Saturday 17 August 2013

Types Of Fish Tanks You Can Have

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Types of Fish Tanks you can buy and the supplies needed.

If you are planning to set up a saltwater fish aquarium in your home, then there are different factors to be well considered. Firstly, you have to ensure that you have bought the right and necessary equipment before setting up a fish aquarium. Though there is no single right or wrong procedure when it comes to setting up a fish tank, you are required to follow some essential procedures.

When you have decided to set up a saltwater fish tank in your home, the very first decision you have to make is what type of aquarium you would want. There are many types of fish aquariums for saltwater fishes. Each of the aquariums involves a different procedure for setting up. These aquariums are called as Fish Only with Live Rock (FOWLR), Fish Only (FO) and Reef Tank aquariums.



Fish Only Aquarium :

Fish Only aquarium
The most popular type of the above mentioned three aquariums is the Fish Only aquarium. As the name of the aquarium suggests, a fish only aquarium will only contain fish like Guppies, Clownfish or Anglefish. This type of saltwater aquarium will not contain live rocks or any type of coral stones. However, you can put artificial corals as well as synthetic or dried ones and also shells.

Fish Only with Live Rock :

Fish Only with Live RockFish only with live rock is another type of saltwater fish aquarium. These saltwater aquariums will contain different kinds of live rocks. However, you cannot put live corals in these aquariums. Such a type of a fish tank can also contain some live crustaceans and invertebrates and also sessile invertebrates.  Sessile invertebrates are those which do not grow on a live rock.

Previous blog : Pet Fish For Home

Reef Tanks :

Reek Tank
 The third type of saltwater fish aquarium is the reef tank setup.  This saltwater aquarium will contain different species of saltwater fish and some other marine life. It also contains corals, live rocks, motile and sessile invertebrates and also sometimes crustaceans. Some aquarists who keep this aquarium at their home may choose not to keep saltwater fish in the aquarium and instead keep just the corals and live rocks.

Once you have decided on the saltwater fish tank that you want to purchase, you need to then start researching about the right supplies and equipment required to set up the salt water fish aquarium. Once you have made a list of all necessary equipment and supplies for the aquarium, you should waste no time in purchasing them.

Apart from the fish tank, you also have to buy good filters, appropriate lighting and a filtration system. The filtration system should be a good one since it will be responsible for eliminating the waste and the leftover food from the saltwater tank. You also have to purchase a good thermometer, heater and substrate. If you are using freshwater, then you need to prepare sea salt mixture in the right proportion to turn the fresh water into salt water. Or else, you can directly buy saltwater for the tank. You also have to purchase a test kit and a hydrometer along with some other supplies.

5 comments:

  1. Can you remind me how many fish should be in a tank? Is it one inch of fish for every 2 gallons?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Katie,
      1 inch of fish per 2 gallons is set for freshwater fishes, whereas for saltwater fish the ratio is set as 1 inch of fish per 3-4 gallons.

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    2. That method of calculation is very outdated. Maybe with community types of freshwater fish that stay under 2 inches it's an ok rule of thumb, but to say keeping a 12 inch oscar in a 24 gallon tank is ok? Nope, not going to work. At least, not successfully nor for very long.

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  2. I currently have a fish with live rock aquarium setup. I find that it gives the fish a bit more natural environment with nooks and crannies for them to hide in.

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    Replies
    1. It is always a good thing to make the tank as natural as possible. :)

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