Aquarium Supplies & Equipment Tips
Read these 13 Aquarium Supplies & Equipment Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Aquarium tips and hundreds of other topics.
Clean Gravel
When used for the first time, gravel should be washed thoroughly. Simply rinse clean water through it until the water comes out clear (tap water is fine). For example, put the gravel in a bucket of water, fill it with water, and churn the gravel up. Drain the water and repeat the procedure until the water remains clear. Before using gravel of unknown origin (e.g., not purchased at a fish store), you may want to boil it for 15 minutes to kill unwanted bacteria.
Aquarium Thermometers
You will need a thermometer to verify that your tank stays at its proper temperature. Two types are commonly available. The traditional bulb thermometer works the same way as the ones you can buy for your house. They either hang from the top edge of your tank, or float along the surface. The second common design is a flat model that sticks to the outside of the glass. In this design, liquid crystals activate at a specific temperature, either highlighting the numerical temperature or a bar that slides along a scale.
Aquarium thermometers can be rather unreliable so, thermometers are good for verifying that your temperature is not too far off, but may be off by several degrees in some cases. When buying a thermometer, look at all the thermometers and pick one that has an ``average'' temperature, rather than one of the extremes.
Aquarium Gravel
Be aware that not all gravel is inert. For example, coral, sea shells, dolomite and limestone will release (leach) carbonates into the tank raising its pH buffering capacity. When keeping saltwater fish and corals or African rift lake cichlids, this is desirable. But in most other cases, you will not want your gravel affecting the water chemistry. As a quick test, drip an acid (e.g., vinegar) onto the gravel in question. If it foams or bubbles, the gravel is going to leach carbonates into the water. To be absolutely sure, fill a bucket of gravel with water and measure the pH over a period of a week. If the pH remains stable, it should be safe to use in your tank. If you have obtained non-aquarium gravel for use in your tank, you should test to be sure the gravel does not contain any harmful toxins. Unfortunately, the best way to test the gravel is to add the gravel to a container or small tank, fill with water and add a small fish (preferably a feeder fish) for a few days to be sure the gravel is safe.
About Aquarium Air Pumps
An air pump simply bubbles air through your tank. Air pumps serve two purposes. First, they insure that your tank maintains an adequate concentration of oxygen. An air pump is NOT required for this purpose, as long as your tank maintains adequate water movement together with surface agitation. This is generally the case if external (e.g., powerheads for circulation, box or cannister filters are used). Second, air pumps can be used to force water through a filter (e.g., sponge or corner filter). If using an under gravel filter, for example, an air pump produces bubbles that force water up the uplift tubes, pulling water through the filter. In larger tanks, powerheads perform the same function. Thus, an air pump is not required, provided your tank has good water circulation.
Metal Halide Aquarium Lighting
Metal Halide (MH) lights are most commonly seen illuminating football fields, but are also used in our hobby by reefkeepers and die-hard plant enthusiasts, who demand very high light intensity. The fixtures cost significantly more than fluorescent over $200 per fixture). The bulbs last longer and provide more efficient and brighter illumination than fluorescents: typically 175-250 watts per bulb, but generate an appropriately higher level of heat as well. Some aquarists like the sun-like shadow effects generated by MH bulbs
Aquarium Lighting Needs
Plants need a definite daily light and dark cycle each day. 10-14 hours is fine. You should buy a timer for $5-$10 to automatically turn the lights on and off for you, since the plants and fish prefer a regular cycle. If the plants need more light, you should not extend the light period, as that will only increase algal growth. Rather, install another fixture and increase the intensity of light.
Driftwood Decorations
Driftwood and other Decorations are safe to place items in your tank as long as they are inert, meaning they won't release (leach) chemicals into the water.
Wood may leach substances into the water, changing the pH in a possibly inappropriate manner. Driftwood often leaches tannins and other humic acids into the water, possibly softening it and lowering its pH. The water may also obtain a yellowish tea-colored tint. The tint is not harmful and can be removed by filtering the water through activated charcoal.
If you use wood that you've found yourself (e.g., woods or lake), boil it first to kill any pathogens. Boiling it long enough will also make it sink.
Aquarium Lights & Hoods
You will probably want to purchase lights and a hood. A hood prevents fish from jumping out of the tank and reduces the rate at which water evaporates. A good hood effectively seals the tank (except perhaps where the heater and filter reside). You want as little water as possible evaporating as it may raise the room's humidity to unacceptable levels and requires more maintenance because you will have to ``top off'' the tank once or twice a week to replace the lost water.
There are two styles of hoods. Full hoods combine the light and hood as a single unit. Hoods include space for only 1 or 2 (parallel) fluorescent light tubes, which is fine for fish-only tanks, but not usually enough for growing plants. Glass canopies cover the tank with two strips of glass connected by a plastic hinge, but don't include lighting. A separate strip (or other) light is used in conjunction with it. Canopies are a bit better for plant tanks than full hoods; one can upgrade or change the lighting without replacing the entire hood, and in situations where very high wattage is needed, one can usually fit more light bulbs directly above the tank.
Biological Filtration
Biological filtration refers to filters that make use of bacteria to break down wastes in the water into substances which are less toxic to the inhabitants, in a process known as the nitrogen cycle. Examples of some biologic filters are under gravel filters, sponge filters, and trickle filters. Biological filtration is imperative to healthy fish.
Activated Carbon
Activated carbon looks like crumbled charcoal. It is a chemical filter media that absorbs many compounds out of the water, and is especially good for removing yellowing compounds that may tint the water and cause cloudiness. Carbon must be changed regularly (about every month), as after it has been used for a while, it may leach impurities back into the water. For information on water changes, please see the tip of the same title. Make sure to rinse the carbon thoroughly with non-chlorinated water before adding to the filter.
Clean your aquarium filters
Perform regular maintenance on your filter to keep it clean.
Dirty or clogged filters operate at reduced efficiency. Filtration systems vary in the types of "cartridges" they use. Each individual filter will use different cleaning methods. In the case of biological filtration, a clogged filter will be unable to remove ammonia properly, resulting in fish stress and eventually death. Floss-based biological filters are cleaned by gently rinsing them in used tank water that has been siphoned into a bucket. Other biological filters use such items as "Bio Balls" which are plastic circular balls that are composed of "spike" like balls that will promote the growth of bacterial colonies. Undergravel filters are cleaned through regular vacuuming.
Metal Halide vs Halogen
Do not confuse MH with the tungsten halogen lights sold in hardware stores as utility floods or living room fixtures; Halogen lights are basically high-wattage incandescent lights, and generate an enormous amount of heat and are very inefficient in their light output. Some also find the spectrum too yellowish.
Actinic Lighting
Actinics light bulbs are a type of fluorescent or power compact light. The color of this light is very blue. Actinics are most useful to the chlorophyll in marine life, and they are the color of the sea below 10 meters. A little more costly than regular bulbs, but well worth the expense. Actinic bulbs are used in conjunction with daylight or "white" color bulbs to produce the proper color spectrum. Actinic bulbs show off the colors of the corals and fish in the tank by causing them to "glow" under the actinic light.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Lynne Christen |
