A fish tank is an aquarium of any volume with at least one side displaying live aquatic creatures or plants and containing at the same time a filter to remove particles from the water. Aquarists use aquariums to preserve fish, amphibians, invertebrates, aquatic reptiles, and marine corals. There is considerable debate among aquarium professionals over whether aquarium decoration supplies such as gravel, sand, stones, rocks, plants, or coral are considered aquarium supplies or aquatic plant foods. Aquatic plant foods are rich in photosynthetic nutrition that converts light into energy useful to the fish. Certain types of algae can be planted directly onto the rock or gravel of the aquarium.
Most people keep freshwater fish in tanks with water temperatures between seven and ten degrees Celsius. This is close to the natural fish temperature, but not quite hot enough to kill the fish. Freshwater fish are known to tolerate a much lower temperature than saltwater fish. Freshwater tanks are usually larger than saltwater tanks, and the fish do fine in a tank size slightly larger than the aquarium’s perimeter. A good-sized fish tank should have approximately two thousand gallons of water volume at a minimum.
Glass fish tanks, although relatively inexpensive, are usually plagued by algae problems. Algae growth in fish tanks occurs for a number of reasons, such as insufficient water circulation due to a lack of a bottom filter, inadequate filtration, or poor design. When algae control becomes impossible due to one of these reasons, it is usually because of a lack of adequate lighting. Proper lighting conditions are essential to the health of your fish. You should always maintain four to six watts of lighting for saltwater fish tanks, twenty watts or more for freshwater tanks.
Water temperature is important in the maintenance of healthy fish. You should provide your fish with a temperature range that falls somewhere between seventy and eighty degrees Fahrenheit, with no heater. For example, fish can survive in water temperatures as low as fifty degrees, but they will not live in water temperatures as high as eighty degrees. Your heater will also provide the correct temperature, so you should never take fish that live in different temperatures seriously. Some fish species, such as catfish, will thrive in extremely cold water. Providing your fish with a heater is an important part of their upkeep.
Both biological filtration and chemical filtration can be used to reduce the levels of waste in your fish tanks. Biological filtration involves using a filter filled with a certain type of bacteria. This bacteria consumes waste products, breaking them down into smaller molecules. Chemical filtration, on the other hand, uses chemicals that work against waste products. These chemicals will either eat the bacteria or leave them without sufficient food to break down.
If you do want to include some growing plants in your fish tank, you should purchase a heater for the tank itself, as well as a grow bulb for the fish. The grow bulb will produce light for the plants. However, the heater you purchase should have a minimum temperature requirement of eighty degrees Fahrenheit. You should also remember to add a strong power-water booster pump to any tank with growing plants. In fish-only tanks, the pump will ensure that the lights stay on at all times.
One popular addition to fish tanks is gravel. Most aquariums have gravel, regardless of whether they are fish-only or not. However, many enthusiasts choose to use gravel because it looks more natural. Gravel acts as a medium in which to spread nutrients around the tank. Fish also dig in the gravel, but the process of doing so requires significantly more effort than the process of simply floating on top of the gravel.
Although it is not necessary to constantly clean up an aquarium’s water surface, it is highly recommended that you do so. Water surface area is limited, especially when you have a tank with multiple fish. Water surface area also prevents your fish from being able to eat all of the detritus and other waste products that accumulate on the tank’s bottom and sides. These things can make cleaning the tank much more difficult and time-consuming.