Successful Aquariums » Gallon fish tank

My 300 Gallon Fish Tank – Oscars and More (part 2)

Sandra Bing — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:50:20 +0000

3 months later and all fish growing nicely except the 7 Tiger barbs that dissapeard in the middle of the night This tank houses 1 Tiger Oscar, 1 Albino Tiger Oscar, 10 Tiger Barbs, 3 Pictus Cats, 2 Electric Yellow Labs, 2 Turquoise Severums, 2, Gold Severums (new), 5 Silver Dollars, 3 Polka Dot Botias, 2 Acei Cichlids & 1 Dinosaur Bichir. A couple of the residents didn’t want to appear on camera.

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100 Gallon Reef Aquarium Austin Texas

Sandra Bing — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 07:12:31 +0000

Two large anemones in a 100 gallon saltwater reef aquarium in Austin, Tx. Aquarium Maintenance by Intrinsic Reef Design. www.intrinsicreef.com

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Reef Tanks and What You Need to Know Before You Start One

Sandra Bing — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:50:38 +0000

A reef aquarium is vastly different from a fish only aquarium. Not only will you need different equipment, but you will need a whole different skill to create and maintain a successful reef tank. Although you can keep fish in your reef tank, the main focus of a reef tank is to display live coral. Introducing certain species of fish can help in maintaining the reef environment and special care should be taken when selecting the appropriate species to compliment the coral in your tank.

Reef tanks are primarily filtered by the live rock through a natural process. This biologic filtration is usually supplemented by protein skimmers. Protein skimmers use what is called the foam fracture process to eliminate waste matter and filter the water. A combination of biological filtration and protein skimmers is very effective at keeping a reef tank in ideal condition.

Unlike fish only tanks, reef tanks require constant water movement. Different types of coral require different flow rates, but as a rule of thumb, a flow rate of 10x will be sufficient. What this means is that the flow rate needs to be 10 times the capacity of the tank (in gallons) per hour. It’s important that you adjust and fine tune the flow rates to the specific coral in your tank.

One of the most popular methods of creating water flow is by using power heads. They are simply small water pumps under the water that creates an underwater stream when you alternately switch them on an off. By using a wave timer, the pumps are synced to create a water flow. A newer method for creating and managing water flow is the use of submersible propeller pumps. Although they are more expensive, they use less power and can produce greater water flow compared to power heads.

Another important aspect of reef tanks is lighting. While fish only tanks use lighting primarily for display, a reef tank needs light to “feed” the coral. Since the coral uses photosynthesis to stay alive, lighting is the most important aspect of keeping your coral alive.

The lighting levels required for each type of coral varies widely. While some types of rock require very high levels of light, some only need low light levels. Special care should be taken when picking coral for your tank to ensure that the lighting of your tank is sufficient. As a general rule 5 to 8 watts per gallon should be sufficient for the most common coral.

Article by AquaAquariums.

For more information on reef tank aquariums and to see some of the latest reef tanks, visit our store for a great selection and free shipping on all reef tanks.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/hobbies-articles/reef-tanks-and-what-you-need-to-know-before-you-start-one-3878542.html

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New Update 55 Gallon Turtle Aquarium & Cascade 1200 Canister Filter

Sandra Bing — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 05:14:45 +0000

The main purpose of this video is to show off the new setup, educate the youtube community, and add a character accent impression to make it more interesting, not to offend anyone. If you find some curse words offensive, please mute the sound. This video contains about 5 instances of the word(s) BS and MF. ********************************************************************** TO SEND ME YOUR PICTURES to be featured in next weeks video, you can use photobucket.com or imgur.com to upload your photos and send me the link.

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Changing the Water in Your Fish Tank

Sandra Bing — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 18:04:51 +0000

Yes, the most important thing for your new freshwater fish tank is changing the water. Why? Well, water changes involve more than just removing water from the tank and replacing it. You have to consider the condition of the water you are replacing it with, and the amount of water to remove. These can affect the water quality, and the state of your aquarium’s health.
Colonies of beneficial bacteria grow on every surface in the tank. These bacteria are part of the biological filter; allowing them to thrive will help improve the quality of the biological filtration system.
Every time you clean you fish tank, you should remove 10-15% of the water and replace it with fresh, dechlorinated tap water (bowl and small tanks need larger water changes more often). While you are doing this, you should use your siphon to vacuum some of the debris collected in the gravel. If you have an under water filter it is very important to clean the gravel when you do your water changes every week, or every other week, and this will remove waste particles, and oxygenate the substrate as well, allowing nutrients and oxygen to reach the biological bacteria living on the gravel. Usually, you can clean 25-33% of the gravel when you siphon 10-15% of the water.
What do you need?
· A siphon
· A dedicated brand new 5 gallon or larger bucket
· A source of water
Place the bucket and the siphon next to the aquarium in preparation for the water change.
Turn off all electricity to avoid any dangers. Heaters can break if exposed to excessive air as it will try to heat the room’s temperature. Filters can go dry if water levels go below the suction tubing.
Place the vacuuming part of your siphon in the tank and start suctioning. How you do this depends on the type of siphon you have. Make sure the other end is below the end in the tank so that gravity pulls down the water into the bucket.
Remove any solid wastes inside the fish tank by gently siphoning the gravel to pick any settled debris. Imagine a checker board on the bottom and clean square by square. Keep the vacuuming end close to the gravel so you won’t suction any fish.
When the bucket is almost full remove the tubing from the fish tank to break the siphon, and dispose of the water.
After removing the desired amount of water, you can start adding your fresh water. If you will be adding water from the bucket, rinse it first and use any conditioner while the water is still in the bucket. If you use an auto-filling siphon that connects to your faucet, dissolve the conditioner in a bit of water and add it as soon as the tank is full.
Plug any electrical equipment that you unplugged before.
Just some notes:
-Use a gravel cleaning siphon whenever you do a water change to remove all the trapped particulate from the gravel and also remove dissolved pollutants.
-Although I love to use the auto-filling siphons and so far I have not had any problems, be aware that adding untreated tap water into your tank can lead to disaster. You might prefer to precondition the water before adding it to your system.
-Always use water at room temperature, never use hot water to adjust temperature. Hot water contains a greater quantity of heavy metals like copper and lead. Heavy metals can be removed from tap water by the addition of "slimy" water conditioners. These products contain chemicals that will bind these metals, rendering them harmless. Carbon and certain resins will also remove heavy metals from the water.
-It’s better to do smaller water changes more often than one large water change. Doing this will keep the water quality from changing too drastically.
-You can change the water during cycling. Normal water changes will not affect this process after 2-3 weeks.
-Always allow your tap water to run at least five minutes before using it. This will help decrease the dissolved heavy metal content.
Happy fishes!!

If you want to read more about keeping a fish tank in your home, visit me at http://www.thefishtankplace.com

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=-= 55 Gallon Fish Tank On A Boat =-=

Sandra Bing — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:54:30 +0000

Rated H. Here is the latest video of my 55 gallon fish tank full of cichlids, a couple pictus catfish, and a pleco. Oh and I have moved the fish tank and now it’s on a boat… rofl… … … sorry my chest hurts a little. I found out about what Rated H means the same day I made this little movie so that’s why it’s the opening line of my description. Oh and after my little speech at the start of my movie there will be some fun tunes. Enjoy fish lovers and friends of me that I made watch this one!

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Goldfish Tanks

Sandra Bing — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:27:25 +0000

One of the animals kids like raising when they are young are goldfish. Goldfish are undoubtedly the most common and rewarding of all pets for budding fish lovers or children. Goldfish are very visually appealing and available in many colors, goldfish are very simple to care for and own, provided they are enclosed in a safe, healthy and comfortable environment. The beat way to ensure your goldfish lives a long time is to pick a tank best suited for them not just any old tank you find.

When you decide to purchase a goldfish for a pet, you need to purchase the right tank for your new pet goldfish so your pet lives a long time. Your fish tank’s size will depends on a lot of factors. Goldfish are a fish species that requires a large bowl for them to grow healthy. The main reason to own a larger tank is that it will carry large amounts of water and more water in turn helps dramatically to dilute and lower the concentration of ammonia generated from your goldfish. A good rule to go by before you buy your goldfish tank is to first determine the number of fish you want. For example, if you are going to buy four fish swimming in the tank, you would require at least 36 gallon fish tank size to accommodate all your pets. However, you must also bear in mind that common goldfish can grow up to 8-10 inches in length and thus your aquarium must also be sized in accordance to cater to your pets maximum growth.

A common error committed by most pet owners is that they buy smaller tanks only after considering the size of the young fish but not realizing that in the long run without ample room space; your fish will not be able to reach the maximum growth size and can become stunted as well. Once you have narrowed down your choice of a fish tank size that will suffice the water requirements of each goldfish, you then need to figure out the surface area of the tank which is crucial for fulfilling the oxygen needs of your fish. Goldfish are rather timid by nature and decorating your aquarium with hiding places and other colorful elements will make them feel safe and secure. Filling half of your tank with such attractive pieces will lure the fish into open swimming.

When getting lights installed with the intention of uplifting the colors of the goldfish and highlighting the aesthetics of the tank, make sure you don’t go over the top as goldfish don’t have eyelids and are sensitive to light. Goldfish can become stressed in your quest to give it a look of a lighted aquarium. Hence, once you have extensively researched on picking the apt tank size for your fish, thereafter indulge in a purchasing spree to ensure safety and security of your fish as well as value for the money you are investing.

The proper goldfish bowl will help ensure that your fish is alive for a very long time and is comfortable in their fish bowl.

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