_
Calculating tank volume and weight...
VOLUME
Let's take an average stock tank in the local pet shop that is advertised at 55 gallons. How did the manufacturer come up with that number?
The dimensions are 48"L x 13"W x 20"H.
Take all those numbers and multiply them together to get cubic inches.
48 x 13 x 20 = 12,480 cubic inches
Now divide your answer by 231 (cubic inches in a gallon)
12,480
231 = 54.025 gal. or more simply 55.
If you do not want to convert everything to inches... you can multiply in feet, divide that answer by 7.5 (gallons per cubic foot) and estimate the volume for larger systems & ponds.)
We see here that the tank is just short of 55 gallons, actually it is probably closer to 50 gallons by the time you subtract the thickness of the glass or acrylic and the fact that it is not filled right to the brim. Add some gravel, rock, driftwood and other decor... the number of actual gallons keeps getting smaller.
Tanks are not made by gallon size, they are made to specific dimensions and then the gallon size is determined after the fact.
Is the total gallons important? Considering you need to calculate turnover rate and filtration needs...YES!
You have just finished watching the Discovery Channel, you tell me you want a 1,000 gallon tank with sharks in it.... think again!
A 957 gallon tank measures out at 48" x 48" x 96" (4ft x 4ft x 8ft)
How are you going to get that through the door into your home? And how much will it weigh? Will your floor support that much weight?
Taller tanks seem to be more appealing to most people because they give you that big "picture window" effect, but at the same time are more costly (thicker material) and cause a few other problems as well.
1. You cannot reach the bottom to clean or move things around.
Arms only come in certain lengths.
2. Artificial plants only come in certain heights, but can be linked
together to make them taller.
3. Rocks are only so big and stacking them is tricky at best. You
want your tank to look good and have a design or theme and not
to be just decorated along the bottom 12-15 inches and have all
blank water at the top.
4. The taller the tank the more top heavy it becomes. IF... you want
taller, you need to go longer and wider as well.
5. Reef systems require more light. The taller the tank the more
watts/lumens need to be pumped into it. Light follows the
inverse square rule. If the distance is doubled, light is reduced
by the cube. The point here is that lights for reef systems are
expensive and halide lights are even more expensive.
Operating the lights for longer periods in lesser wattages does
not solve the problem.
WEIGHT
Water weighs approximately 8.3 pounds per gallon. To simplify things, let's just call it 8. Multiply the total gallons of your system by 8 and you can see it gets heavy really quick. Flimsy end tables and cheesy TV stands made of low grade fiber & press board are no match for even a small 20 gallon aquarium weighing in at approximately 160 lbs. Be smart, use something sturdy, or have a large capacity wet-vac handy.
Bubbles?... Do we need them?
Just how necessary are those little bubbles that come out of air stones, or diffusers? Many people believe they play an important role in an aquarium when it comes to oxygenation and aeration of the water, and that this air source is critical. Not so! When it comes to the increase of DO (dissolved oxygen) in an aquarium, the water surface is the main place where this exchange takes place. Oxygen is dissolved down into the water; carbon dioxide is released out into the air, not to mention that other gases readily pass through the permeable surface of water as well. This same reason is why taller tanks cannot be loaded up as much as the wider longer ones with the same volume. The surface area of the tank is where the gas exchange takes place, more surface area, easier breathing. Did you ever see bubbles in a pond? NO!! But you did see a waterfall or fountain to agitate the surface of the water to enhance the gas exchange. You will notice that modern power filters cascade or waterfall back into the tank, moving the surface of the water. They take suction from a lower area of the tank where the oxygen concentration is low and pump the water to the top. This keeps the water at the surface fresh and new, enabling it to take on oxygen and give up carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hence the tank is breathing.
Powerheads sold today have a director nozzle on them. The instructions tell you they should be pointed slightly towards the surface of the tank when being used for undergravel filtration. Some powerheads have an attachment for an airline to mix bubbles into the discharge stream. This attachment does two things, makes noise and clouds the tank with millions of teeny tiny bubbles. Disconnect it, it is completely unnecessary, not to mention really annoying.
So, if the water surface area of an aquarium is where the main exchange of gases occurs, then why use air stones and have bubbles in an aquarium at all?
The up side...
· Because bubbles that dance under the lights and look really cool!.
· They drive various types of filters and equipment, such as undergravel filters and some types of protein skimmers.
· Tanks that have solid covers or close fitted hoods on top are prime candidates for stagnant air, low oxygen levels, and high levels of carbon dioxide.
· They are a cheap way to move the tank water vertically in UGF lift tubes.
The down side...
· They are not efficient like powerheads, water pumps, and/or protein skimmers at creating water movement in an aquarium. All of these are much better at helping with oxygen and other gas exchanges at the water's surface.
· They do not move water fast enough or in adequate volume for what a tank usually needs for good all round, vertical and horizontal, water circulation. This situation can also contribute to a low or insufficient turnover rate.
When you are trying to get your tank to reach its peak performance level flow rate is
important. A powerhead is a better choice, it has a rating and can be matched up with
the square footage of the UGF being used, enabling an efficient filtration rate and
maximum fish load. 1 to about 1.5 gallons per minute per square foot is optimum.
· They create a lot of salt spray, which in turn contributes to salt creep.
· They clog up, and then need to be cleaned or replaced.
· The air pumps hum and buzz. Even the newest are not totally quiet.
SAS strives to build the quietest systems possible, after all, we are talking stress relief aren't we.
Lights are for you...NOT the fish!
Fish in the wild get to experience darkness as well as light. Why should an aquarium be any different? Is your tank in front of a window? Do you leave the light on all night? Unless you are running a reef system with live corals or a planted tank, light should be kept to a minimum. More light combined with overfeeding and overcrowding will cause algae to grow at a phenomenal rate. If you are not home to enjoy the fish, turn the lights off. Indirect light is plenty for the fish throughout the day. Save some money and save the hassle of scrubbing the algae off the glass and decorations. When you get home in the evening, turn on the lights to feed the fish and enjoy the tank. Then turn them off before you go to bed. The light is for you, not the fish. By the way algae eating fish can only do so much.
Overcrowding... don't do it.
Overcrowding causes almost the same conditions as overfeeding. More fish require more food and thus more waste which overloads the biological filtration system and causes a rise in the ammonia level and results in fish death. Do not be fooled by the overpopulated tanks you see in the pet store. The population of their tanks is 50 on Monday and 10 on Saturday, due to sales. They also have massive central filtration systems to overfilter the water and it has a constant supply fresh water being introduced equivalent to changing the water several times a week. If your tank happens to be extremely tall but has a small base, the fish load needs to be even less even for the same amount of volume as a longer wider tank. Reasons for this were discussed earlier in the bubbles section. One more note... saltwater tanks routinely hold 1/3 to 1/4 of the number of fish the same size freshwater tank would hold. Why you ask... it is because of the differences in the osmoregulation system of the two types of fish. Saltwater fish blood concentration of salts is lower than the surrounding water. Through osmosis water is continually lost from the fishes body. To make up for this loss they must drink copious amounts of water. In turn they excrete additional urine containing excess amounts of salt (ammonia) in order to maintain their proper body fluid levels. For freshwater fish the situation is reversed, where the salt concentration in the blood is greater than the surrounding waters. Once again through osmosis, water is constantly being absorbed into the body. In order to maintain their proper fluid levels they excrete huge amounts of water daily through their gills. This is why you need to have a larger tank for saltwater fish than for freshwater fish to start.
VOLUME
Let's take an average stock tank in the local pet shop that is advertised at 55 gallons. How did the manufacturer come up with that number?
The dimensions are 48"L x 13"W x 20"H.
Take all those numbers and multiply them together to get cubic inches.
48 x 13 x 20 = 12,480 cubic inches
Now divide your answer by 231 (cubic inches in a gallon)
12,480
231 = 54.025 gal. or more simply 55.
If you do not want to convert everything to inches... you can multiply in feet, divide that answer by 7.5 (gallons per cubic foot) and estimate the volume for larger systems & ponds.)
We see here that the tank is just short of 55 gallons, actually it is probably closer to 50 gallons by the time you subtract the thickness of the glass or acrylic and the fact that it is not filled right to the brim. Add some gravel, rock, driftwood and other decor... the number of actual gallons keeps getting smaller.
Tanks are not made by gallon size, they are made to specific dimensions and then the gallon size is determined after the fact.
Is the total gallons important? Considering you need to calculate turnover rate and filtration needs...YES!
You have just finished watching the Discovery Channel, you tell me you want a 1,000 gallon tank with sharks in it.... think again!
A 957 gallon tank measures out at 48" x 48" x 96" (4ft x 4ft x 8ft)
How are you going to get that through the door into your home? And how much will it weigh? Will your floor support that much weight?
Taller tanks seem to be more appealing to most people because they give you that big "picture window" effect, but at the same time are more costly (thicker material) and cause a few other problems as well.
1. You cannot reach the bottom to clean or move things around.
Arms only come in certain lengths.
2. Artificial plants only come in certain heights, but can be linked
together to make them taller.
3. Rocks are only so big and stacking them is tricky at best. You
want your tank to look good and have a design or theme and not
to be just decorated along the bottom 12-15 inches and have all
blank water at the top.
4. The taller the tank the more top heavy it becomes. IF... you want
taller, you need to go longer and wider as well.
5. Reef systems require more light. The taller the tank the more
watts/lumens need to be pumped into it. Light follows the
inverse square rule. If the distance is doubled, light is reduced
by the cube. The point here is that lights for reef systems are
expensive and halide lights are even more expensive.
Operating the lights for longer periods in lesser wattages does
not solve the problem.
WEIGHT
Water weighs approximately 8.3 pounds per gallon. To simplify things, let's just call it 8. Multiply the total gallons of your system by 8 and you can see it gets heavy really quick. Flimsy end tables and cheesy TV stands made of low grade fiber & press board are no match for even a small 20 gallon aquarium weighing in at approximately 160 lbs. Be smart, use something sturdy, or have a large capacity wet-vac handy.
Bubbles?... Do we need them?
Just how necessary are those little bubbles that come out of air stones, or diffusers? Many people believe they play an important role in an aquarium when it comes to oxygenation and aeration of the water, and that this air source is critical. Not so! When it comes to the increase of DO (dissolved oxygen) in an aquarium, the water surface is the main place where this exchange takes place. Oxygen is dissolved down into the water; carbon dioxide is released out into the air, not to mention that other gases readily pass through the permeable surface of water as well. This same reason is why taller tanks cannot be loaded up as much as the wider longer ones with the same volume. The surface area of the tank is where the gas exchange takes place, more surface area, easier breathing. Did you ever see bubbles in a pond? NO!! But you did see a waterfall or fountain to agitate the surface of the water to enhance the gas exchange. You will notice that modern power filters cascade or waterfall back into the tank, moving the surface of the water. They take suction from a lower area of the tank where the oxygen concentration is low and pump the water to the top. This keeps the water at the surface fresh and new, enabling it to take on oxygen and give up carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hence the tank is breathing.
Powerheads sold today have a director nozzle on them. The instructions tell you they should be pointed slightly towards the surface of the tank when being used for undergravel filtration. Some powerheads have an attachment for an airline to mix bubbles into the discharge stream. This attachment does two things, makes noise and clouds the tank with millions of teeny tiny bubbles. Disconnect it, it is completely unnecessary, not to mention really annoying.
So, if the water surface area of an aquarium is where the main exchange of gases occurs, then why use air stones and have bubbles in an aquarium at all?
The up side...
· Because bubbles that dance under the lights and look really cool!.
· They drive various types of filters and equipment, such as undergravel filters and some types of protein skimmers.
· Tanks that have solid covers or close fitted hoods on top are prime candidates for stagnant air, low oxygen levels, and high levels of carbon dioxide.
· They are a cheap way to move the tank water vertically in UGF lift tubes.
The down side...
· They are not efficient like powerheads, water pumps, and/or protein skimmers at creating water movement in an aquarium. All of these are much better at helping with oxygen and other gas exchanges at the water's surface.
· They do not move water fast enough or in adequate volume for what a tank usually needs for good all round, vertical and horizontal, water circulation. This situation can also contribute to a low or insufficient turnover rate.
When you are trying to get your tank to reach its peak performance level flow rate is
important. A powerhead is a better choice, it has a rating and can be matched up with
the square footage of the UGF being used, enabling an efficient filtration rate and
maximum fish load. 1 to about 1.5 gallons per minute per square foot is optimum.
· They create a lot of salt spray, which in turn contributes to salt creep.
· They clog up, and then need to be cleaned or replaced.
· The air pumps hum and buzz. Even the newest are not totally quiet.
SAS strives to build the quietest systems possible, after all, we are talking stress relief aren't we.
Lights are for you...NOT the fish!
Fish in the wild get to experience darkness as well as light. Why should an aquarium be any different? Is your tank in front of a window? Do you leave the light on all night? Unless you are running a reef system with live corals or a planted tank, light should be kept to a minimum. More light combined with overfeeding and overcrowding will cause algae to grow at a phenomenal rate. If you are not home to enjoy the fish, turn the lights off. Indirect light is plenty for the fish throughout the day. Save some money and save the hassle of scrubbing the algae off the glass and decorations. When you get home in the evening, turn on the lights to feed the fish and enjoy the tank. Then turn them off before you go to bed. The light is for you, not the fish. By the way algae eating fish can only do so much.
Overcrowding... don't do it.
Overcrowding causes almost the same conditions as overfeeding. More fish require more food and thus more waste which overloads the biological filtration system and causes a rise in the ammonia level and results in fish death. Do not be fooled by the overpopulated tanks you see in the pet store. The population of their tanks is 50 on Monday and 10 on Saturday, due to sales. They also have massive central filtration systems to overfilter the water and it has a constant supply fresh water being introduced equivalent to changing the water several times a week. If your tank happens to be extremely tall but has a small base, the fish load needs to be even less even for the same amount of volume as a longer wider tank. Reasons for this were discussed earlier in the bubbles section. One more note... saltwater tanks routinely hold 1/3 to 1/4 of the number of fish the same size freshwater tank would hold. Why you ask... it is because of the differences in the osmoregulation system of the two types of fish. Saltwater fish blood concentration of salts is lower than the surrounding water. Through osmosis water is continually lost from the fishes body. To make up for this loss they must drink copious amounts of water. In turn they excrete additional urine containing excess amounts of salt (ammonia) in order to maintain their proper body fluid levels. For freshwater fish the situation is reversed, where the salt concentration in the blood is greater than the surrounding waters. Once again through osmosis, water is constantly being absorbed into the body. In order to maintain their proper fluid levels they excrete huge amounts of water daily through their gills. This is why you need to have a larger tank for saltwater fish than for freshwater fish to start.
Acclimation... life or death?
Fish cost money, so naturally you want to protect your investment by properly acclimating them. The purpose of acclimation is simple: the water that the fish bagged in has different temperature, pH, alkalinity etc. than your aquarium. Fish can be very sensitive to even minor changes in these parameters; so proper acclimation is the key to ensuring a healthy introduction into your tank. Ever heard the phrase "Every time I buy new fish, they die?" Of course you have, but why do people say this? Most people kill their fish by mishandling them. If they do not die right away, they soon will in a few days because they were introduced incorrectly into their tank. Is it the pet stores fault sometimes, but generally mishandling causes the most problems?
SAS recommends the DRIP METHOD, as explained below.
Take the bag that the fish are in and cut it open with a blade or scissors. Gently transfer the fish and the water into a small clean plastic bucket. You should have a clean plastic bucket that you use for your aquarium maintenance and nothing else. An empty one-gallon ice cream tub works really well. Home Depot has some white plastic paint buckets for sale that work well also. If you want to diddle around trying to unwind the teeny tiny little rubber band that was put on the bag at the fish store, be my guest, but I just figure the quicker you can rescue the fish from the shipping bag the better. I never let the fish sit in the bags any longer than is absolutely necessary.
Dip out some of the water until the fish is just covered, of course swimming upright. Starting with this smaller volume will allow you to use less water from your tank over the total acclimation period.
Did you notice that the bag was full of waste material and the colors of the fish are faded? This is a clear sign of stress. Do Not Panic this method of introduction reduces that stress and thus increases the chances of survival. Add a few drops of AMMO LOCK to the bucket with the fish. This will neutralize any ammonia in the water that built up in the bag during the trip home. This is readily available at the local pet store in a 4oz bottle for a few bucks. There is an AMMO LOCK II, but I have not figured out what the difference is, the labels read the same. Either one is fine.
Using airline tubing and a single air valve, like the one shown below, you can start a siphon into a bucket/container from the aquarium. Make sure you use a plastic airline valve set up, also...silicone airline works better, it does not curl around in knots as much and is much easier to work with.
Begin siphoning by opening the valve slightly and sucking on the end of the airline tubing you'll be placing into the buckets. If you do not open the valve slightly you will not get any water to move through the tubing. Additionally, the bucket needs to be below the tank water level or the siphon will not work at all. When water begins flowing through the tubing, adjust the drip by closing or opening the valve to a rate of about 4-6 drips per second.
When the water volume in the bucket doubles, dip some of it out with a small clean cup or other suitable container and continue the drip. Continue this process discarding the water each time as the volume doubles for about one hour. If you have a portable aquarium thermometer you can periodically check the temperature of the container and the tank and see how close they are. It is probably better to add a fish into an environment that is slightly warmer or the same temperature rather than colder. I always shoot for the same temperature or within 1 degree the tank being warmer than the bucket. Now your fish is ready to be placed into the tank.
Close the valve on the siphon tubing first or later on you will need a mop, bucket and wringer. I prefer not using a net to capture the fish, it is abrasive and removes the slime coat from the fish. I figure at this point they have been through enough. I use a small cup/container of suitable size and lower it into the bucket and trap the fish with as little water as possible. Place your hand over the top until you get over the tank, and slowly lower it slowly into your tank. The water will flow into the cup and the fish will swim free. You will note the colors of the fish to be somewhat faded or mottled, the natural colors will return as the fish becomes more comfortable in the new environment.
Power Failure... keeping the fish alive!
Power failures any time of the year, present a risk for your fish, but wintertime presents additional problems. A power failure can prove lethal for your fish. Here are some practical ways to prepare for and deal with the worst-case scenario - a power failure in the dead of winter.
Maintenance In Cold Weather
A tank in “good maintenance condition” ie. clean, will fare much better during a power outage. Having kept the tank well vacuumed, and having cleaned the filter media regularly, and performed some water changes will make the water quality initially higher and therefore will take longer to degrade. Keep a thermometer handy for the tank so you can monitor the temperature. Prepare an emergency kit and keep it near the aquarium so you don't have to search for it in the dark.
The Emergency Kit
First and foremost be prepared to move around in your home. You can't do much for your fish if you are groping around in the dark. Have a flashlight nearby with fresh batteries in it. In addition to your flashlight, prepare a simple emergency kit for your aquarium. There are only a few items you need, but they could make all the difference in the world for your fish. Here is what you'll need:
Flashlight with fresh batteries
Pencil and paper
Blankets or thick towels
Small plastic container with lid or zip lock bag
Battery operated aerator and extra batteries
1 to 2 cup plastic container with a pour spout
Hand warmers
Fish net
A printed copy of this article… remember.... no power = no computer = no internet
During a Power Failure
If the power goes out, your aquarium will lose three important elements: heat, air (from lack of water movement), and filtration. Initially the tank is not in immediate danger. However, if the power is not back in let’s say an hour, assume the worst and take steps accordingly.
Maintain Heat
Jot down the initial water temperature, so you have a yardstick to go by. Fill the plastic container or zip lock bag with hot tap water, then seal it and place it in the aquarium. Even though your water heater no longer has power, the water will still be warm enough at this point to be of benefit. To retain as much of the heat as possible, wrap the tank with thick towels or heavy blankets. Drape them as closely as you can against all sides of the tank. Lay at least one blanket over the top of the tank.
Aerate Water
Place a battery-operated aerator in the tank to keep the water moving while the filter is off. You can purchase aerators at a pet shop or even a bait shop. If you have more than one tank, rotate the aerator for ten minutes at a time in each tank. If you do not have an aerator, and the power is out for more than an hour, you'll have to hand aerate the water. Use the small plastic container to remove a cup or two of water, then hold it well above the water level and pour it back in (the idea is to agitate the surface of the water when doing this). Repeat this process for five minutes out of each hour.
Now all you can do is wait for the power to come back on. Do not feed the fish during the outage. It will cause them to produce more waste, which cannot be eliminated readily without the filter running. If the power is out more than one hour, remove the bio-wheel from your filter and just put them into the tank and let them float around. This will do two things, they will not dry out and kill all the bacteria, and the small amount of water movement will give you some biological filtration. Otherwise when the power comes back on, the bacteria on the will be dead and the ammonia will re-spike.
Monitor the water temperature, and continue aerating the tank. In the event a fish dies suddenly, remove the body immediately so it does not impact the biology of the tank. As the temperature continues to fall, remove the container holding hot water and refresh it with hot tap water. The water in your insulated water heater will stay hot for many hours. If your tap water is no longer hot, seal a hand-warming unit in the container and place it in the tank.
When the Power Comes Back
Check the temperature of the tanks. Check to see that the heater is on. The heater is automatic… DO NOT ADJUST THE SETTING. The temperature will slowly rise until it is back where it was before the power loss. If the filter has not been running for more than two hours, replace the filter media with fresh media and replace the wheels back into their slots to resume biological filtration. Monitor the nitrite and ammonia levels for the next 24-48 hours. Do not feed the fish immediately. Wait until the water temperature has returned to normal. After 24-48 hours, test the water for ammonia and perform a water change if any ammonia is detected. A week later test the water again to be sure that everything is back to normal. You may want to add a bio booster such as Hagen Cycle or other similar product.
Feeding... what you need to know.
The two rules most often broken in maintaining aquariums are...
1) OVERFEEDING
2) OVERCROWDING
Most beginning and inexperienced hobbyists break BOTH. Consequences for each are basically the same.
More food = more waste = more algae, more pollution, more death
More fish = more waste = more algae, more pollution, more death In a nutshell fish are cold-blooded animals. Their body temperature is the same as the water. Fish do not need to eat constantly to maintain their internal furnace, as do cattle, game animals and humans. They are easily conditioned over time to appear hungry every time someone approaches the tank, especially since there is no natural food source in the tank for them. To avoid any boring lessons on water chemistry and the different biological cycles going on inside your aquarium, I have assembled a few excerpts from several books on the topic of feeding fish. I invite you to read these excerpts to dispel any myths and correct any misinformation you may have acquired concerning this topic. Pay close attention to the RED sections.
"Fishes are very good at assimilating food, much better than we are, so that an adequate amount of food to keep them healthy and not growing to fast may seem very little to the beginner."
"Tropical Fish a Complete Introduction" by Dr. Cliff Emmens 1987 pg. 106, "Foods and Feeding"
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"The types and amounts of food offered to fish are crucial as uneaten food will rot, upsetting tank conditions. Fish should never be fed more than they can consume in a few minutes.
Any food that is not eaten will simply be left to waste, and depleting the aquarium of vital oxygen. Fish will not starve if left for a week or so during vacations, providing they have been well fed beforehand."
"Aquarium Fish" by Dick Mills 1993 pg. 25, "Feeding"
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"The more food that goes into the tank, the more polluted it will become. If no one has the designated responsibility for feeding the fish, things go wrong. Either the fish don't get fed enough or perhaps not at all, or everyone who walks by throws in some food and the feedings get doubled, tripled or worse."
"The Complete Idiots Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" by Mike Wickham, 1998 pg. 227, "The Designated Feeder"
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"If they miss an occasional meal, don’t try to make up for it at the next feeding. A fish's stomach can only hold so much food at once. Extra food is going to go uneaten and pollute the tank. Learning how much food to feed is sometimes difficult. People often say to offer just a pinch of food, but how much is a pinch? One old rule of feeding is that a fish's stomach is about the size as its eye. Offer what they will eat in 30 seconds to a minute. It is very important not to overfeed, especially in a new tank."
"The Complete Idiots Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" by Mike Wickham, 1998 pg. 227-229, "Don't Stuff Them to the Gills"
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"You can kill your fish by overfeeding, but it is not the overeating that will kill them. Rather it is the resulting pollution from uneaten food that causes problems. Remember that you are not just feeding the fish you are feeding the tank. When feeding flakes, pellets or other dry foods to your fish, do not sprinkle the food directly from the can into your tank. Instead sprinkle first into the palm of your hand, and then sprinkle that into the tank. That way if you accidentally sprinkle too much you can take corrective action rather than having excess food pollute your tank."
"The Complete Idiots Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" by Mike Wickham, 1998 pg. 229, "Fish and Tips"
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"Never feed more than one meals worth of food at a time. You cannot throw extra food in your tank when you go on vacation. The food that is not immediately eaten will pollute the tank and kill the fish."
"The Complete Idiots Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" by Mike Wickham, 1998 pg. 236, "Somethings Fishy"
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"You shouldn’t give fish anymore food than they will eat in a few minutes, although it is very tempting to give them more. Especially if they are up to the glass and seem to be begging for food, you must not give in. In fact, it is a good idea to keep your fish slightly hungry, so that they will devour every scrap of food and thus keep the tank clean."
"You and Your Aquarium" by Dick Mills, 1996 pg. 207,
"Judging the Correct Amount of Food"
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"Unlike other pet owners, fishkeepers don't have a problem at vacation time; as long as their fishes have been well fed in the period prior to the holiday, they will be able to withstand a two-week fast without any ill effects." This is a cheaper solution than buying an automatic feeder and safer than handing over the responsibility to friend who is new to aquariums."
"You and Your Aquarium" by Dick Mills, 1996 pg. 208,
"Vacation Feeding"
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"You want to make sure that your tropical fish receive all the nutrition that they need. But danger lurks in the area of feeding. Many new hobbyists tend to overfeed their fish. Overfeeding can lead to obesity and other health problems. Too much food in the aquarium can also build up and foul the water or increase the risk for disease. Excess food around the edge of the aquarium is one sign of overfeeding. This wasted food accumulates on the bottom of the tank, and begins to spoil. Spoiled food can cause health problems for your fish if they happen to eat it. Remember that your fish’s stomach is no larger than its eye. Excess food breaking down on the substrate surface can cause an overgrowth of harmful bacteria."
"Aquariums For Dummies" by Maddie & Mic Hargrove, 1999 pg. 176, 177, "Overfeeding"
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"When you go on vacation, try to find a trustworthy person to feed your fish while you're away. To make sure that they feed your fish properly, place individual serving in plastic bags or a 7-day pill container so that your substitute knows exactly what to put in each tank. Never add a bunch of extra food to the tank before going on vacation. Your fish won't eat the extra food before it starts rotting, and by the time you get home, you may have a serious water problem."
"Aquariums For Dummies" by Maddie & Mic Hargrove, 1999 pg. 178, "When Vacation Time Arrives"
STRESS RELIEF
If you haven't given it a thought now, fish aquariums help us relax. Even staring into the watery world for a few seconds calms our minds and makes us more at peace. They are strategically placed in many public places, such as restaurants; doctor's offices and other businesses where there is a waiting area in order to provide our nerves with serenity. Whether you know it or not,
aquariums, do indeed have a remedial affect on our body and psyche. In recent years studies have shown that aquariums create a calming effect on people by actually lowering the heart rate, blood pressure and thus reducing stress.
Not only do fish have a natural calming and stress relieving affect on us, yet so do all animals. According to research, simply watching a tank of brightly colored fish can help reduce blood pressure. After a stressful day at work, you can come home to a tank full of beautiful tropical fish and temporarily forget about everything that bothers you. The affect is not temporary on your brain, even though you may not be thinking about your fish. This healing generally occurs when the sufferer only has to stare at the fish aquarium. Some general maintenance also helps in reducing stress, but too much required maintenance can also be harmful to our temper. This can happen when our fish die, get ill or when we find taking care of them to be annoying.
Being an aquarist may have some stress causing aspects as well. When problems begin raising their heads from your aquarium, it may be difficult to deal with them all at once. The best advice is to calmly handle each problem one at a time, this way you won't get stressed out trying to fix them all at once. The beginner fish aquarium owner will encounter more problems than the experienced; therefore it is essential to start off at a pace that is right for you. Don't buy a huge aquarium and attempt to start a reef ecosystem on your first day. Take things slow. Patience is the key to a successful aquarium.
It's very easy to feel calm and relaxed when viewing someone else's aquarium. Although you might be stressed out by your own aquarium in the beginning, allow yourself time to adjust and become experienced with the talent of maintaining one. Remember not to give up on your aquarium; it is well worth your time and effort. You should remember that while your aquarium might not be relieving your own stress, it might very well be providing someone you know or love with a great sense of solitude and tranquility. The good things that result in keeping your aquarium in good shape far overcome the bad stress inducing things that may occur.
Despite the stress causing factors of maintaining a fish aquarium for the first time, it is suggested that you buy one. If you have no time or cannot handle keeping your aquarium in good shape, why not hire someone to do it for you?
These facts along with enhancing the beauty of your home or office surroundings by bringing some of natures most exotic creatures indoors, makes owning an aquarium just that much more exciting.
Fish cost money, so naturally you want to protect your investment by properly acclimating them. The purpose of acclimation is simple: the water that the fish bagged in has different temperature, pH, alkalinity etc. than your aquarium. Fish can be very sensitive to even minor changes in these parameters; so proper acclimation is the key to ensuring a healthy introduction into your tank. Ever heard the phrase "Every time I buy new fish, they die?" Of course you have, but why do people say this? Most people kill their fish by mishandling them. If they do not die right away, they soon will in a few days because they were introduced incorrectly into their tank. Is it the pet stores fault sometimes, but generally mishandling causes the most problems?
SAS recommends the DRIP METHOD, as explained below.
Take the bag that the fish are in and cut it open with a blade or scissors. Gently transfer the fish and the water into a small clean plastic bucket. You should have a clean plastic bucket that you use for your aquarium maintenance and nothing else. An empty one-gallon ice cream tub works really well. Home Depot has some white plastic paint buckets for sale that work well also. If you want to diddle around trying to unwind the teeny tiny little rubber band that was put on the bag at the fish store, be my guest, but I just figure the quicker you can rescue the fish from the shipping bag the better. I never let the fish sit in the bags any longer than is absolutely necessary.
Dip out some of the water until the fish is just covered, of course swimming upright. Starting with this smaller volume will allow you to use less water from your tank over the total acclimation period.
Did you notice that the bag was full of waste material and the colors of the fish are faded? This is a clear sign of stress. Do Not Panic this method of introduction reduces that stress and thus increases the chances of survival. Add a few drops of AMMO LOCK to the bucket with the fish. This will neutralize any ammonia in the water that built up in the bag during the trip home. This is readily available at the local pet store in a 4oz bottle for a few bucks. There is an AMMO LOCK II, but I have not figured out what the difference is, the labels read the same. Either one is fine.
Using airline tubing and a single air valve, like the one shown below, you can start a siphon into a bucket/container from the aquarium. Make sure you use a plastic airline valve set up, also...silicone airline works better, it does not curl around in knots as much and is much easier to work with.
Begin siphoning by opening the valve slightly and sucking on the end of the airline tubing you'll be placing into the buckets. If you do not open the valve slightly you will not get any water to move through the tubing. Additionally, the bucket needs to be below the tank water level or the siphon will not work at all. When water begins flowing through the tubing, adjust the drip by closing or opening the valve to a rate of about 4-6 drips per second.
When the water volume in the bucket doubles, dip some of it out with a small clean cup or other suitable container and continue the drip. Continue this process discarding the water each time as the volume doubles for about one hour. If you have a portable aquarium thermometer you can periodically check the temperature of the container and the tank and see how close they are. It is probably better to add a fish into an environment that is slightly warmer or the same temperature rather than colder. I always shoot for the same temperature or within 1 degree the tank being warmer than the bucket. Now your fish is ready to be placed into the tank.
Close the valve on the siphon tubing first or later on you will need a mop, bucket and wringer. I prefer not using a net to capture the fish, it is abrasive and removes the slime coat from the fish. I figure at this point they have been through enough. I use a small cup/container of suitable size and lower it into the bucket and trap the fish with as little water as possible. Place your hand over the top until you get over the tank, and slowly lower it slowly into your tank. The water will flow into the cup and the fish will swim free. You will note the colors of the fish to be somewhat faded or mottled, the natural colors will return as the fish becomes more comfortable in the new environment.
Power Failure... keeping the fish alive!
Power failures any time of the year, present a risk for your fish, but wintertime presents additional problems. A power failure can prove lethal for your fish. Here are some practical ways to prepare for and deal with the worst-case scenario - a power failure in the dead of winter.
Maintenance In Cold Weather
A tank in “good maintenance condition” ie. clean, will fare much better during a power outage. Having kept the tank well vacuumed, and having cleaned the filter media regularly, and performed some water changes will make the water quality initially higher and therefore will take longer to degrade. Keep a thermometer handy for the tank so you can monitor the temperature. Prepare an emergency kit and keep it near the aquarium so you don't have to search for it in the dark.
The Emergency Kit
First and foremost be prepared to move around in your home. You can't do much for your fish if you are groping around in the dark. Have a flashlight nearby with fresh batteries in it. In addition to your flashlight, prepare a simple emergency kit for your aquarium. There are only a few items you need, but they could make all the difference in the world for your fish. Here is what you'll need:
Flashlight with fresh batteries
Pencil and paper
Blankets or thick towels
Small plastic container with lid or zip lock bag
Battery operated aerator and extra batteries
1 to 2 cup plastic container with a pour spout
Hand warmers
Fish net
A printed copy of this article… remember.... no power = no computer = no internet
During a Power Failure
If the power goes out, your aquarium will lose three important elements: heat, air (from lack of water movement), and filtration. Initially the tank is not in immediate danger. However, if the power is not back in let’s say an hour, assume the worst and take steps accordingly.
Maintain Heat
Jot down the initial water temperature, so you have a yardstick to go by. Fill the plastic container or zip lock bag with hot tap water, then seal it and place it in the aquarium. Even though your water heater no longer has power, the water will still be warm enough at this point to be of benefit. To retain as much of the heat as possible, wrap the tank with thick towels or heavy blankets. Drape them as closely as you can against all sides of the tank. Lay at least one blanket over the top of the tank.
Aerate Water
Place a battery-operated aerator in the tank to keep the water moving while the filter is off. You can purchase aerators at a pet shop or even a bait shop. If you have more than one tank, rotate the aerator for ten minutes at a time in each tank. If you do not have an aerator, and the power is out for more than an hour, you'll have to hand aerate the water. Use the small plastic container to remove a cup or two of water, then hold it well above the water level and pour it back in (the idea is to agitate the surface of the water when doing this). Repeat this process for five minutes out of each hour.
Now all you can do is wait for the power to come back on. Do not feed the fish during the outage. It will cause them to produce more waste, which cannot be eliminated readily without the filter running. If the power is out more than one hour, remove the bio-wheel from your filter and just put them into the tank and let them float around. This will do two things, they will not dry out and kill all the bacteria, and the small amount of water movement will give you some biological filtration. Otherwise when the power comes back on, the bacteria on the will be dead and the ammonia will re-spike.
Monitor the water temperature, and continue aerating the tank. In the event a fish dies suddenly, remove the body immediately so it does not impact the biology of the tank. As the temperature continues to fall, remove the container holding hot water and refresh it with hot tap water. The water in your insulated water heater will stay hot for many hours. If your tap water is no longer hot, seal a hand-warming unit in the container and place it in the tank.
When the Power Comes Back
Check the temperature of the tanks. Check to see that the heater is on. The heater is automatic… DO NOT ADJUST THE SETTING. The temperature will slowly rise until it is back where it was before the power loss. If the filter has not been running for more than two hours, replace the filter media with fresh media and replace the wheels back into their slots to resume biological filtration. Monitor the nitrite and ammonia levels for the next 24-48 hours. Do not feed the fish immediately. Wait until the water temperature has returned to normal. After 24-48 hours, test the water for ammonia and perform a water change if any ammonia is detected. A week later test the water again to be sure that everything is back to normal. You may want to add a bio booster such as Hagen Cycle or other similar product.
Feeding... what you need to know.
The two rules most often broken in maintaining aquariums are...
1) OVERFEEDING
2) OVERCROWDING
Most beginning and inexperienced hobbyists break BOTH. Consequences for each are basically the same.
More food = more waste = more algae, more pollution, more death
More fish = more waste = more algae, more pollution, more death In a nutshell fish are cold-blooded animals. Their body temperature is the same as the water. Fish do not need to eat constantly to maintain their internal furnace, as do cattle, game animals and humans. They are easily conditioned over time to appear hungry every time someone approaches the tank, especially since there is no natural food source in the tank for them. To avoid any boring lessons on water chemistry and the different biological cycles going on inside your aquarium, I have assembled a few excerpts from several books on the topic of feeding fish. I invite you to read these excerpts to dispel any myths and correct any misinformation you may have acquired concerning this topic. Pay close attention to the RED sections.
"Fishes are very good at assimilating food, much better than we are, so that an adequate amount of food to keep them healthy and not growing to fast may seem very little to the beginner."
"Tropical Fish a Complete Introduction" by Dr. Cliff Emmens 1987 pg. 106, "Foods and Feeding"
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"The types and amounts of food offered to fish are crucial as uneaten food will rot, upsetting tank conditions. Fish should never be fed more than they can consume in a few minutes.
Any food that is not eaten will simply be left to waste, and depleting the aquarium of vital oxygen. Fish will not starve if left for a week or so during vacations, providing they have been well fed beforehand."
"Aquarium Fish" by Dick Mills 1993 pg. 25, "Feeding"
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"The more food that goes into the tank, the more polluted it will become. If no one has the designated responsibility for feeding the fish, things go wrong. Either the fish don't get fed enough or perhaps not at all, or everyone who walks by throws in some food and the feedings get doubled, tripled or worse."
"The Complete Idiots Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" by Mike Wickham, 1998 pg. 227, "The Designated Feeder"
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"If they miss an occasional meal, don’t try to make up for it at the next feeding. A fish's stomach can only hold so much food at once. Extra food is going to go uneaten and pollute the tank. Learning how much food to feed is sometimes difficult. People often say to offer just a pinch of food, but how much is a pinch? One old rule of feeding is that a fish's stomach is about the size as its eye. Offer what they will eat in 30 seconds to a minute. It is very important not to overfeed, especially in a new tank."
"The Complete Idiots Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" by Mike Wickham, 1998 pg. 227-229, "Don't Stuff Them to the Gills"
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"You can kill your fish by overfeeding, but it is not the overeating that will kill them. Rather it is the resulting pollution from uneaten food that causes problems. Remember that you are not just feeding the fish you are feeding the tank. When feeding flakes, pellets or other dry foods to your fish, do not sprinkle the food directly from the can into your tank. Instead sprinkle first into the palm of your hand, and then sprinkle that into the tank. That way if you accidentally sprinkle too much you can take corrective action rather than having excess food pollute your tank."
"The Complete Idiots Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" by Mike Wickham, 1998 pg. 229, "Fish and Tips"
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"Never feed more than one meals worth of food at a time. You cannot throw extra food in your tank when you go on vacation. The food that is not immediately eaten will pollute the tank and kill the fish."
"The Complete Idiots Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" by Mike Wickham, 1998 pg. 236, "Somethings Fishy"
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"You shouldn’t give fish anymore food than they will eat in a few minutes, although it is very tempting to give them more. Especially if they are up to the glass and seem to be begging for food, you must not give in. In fact, it is a good idea to keep your fish slightly hungry, so that they will devour every scrap of food and thus keep the tank clean."
"You and Your Aquarium" by Dick Mills, 1996 pg. 207,
"Judging the Correct Amount of Food"
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"Unlike other pet owners, fishkeepers don't have a problem at vacation time; as long as their fishes have been well fed in the period prior to the holiday, they will be able to withstand a two-week fast without any ill effects." This is a cheaper solution than buying an automatic feeder and safer than handing over the responsibility to friend who is new to aquariums."
"You and Your Aquarium" by Dick Mills, 1996 pg. 208,
"Vacation Feeding"
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"You want to make sure that your tropical fish receive all the nutrition that they need. But danger lurks in the area of feeding. Many new hobbyists tend to overfeed their fish. Overfeeding can lead to obesity and other health problems. Too much food in the aquarium can also build up and foul the water or increase the risk for disease. Excess food around the edge of the aquarium is one sign of overfeeding. This wasted food accumulates on the bottom of the tank, and begins to spoil. Spoiled food can cause health problems for your fish if they happen to eat it. Remember that your fish’s stomach is no larger than its eye. Excess food breaking down on the substrate surface can cause an overgrowth of harmful bacteria."
"Aquariums For Dummies" by Maddie & Mic Hargrove, 1999 pg. 176, 177, "Overfeeding"
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"When you go on vacation, try to find a trustworthy person to feed your fish while you're away. To make sure that they feed your fish properly, place individual serving in plastic bags or a 7-day pill container so that your substitute knows exactly what to put in each tank. Never add a bunch of extra food to the tank before going on vacation. Your fish won't eat the extra food before it starts rotting, and by the time you get home, you may have a serious water problem."
"Aquariums For Dummies" by Maddie & Mic Hargrove, 1999 pg. 178, "When Vacation Time Arrives"
STRESS RELIEF
If you haven't given it a thought now, fish aquariums help us relax. Even staring into the watery world for a few seconds calms our minds and makes us more at peace. They are strategically placed in many public places, such as restaurants; doctor's offices and other businesses where there is a waiting area in order to provide our nerves with serenity. Whether you know it or not,
aquariums, do indeed have a remedial affect on our body and psyche. In recent years studies have shown that aquariums create a calming effect on people by actually lowering the heart rate, blood pressure and thus reducing stress.
Not only do fish have a natural calming and stress relieving affect on us, yet so do all animals. According to research, simply watching a tank of brightly colored fish can help reduce blood pressure. After a stressful day at work, you can come home to a tank full of beautiful tropical fish and temporarily forget about everything that bothers you. The affect is not temporary on your brain, even though you may not be thinking about your fish. This healing generally occurs when the sufferer only has to stare at the fish aquarium. Some general maintenance also helps in reducing stress, but too much required maintenance can also be harmful to our temper. This can happen when our fish die, get ill or when we find taking care of them to be annoying.
Being an aquarist may have some stress causing aspects as well. When problems begin raising their heads from your aquarium, it may be difficult to deal with them all at once. The best advice is to calmly handle each problem one at a time, this way you won't get stressed out trying to fix them all at once. The beginner fish aquarium owner will encounter more problems than the experienced; therefore it is essential to start off at a pace that is right for you. Don't buy a huge aquarium and attempt to start a reef ecosystem on your first day. Take things slow. Patience is the key to a successful aquarium.
It's very easy to feel calm and relaxed when viewing someone else's aquarium. Although you might be stressed out by your own aquarium in the beginning, allow yourself time to adjust and become experienced with the talent of maintaining one. Remember not to give up on your aquarium; it is well worth your time and effort. You should remember that while your aquarium might not be relieving your own stress, it might very well be providing someone you know or love with a great sense of solitude and tranquility. The good things that result in keeping your aquarium in good shape far overcome the bad stress inducing things that may occur.
Despite the stress causing factors of maintaining a fish aquarium for the first time, it is suggested that you buy one. If you have no time or cannot handle keeping your aquarium in good shape, why not hire someone to do it for you?
These facts along with enhancing the beauty of your home or office surroundings by bringing some of natures most exotic creatures indoors, makes owning an aquarium just that much more exciting.
