Each component that makes up your aquarium environment plays a significant role in successful aquarium maintenance.
However, before you go and buy fish tank materials, there are three key elements that you should look into if you want to achieve a beautiful aquarium.
These include aquarium flooring, water, and plants.
You don't always need a bed of gravel or sand as a sort of flooring for your aquarium.
However, if you wish to use live, rooted plants and provide a more natural setting for the fish, you should use the larger variety of gravel.
Materials that are much too fine pack more tightly when wet and this may hold back the growth of plants.
Be sure to wash the gravel carefully if you want to use it as aquarium flooring.
The most critical element of a fish tank is the water used, and if its quality is not good, none of the fish and live plants will stay alive for long.
For this reason, it is best to buy fish tank equipment that is designed to keep water in top condition.
You must observe proper methods in changing and replacing fish tank water, making sure that this won't cause undue fish stress and that the occupants of the tank will continue to live the healthy life.
For starters, you can fill your fish tank with tap water and then let it stand until it reaches room temperature.
For monitoring water temperature, you need to buy fish tank thermometers.
Leaving the water to achieve room temperature removes the chlorine, which is used to treat water but is poisonous to fish.
After that, it's safe to put the fish into your tank.
Don't worry if the water isn't as clear as you'd want it to be.
If you keep the fish food supply very small within the first two weeks, you'll eventually get clear water.
Strangely, the waste produced by the fish (which aquarists refer to as "clean dirt") itself helps make the water more suitable for the fish.
Only "dirty dirt," such as dead fish, uneaten food, and harmful substances, should be removed.
To keep the water in your tank conditioned, buy fish tank tools that help you clean your aquarium without having to change the water frequently.
Some examples are strainers and algae scrapers.
Although plants are essential in an aquarium, it doesn't mean that they are needed by the fish for breathing.
Still, plants make a lovely backdrop and create an almost-natural environment for your fish.
An aquarium with healthy, live plants is also less likely to have greenish water, which usually happens when there's too much algae in your tank.
Plants provide oxygen and use carbon dioxide only during photosynthesis.
This only occurs when there's sunlight.
Since excessive sunlight encourages algae growth, it's better to use artificial lighting with a timer.
Artificial lighting works just as well for fish as daylight.
Leaving the light on for eight (8) hours is often enough.
The types of plants you use will significantly affect the type of lighting your tank will require.
Buy fish tank plants at aquarium shops and see which ones work best for you.
Plants like fanwort and waterweed (or water thyme) need plenty of light, while arrowhead and floating fern don't need as much.
Fish keeping need not be an expensive hobby.
If you want to start your own aquarium, study which elements you can use to reduce aquarium-related expenses.
This way, you'll get to spend hours watching your aquarium without spending too much.
However, before you go and buy fish tank materials, there are three key elements that you should look into if you want to achieve a beautiful aquarium.
These include aquarium flooring, water, and plants.
You don't always need a bed of gravel or sand as a sort of flooring for your aquarium.
However, if you wish to use live, rooted plants and provide a more natural setting for the fish, you should use the larger variety of gravel.
Materials that are much too fine pack more tightly when wet and this may hold back the growth of plants.
Be sure to wash the gravel carefully if you want to use it as aquarium flooring.
The most critical element of a fish tank is the water used, and if its quality is not good, none of the fish and live plants will stay alive for long.
For this reason, it is best to buy fish tank equipment that is designed to keep water in top condition.
You must observe proper methods in changing and replacing fish tank water, making sure that this won't cause undue fish stress and that the occupants of the tank will continue to live the healthy life.
For starters, you can fill your fish tank with tap water and then let it stand until it reaches room temperature.
For monitoring water temperature, you need to buy fish tank thermometers.
Leaving the water to achieve room temperature removes the chlorine, which is used to treat water but is poisonous to fish.
After that, it's safe to put the fish into your tank.
Don't worry if the water isn't as clear as you'd want it to be.
If you keep the fish food supply very small within the first two weeks, you'll eventually get clear water.
Strangely, the waste produced by the fish (which aquarists refer to as "clean dirt") itself helps make the water more suitable for the fish.
Only "dirty dirt," such as dead fish, uneaten food, and harmful substances, should be removed.
To keep the water in your tank conditioned, buy fish tank tools that help you clean your aquarium without having to change the water frequently.
Some examples are strainers and algae scrapers.
Although plants are essential in an aquarium, it doesn't mean that they are needed by the fish for breathing.
Still, plants make a lovely backdrop and create an almost-natural environment for your fish.
An aquarium with healthy, live plants is also less likely to have greenish water, which usually happens when there's too much algae in your tank.
Plants provide oxygen and use carbon dioxide only during photosynthesis.
This only occurs when there's sunlight.
Since excessive sunlight encourages algae growth, it's better to use artificial lighting with a timer.
Artificial lighting works just as well for fish as daylight.
Leaving the light on for eight (8) hours is often enough.
The types of plants you use will significantly affect the type of lighting your tank will require.
Buy fish tank plants at aquarium shops and see which ones work best for you.
Plants like fanwort and waterweed (or water thyme) need plenty of light, while arrowhead and floating fern don't need as much.
Fish keeping need not be an expensive hobby.
If you want to start your own aquarium, study which elements you can use to reduce aquarium-related expenses.
This way, you'll get to spend hours watching your aquarium without spending too much.