|
|
||||
 |
Filtration - Heaters - Air Pumps - Lighting |  |
||
| Home Tropical Aquariums | ||||
| The
equipment that keeps your fresh water tropical aquarium fish alive!
Home Frame A Fish Wall Mounted Aquarium
|
The Equipment that keeps your Fresh Water Tropical Aquarium Fish Alive...With today's modern technology... Tropical aquarium fish keeping has never been easier. By selecting the proper equipment, your new aquarium will be a living work of art for years to come. If you're putting together a no bells and whistles aquarium of 20 gallons or more you'll only need to gather up 9 items. These vital aquarium components can be purchased new... or picked up second hand. Let's start with the under-gravel filter. Undergravel filters... Lift tubes... Powerheads... Powerheads are driven by small electro
magnetic motors. Powerheads seem to last forever. In 25 years I've only
replaced one. If a powerhead stops working just take it apart, clean it,
and most likely it will start working again. Mechanical Filters... There are numerous brands of mechanical filters on the market. They all work pretty good... some better than others. Myself I prefer the MarineLand brand because of their Bio Wheel. The Bio Wheel is a paper like cylinder that rotates as the water is retuned to the tank. Beneficial bacteria takes up residence on the wheel... helping to increase the biological cycle. Mechanical filters also help to oxygenated the aquarium water. Aquarium Heaters... Your tank heater is a very important piece of equipment. Do not skimp in this area of your tank setup. A stuck heater can "Cook" your fish in no time. As a general rule of thumb, you'll need 2 to 4 watts per gallon of water. There are numerous brands of aquarium heaters on the market. The one that I use is manufactured by Ebo-Jager. To date I have never had one fail. You'll also need a thermometer to monitor tank temperatures. The floating thermometers work well. I prefer the digital thermometers myself. What ever you do, don't waste your money on the thin strip types that stick to the outside of the tank. Substrate and Decorations... Decorations are another personal preference item. Some folks like the brightly colored "Pirate Ships" and "Castles", while I prefer natural items like rocks and driftwood that I collect at the lake. If you collect natural items be sure to boil them for about an hour to sterilize them. Lighting... The choices in fluorescent tubes is as great as the selection of tropical fish. I prefer Penn-Plax Aquari-Lux™ tubes. They are a medium priced tube that really seems to bring out the colors of my fish and tanks. A timer is a handy item for turning your aquarium lights on and off automatically. Look for a timer with the ability to set multiple on off times. My tanks are set to come on when I get up in the morning. They turn off a couple hours later, turning back on about the time I get home from work, and off again at bed time. The last item... a GFI Power Strip Lets move on to... Setting up your Freshwater Tropical Aquarium
|
|||
|
Home
| Tanks | Equipment |
Setup | Biological Cycle
| Water
© Tropical-Aquarium-Fish.com |
||||
filter
the substrate... I recommend using under gravel filters (UGF) to do the
job. All of my tanks have one, and they work flawlessly. An under gravel
filter sits on top of the glass in the bottom of your aquarium. Lift
tubes are inserted into the risers at the rear of the filter, and then
the under gravel filter is covered with substrate (gravel). Perfecto is
the leading manufacturer of UG filters.
draw water from under the UGF and pump it out the the powerhead. This
creates water movement in the aquarium as well as delivering oxygen to
the fish and the beneficial bacteria that lives in the substrate. Most
powerheads have a port for attaching a surface air tube.
Related
Topics