something for your shy or
smaller fish to hide behind.



Feeding

There are so many different brands of foods on the market, it's
ridiculous.  I'm not going to get into which one you should buy,
but give you some feeding guidelines.

It's always a good idea to turn your filters off prior to feeding.
Make sure after the fish have eaten all their food, you turn them back
on.

Smaller fish should be fed everyday and larger fish could be fed every
other day.  Depending on the size of your aquarium and how much you
feed them will determine how fast they grow and what size they will
reach.

If you decide to use live foods, be very careful.  I lost quite a few
fish by introducing some live foods that had diseases.  I will not
feed my fish live foods anymore unless I raise them myself, or go out
into the back yard and dig up some earth worms.  Some aquarium stores
have pre-made up bags of gold fish just waiting for someone to buy
them as food.  Ohh, I'm starting to get nauseous, time to move to the
next topic.


Water

Water needs to be conditioned before use.  You really shouldn't use
water right from the tap to put right in your tank.

The traditional approach to conditioning water is to fill up a
container, preferably all glass, and place it in direct sunlight.
You should also provide constant aeration.  This process will take
about a week (7 days).   I would like to mention that some people
disagree with the direct sunlight method and they say it's better to
keep the water in the dark.  I don't agree.

In addition to that, you should buy some chemicals that will remove
chlorine and ammonia and treat the water before you use it.

Rain water is very soft and should be treated with aquarium salts
before using it, unless of course you want really, really soft water.

Pond water or lake water should be avoided like the plague.  That
water is filled with to many parasites and nasty bacteria.


New Tank Syndrome

This is what happens when you first start a tank and add fish.
Simply, it's the time it takes for the nitrogen cycle to establish
itself in a new aquarium.  This is also the time that some of your fish
might die for no apparent reason.  The reason for these untimely
deaths is that while the nitrogen cycle is establishing itself, your
ammonia levels will sky rocket.  In fact they will be so high, you
probably won't be able to read them!  There just isn't enough of the
beneficial bacteria to consume the ammonia.  In time, everything will
balance out.  BE PATIENT, this process could take from 6 to 8 weeks!
You might also notice that your water is cloudy.

The best way to see if your tank is established is to check for
ammonia levels.  You can buy an ammonia test kit at just about every
aquarium store.  When the levels are acceptable, it's usually safe to
add more fish.

Only add a few fish to your tank at a time.  You need to allow the
bacteria time to develop to compensate for these fish.

When your tank is establishing the cycle, DO NOT add any chemicals to
the water.  DO NOT do any water changes.  DO NOT feed your fish as much
as you normally would, perhaps every other day would be better or you
could cut down the amount of food and feed them every day.  It's
important to allow the water to cycle naturally.  Some people say that
you can do small weekly water changes, but the ammonia levels are so
high to begin with I honestly don't think it will do any good.

There are some things that you can buy in the store that kind of
pre-packaged bacteria.  You add these to your tank and its cuts the
time it takes the nitrogen cycle to establish itself.  I have never
tried any of these things, but I have heard good things about them.
If I were to set up a new tank, I would probably look into them a bit
more.



Water Changes

Are they important?  YES.  In fact, they are probably the most
important part of keeping fish.  If you look at the nitrogen cycle,
you will see all of the waste being converted to less harmful
products.  There is a point at which all this stops, and that is when
the ammonia has been converted to NITRATES.  Nitrates are plant food,
and if you don't have any plants the nitrate levels will keep
building.  I know what you're thinking, you'll just get some live
plants.  Well, it's not that easy.  Trying to find the exact balance
between fish and plants would be very difficult if not impossible.
I was never able to do it, but maybe you will have better luck.

These nitrates are still dangerous to fish.  They could weaken your
fish and make them prone to parasites and infections, they can stunt
the growth of your fish and they could impair breeding.

Nitrates must be removed and they only effective way of doing this
is by water changes.

You also want to be careful not to do to many water changes or your
tank might have to cycle again.  Most people will say that 15% a
week on an established aquarium is good.  I usually do 25% a month,
but that works for me.  My aquarium isn't crowded and my levels are
kept at acceptable ranges.

I actually walked into a fish store one day and one of the guys told
me how water changes weren't important.  I couldn't believe it, and
you shouldn't either.  Just walk out and find some place else to spend
your hard earned money.


Chemicals

Don't be a 'chemical junky'.  Aquarium stores just love when new
people get into the hobby because they will sell you all kinds of
things that you probably don't need.  Save your money for something
more important.

One of the biggest things is "algae remover".  If you do your water
changes and keep those nitrate levels down, you shouldn't have to much
of a problem with algae.

There's other examples, I'm not even going to get into them.  You will
learn, hopefully.


Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this little article, and I hope you got something
out of it.  There are many other areas that could have been covered,
but this is good ground work.  You're on your way.  Have fun!