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Looks Hard? A little history lesson. Aquariums only began to become something other than a food source in the early 19th century. Until then fish were on occasion kept for short times in glass containers but in the main, captive fish meant food. In 1850 a Mr Harrington reported in a paper to the Chemical Society, London, that he had maintained a stable aquarium. This sparked interest and launched fish keeping as a hobby. 2 years later the London Zoo began work on an Aquarium, which opened in 1853. Not long afterwards aquariums sprang up in all the major towns and cities. Coldwater marine were the first and main attraction, with aquariums concentrating on native species. Many plants used have long since succumbed to the end of existence thanks to the pollution of Britain's waterways. The aquarium became a fashion item in Victorian England but tank designs left a lot to be desired, going for the ornate as opposed to the safe; many fish being poisoned by their tanks! As we all know, Victorians travelled the world collecting anything and everything, it wasn't long before tropical species began to find their way into the United Kingdom. 1890 has records of Paradise fish being kept. Any items below underlined are links to another section on this site. Your Interest? So, you’re browsing the net and find our web site. You have never kept fish of any sort before and think to yourself that its either too complicated or too expensive. Think again. The initial setting up of an aquarium may take a few well earned coppers from the coffers but after that its pretty much as and when you want, how much etc. If you read no further, it’s because you do not want to set up a fish tank, so why are your here? Maybe curiosity? In that case read on and see if this is the soothing, relaxing hobby that you would like to take on. Why do you think many dental surgeries have an aquarium in their waiting rooms, office receptions sometimes have them as well as many Directors suites? The reason is simple, it’s therapeutic. My mum used to visit my house long ago when I was first married and sat for ages looking into the aquariums I had set up in a large kitchen. She said that it was much better than watching the TV and very relaxing. OK, now let’s look at what you need. This is a general guide and you may well think of something not covered or not covered in enough detail. Feel free to call the shop on 0121 373 1100. Location Strangely enough it’s not always the first thing on people's minds, WHERE is the tank going to go? Avoid direct sunlight; this has the effect of causing "green water" and excesses of algae. It also causes abnormal temperature build ups possibly "cooking". Mains sockets nearby, you might need a good multiplug adapter? I use the computer anti surge sockets, they may actually save your expensive fish in the event of a spike or surge. What is the tank going to stand on? Will it be on solid concrete or floorboards? Floorboards can move under the weight. Your tank needs good support. Too big a tank on floorboards and it will move causing stress fractures and then even a complete collapse. Cleaning You have got your tank home and in position but before you do anything ensure it’s ready. Wipe down the insides using kitchen towel or disposable tissue wetted in clean clear water. NO DETERGENTS!!! And NO boiling water. I found a useful tool in the shape of those sponges you can buy with a nylon "scrubber" backing. Do not use one that has been used for dishes beforehand as it is saturated with dishwashing chemicals. Tank There are numerous plastic and glass tanks on the market, we has many types and sizes constantly in stock. They are available in various shapes and sizes to suit both your needs and your budget. We are not all Bill Gates or Lottery winners! Popular sizes are 60cm x 30cm x 30cm (24 x 12 x 12) which holds about 45 litres or 10 gallons of water. 90cm x 30cm x 30cm (36 x 12 x 12) which holds about 68 litres (15 gallons); there are also 48 inch and bigger, depending upon your needs. The tank needs support and you can buy custom made stands in the shop. Also required is a "base" between the tank and stand, usually of expanded polystyrene to "absorb" the weight distribution evenly. Very important when you consider the volume/pressure of the water on the glass surrounds. You can buy a tank for as little as £6 basic plastic or upwards of £8000 for a majestic fully equipped marine tank. Let me add here that marine tanks are a different ball game. They are usually specialist designed and have built in protein skimmers, filtration etc. I do not keep Marine, so if that is your intention please see the experts in the shop. Tank Cover & Light A cover is necessary not only to provide a suitable housing for your lighting, but also to stop the fish jumping out (oh yes they will!) and to stop evaporation by the use of either simple condensation trays or, preferably, glass sliders. I bought a pair of custom made glass sliders from a nearby glaziers for only £13. The lighting consists of a flourescent tube and starter box. Lighting can be varied dependant on what purpose you want, differing frequencies and effects for different reasons, check with the shop who stock all types. Aquarium lighting will show off the fishes beautiful colours and make the tank a centre of attraction. Correct lighting will also encourage plant growth. Thermometer Keep tabs on the temperature within the aquarium with an inexpensive thermometer of either the outside stick-on digital readout type or the internal, hangs on a sucker type glass tube of mercury. Temperatures should be between 23 and 25 degrees Centigrade (73 and 77F); but some fish prefer higher, or lower. This is where advice from the lads in the shop can be of help. The glass tube type is clearly marked with a green strip to show optimum levels of heat. You can also use the type that stick to the outside of the aquarium and the current temperature lights up. Heater Purpose designed special heaters provide the comfort for the fish by keeping the temperatures at home comfort level for the occupants. The difference between keeping coldwater fish and tropical is this. Heaters are thermostatically controlled and are factory preset but can be adjusted. Differing wattages accommodate all tank sizes. For example a 24 inch tank requires a 75 - 100w heater whereas a 36 inch tank requires a 100 - 200w heater. I have a 48 x 24 x 15 tank, requiring a 300w heater. If your tank will be in a relatively cool spot, increase wattage by 50% to accommodate the slightly extra use. Again, our helpful shop staff can give advice in this area. You will not be sold anything you do not need. Air Pumps. Used either as the power of your filters or ornamental air curtain and stones, or both. Air pumps circulate the surface waters ensuring a goodly intake of oxygen into the water. Air pumps do not ADD oxygen to your water in sufficient quantities but does increase the natural intake at the surface. Prices and models vary quite a bit. It all depends on the size of your aquarium. We have many different models in the shop, you can see these on the page highlighted in this paragraph. Many models also advertise "quiet" but they are not always.
Internal Structures Rocks. Large rocks or stones can look natural in the aquarium and can be used to give refuge to fish of either a shy or nocturnal nature. It is safer to use rocks and stones that are sold specifically for aquarium use than to collect your own. Certain rocks can dissolve in the water and cause problems. They can also contain impurities that can bring risks to your fish. Some artificial rocks have built in "caverns" ideal for Kuhli's and Clown loaches. Plants. Whether they are artificial or natural, plants will make a bland tank beautiful. You may prefer to begin with artificial plants, which, these days, look very much like the real thing, or try your skills at growing natural plants. Both types are available in the shop, see for yourself. Real plants have the advantage of not only adding to the environment but change and grow all the time. Gravel or Sand. My own personal preference here is for sand. Those customers that I know from the shop that have changed to sand all say that they would never go back to gravel, but its down to user preference. Plants growing in sand have a better substrate for roots to grow and spread as they wish. Gravel can do the same but the medium is obviously courser. You should use gravel as sold for the purpose, your own will have the same effect as rocks if using the wrong sort. Using gravel gives you the option of using an under gravel filter which cannot be used with sand. Sand is much too dense to allow water (and debris) to filter through. Sand, on the other hand will not let debris in, in the first place, so is therefore much easier to keep clean. PREWASH gravel before placing it into the tank, ensure all dust and "bits" are washed out. Even if the gravel is advertised as pre washed, still wash it. Place the gravel into the tank, minimum of 2 inches deep if you intend live plants. Wood. Certain types of wood, such as bogwood, can be used to decorate the aquarium. Again, use wood sold specifically for the purpose. Certain plants can be bought that will actually attach themselves to rocks and wood and give an altogether pleasing effect. The shop can provide pre-soaked bogwood, less tannin involved. Filters Use of the under gravel filter is mentioned above and is usually sourced by an airline, stone and air pump. The air pushes up the uplift tube drawing water out with it, the water is replaced via the gravel, drawing into the gravel debris and nitrates which, hopefully the plants convert into food. A poorly planted gravel tank will soon "silt up" and require either cleaning or the use of a gravel "vacuum" cleaner, run by air from a pump. These days of modern technology UG filters are not my recommendation but each to their own. Filters remove anything in the water, returning cleaner water to the tank. Exactly what the filters remove depends very much on the filter. A basic sponge filter will remove little in the way of chemicals, if at all, whereas an comparatively expensive external power filter can remove almost anything! Filters need not be expensive but it depends again on budget and requirements. A small tank with a few fish will hardly ever need cleaning whereas a heavily populated tank will require frequent cleaning. Goldfish are a messy fish that will require good filters and/or constant gravel cleaning. Tropical fish are much less messy. Leave filters on all the time the tank is in use. External power filters contain a canister into which the filter parts, usually carbon and filter wool and any additives are placed. On the top is the pump. Water flows into the filter via, obviously, the intake, and clean water flows back into the tank after being passed through the filter medium. Some modern filters are self priming, eg: preparing it for switching on. Others need to be primed first, always see the enclosed instructions for what to do with your filter. The term external implies that it does NOT go inside the tank, ideally it should be below the tank. An internal power filter is the opposite, it cannot be run outside the tank, the whole needs to be immersed within the tank, taking up room. When I changed from internal to external, the difference in space was such that I had to go and get a good dozen extra plants to fill the space up.
Feeding Specialist foods are available in the shop and the choice rivals a human supermarket. You can buy everything from specially prepared flake foods into frozen foods and live foods all in the same shop! Aquarian is a flake food I have always fed my fish ever since its introduction back in the 1970s. Another excellent food, tried and tested, is Tetra Foods. Nutrafin is another. I actually had fish once that would not eat a particular brand when I tried a change, they knew their preferences alright. The frozen food lists like a supermarket too, with many many different types for different fish. Most popular is the frozen bloodworm which 99% of all fish eat in my experience; even fish that prefer vegetarian diets. Changing the Water When you first fill the tank AFTER placing the sand or gravel and rocks; leave it to settle for a few days or add some dedicated water conditioner from the shop or do both. Introduce plants when temperature is up to living standards and wait a short while. Now, assuming the fish are all in place and living healthily, you want to maintain that balance. With my 48 inch tank, I found that changing a bucketful of water every week does fine. Firstly I empty a bucketful of water into the garden (nutrients?) and fill a bucket straight from the tap. Purists will scream at me here but I let it flow, slowly, into the tank directly and the temperature does not fluctuate by more than a degree or so and the water is assimilated into the "old" water in the tank. I find that my fish actually enjoy the water change and swim through the downpour!! If you have used tap water conditioner, usually 24 - 36 hours is sufficient before the first fish can be bought and introduced. It is not unusual for new water to cloud slightly, this should clear in a couple of days. If the tank is an established one, and cloudy, it can be a sign - CHANGE ME!! About 30% change may be essential. Check gravel for dirt, (cause of cloudiness). Clean if necessary. Introducing the Fish. You arrive home with a bag of fish from the shop and you need to float the bag in the new water for temperatures to equalise. This can take about 15 minutes. You can open the bag by undoing the knot and just let it float. After approximately 15 minutes let some of the tank water into the bag, to allow the fish to "breathe" in their new environment. After about another 10 - 15 minutes slowly tip the bag to allow the fish out. Leave for about half hour then add a LITTLE food to the tank. Amount depends on fish totals but allow about 2 minutes feeding time x amount of food x fish. Some people say measure it in "per flake mode" I don't like this myself and usually gauge it myself. If after 10 minutes food is still on the bottom, and if you have no bottom feeders yet, you have fed them too much. A little bit fairly often is a lot better, and cleaner, than a lot at a time. Do not let others feed the fish, you will have no control over their intake and the tank can easily get poisoned. Do not mix goldfish with tropical. Whilst not impossible, goldfish are very messy fish and will eat smaller tropicals. Compatibility is a byword in the hobby. You do not put certain types or species together - unless you want trouble. Consult with the staff in the shop, they will not sell you anything you should not have. Additional Livestock Snails. Take care here, snails can be added via plants which had snail eggs on them. Nobody can guarantee snail free plants. One single egg is all it takes. Large apple snails are beneficial and are frequently on sale in the shop. Snail infestation is a real pain and takes some time to clear up. If you spot any in small numbers, crack shells against glass and allow to fall, they will be eaten. Infestation can be controlled by placing a lettuce leaf either floating or stuck to glass with a special clip, this attracts the snails en masse and each morning can be removed and replaced with new leaf until snails are gone or down to manageable volumes. Pigmy puffer fish can and do eat snails BUT will try and nip your fish too! Clown Loaches are rather partial to snails as well.
Additional Items It would be well worth it to buy a bucket and keep it 100% dedicated for use with the tank. Obviously if you use a bucket to wash the car, you cannot use it on the tank, chemicals abound not to mention dirt. Tap water contains Chlorine. This can be harmful. I say - can be - because many purists will tell you that the water must be left to lie for certain periods to allow the Chlorine to "escape" and that water conditioners must be added prior to its introduction into the tank. They are right of course, but there are ways around it and I use them. See changing the water above. Get a length of plastic tubing of about 1 inch diameter minimum (for siphoning) and keep it only for that use. You can buy a ready made siphoning kit from the shop, very inexpensive. A measuring jug, plastic, might come in handy for measuring does etc of medications but as most, if not all, medications that come in bottles are clearly marked, this is optional. An obvious accessory is a net and we don't need to wonder what the heck that is for! Before and after, wash your hands. Do not use soap before or anti bacterial hand washes, do that afterwards. Cleaning kits must be exclusively for use with the aquarium - not something from under the sink. Unleash your artistic bent with your new creation. Design the landscape, set it up, water, plants and fish then sit back and hopefully, gloat!! Do NOT switch heater on until tank is full. Sounds daft, but easy mistake to make, especially if someone says they want the light on, and you switch on too early, its all plugged in and nowhere to go except "bang" - oops, need a new heater already! Maintenance Daily Put the light on, ideally 8 -10 hours per day. This can vary according to your specific environment. If you’re out all day, leave it off till you get home. You could use a timer if required. Give the fish a health check, do they look peaceful, no lesions, cuts, while spots on bodies etc. Healthcare is below. Check the temperature, now food? Weekly Remove about 25-30% of the water and replace with new. If you wish you can equalise the temperature beforehand by adding a little boiling water into the bucket NOT the tank. Check temperature about 5 mins after change. Again purists will argue otherwise but I have been doing this for 30+ years now with no problems. Monthly/Bimonthly Using a siphon cleaner, remove trapped dirt from gravel, remove algae from front glass, gadgets for this are available in the shop. Replace any water lost through siphoning. Ask in shop for various methods and current equipment to do this. Holidays You can still go on holiday, check everything before you go, and place "holiday food blocks" in the tank, see shop for details. If you have someone else in the "know" trust them to feed your fish. Or give detailed instructions to a member of the family. Stressing the need that they are not to think that the food quota is not enough. Fish fed regularly, even if on less than the right amounts, will not starve to death. Health Fish, like humans, can suffer from illness and disease. Whilst important to know what to look for, the main thing to remember is that this comes better with experience, so do not panic because you don't know white spot from velvet disease. See the sites pages on the health of your fish for detailed information. Don't forget, as with everything, we are on the end of the phone line or email. Prevention is better that cure. Buy healthy looking fish. The shop sells only the healthiest looking fish BUT be aware that even experts cannot always see that something could be or is going to be wrong with a fish, but in the main, the fish in the shop are quite spot on healthwise. Most ailments are usually triggered by bad water conditions. So, what do you do if your fish is looking a bit on the dodgy side? At the first, try a water change and keep an eye on the fish for a while. 99% of all fish ailments have cures which can be found in the shop. Read the instructions on the bottle or packet. For example clown loaches can be killed with the use of certain medications as they are "scaleless" fish. If your unsure about the condition of the water in your tank, take a fair sized sample in a CLEAN container to the shop, we will undertake tests for you and suggest remedies. How To Control Algae. Algae are microscopic plants that sometimes form ugly growths on glass and rock and on plants too. Some are brown, some red but mostly green. To control algae, ensure that the tank is maintained as per the instructions on this page, or by advice from the shop. Don't panic if you cannot remember it all, nobody can. Call the shop ok? Accumulated fish waste, uneaten food and dead bodies hidden away will generate nitrates and phosphates on which the algae thrive. Also excessive lighting can spiral algae growth out of control. Reduce amount of time lighting is on, for example 10 down to 8 hours, etc. If you’re in a house that out all day but of a sunny disposition (well lit) leave lights off till you come home. Increasing the amount of plants might combat this also. I once had a major problem with this and almost cured it with frequent water changes with RO water and less light. How Many Fish Can I Keep Surface area dictates how many fish can be kept safely in a tank. Generally if you use as a guide - 10 cm of fish in length per 250 square centimetres of surface area. An aquarium that is 90 cm long and 30 cm wide has a surface area of 2700 square centimetres, so can accommodate about 100 cm of fish. Therefore you could have 20 x 5cm fish; or 10 x 10cm fish. Bear in mind this is the FULL GROWN size of the fish, not what they are now. Books on sale in the shop give adult sizes, but ask the staff "How big does it grow" - if in doubt UNDERSTOCK. Finally. My guidelines are not set in concrete. This is what I have found to work through many years experience. Many "experts" hold different views. The final decision is, however, yours. It matters not who thinks what setup is the ultimate, that's down to you and your creative skills. Any problems call the shop on 0800 0121679, we are here to help, and pleased to do so.
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All information on this site is provided by the webmaster and, should there be a pricing error, it is my fault and not the shop or its staff. Any prices marked on stock shown on these pages were correct at the time the image was taken. If you have a question regarding the site Click to email me |
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