Many people are mistaken on the account that the arrangement of the aquarium consists in filling a glass container with water, adding greenery into it and launching fish that need to be fed vigorously. This approach to this responsible occupation most often leads to the death of all the inhabitants of the aquarium.
It should be remembered once and for all that aquariums are independent living organisms that consist of a habitat and accessories that help maintain certain living conditions in this environment. These accessories include compressors, thermostats, filters, lighting devices.
Lighting
Lighting devices are a vital accessory for aquarium plants. In addition to ensuring photosynthesis, such devices allow you to look at the inhabitants of the aquarium even in the dark.
Make sure that you do not have direct sunlight on your aquarium, as too much of it will cause green "mold" to grow on your aquarium walls. You should periodically turn on the light during the day and turn it off at night. Some models of lighting fixtures have an on / off timer.
_ What type of lighting fixture (lamp) is better? _ The lamp contains the color (temperature) of the spectrum, measured in Kelvin. To create lighting conditions that are as close as possible to the light of the sun, you should purchase a 5000 Kelvin lamp.
It is undesirable to use standard incandescent lamps as the main aquarium lighting. They are very energy-intensive, they heat up too quickly and heat the water, which can have a bad effect on some species of fish and plants.
The most optimal way to create a backlight in an aquarium is to install fluorescent lighting. Such lamps do not heat up, are energy-saving and can last for a fairly long period of time (in ordinary lamps, the filament often burns out).
_What distance should the surface of the water be from the lighting device? _ On average, this value ranges from 10 to 20 cm. This parameter also depends on the specific behavior of the fish inhabiting the "artificial reservoir". If the fish spend most of their time in the upper layers of water or periodically float to the surface to gulp air, then the lamp should be raised a couple of centimeters above the average.
_How many lamps are required or is one sufficient? _ The number of lights required depends on the size and height of the aquarium. One lamp will be enough to create normal lighting in a container with a volume of 50 - 60 liters. It is better to illuminate an aquarium with a volume of 80 - 100 liters with a pair of lamps (with a capacity of 5000 Kelvin).
F.ua invites you to familiarize yourself with the range of aquarium lights.
Filtration
Every aquarium should be equipped with an internal or external filter. Both types of filters have their pros and cons: the filter that is located inside the aquarium is easier to clean, but it takes up additional space, has an average performance and is difficult to hide from the eyes of others.
The external filter has excellent performance, but cleaning it is quite laborious; the service life of such a filter is short. The external filter can be cleaned once every 3 to 4 months.
The principle of operation of the filter consists in the mechanical purification of the aquatic environment from impurities and in the biological blocking of the waste products of fish - nitrites and ammonia.
F.ua offers the widest range of internal and external filters.
Water aeration
An aquarium compressor is used to enrich the water with oxygen.The presence of this device is not obligatory for those species of fish that use oxygen above the surface of the water for breathing, rather than saturating it (fish with a labyrinth respiratory system).
It is not necessary to keep the compressor on all the time, because excess aeration during daylight hours (when the water is also enriched with oxygen by aquarium plants) will cause inconvenience to both fish and plants. It is best to turn on the compressor after turning off the artificial lighting in the aquarium.
The F.ua online store offers a choice of quality single and dual channel compressors.
Temperature control
In order to heat the water in the aquarium to the desired temperature and maintain this level at all times, an aquarium thermostat should be installed. Many fish breeds (especially "natives" of hot countries) are quite demanding about the temperature of the surrounding water environment: as soon as the temperature drops by 3-5 degrees, the fish will start to get sick. Naturally, in the hot season, the thermostat should not be turned on.
Our online store invites you to familiarize yourself with the widest selection of thermostats.
Priming
The aquarium must have soil and living vegetation. The soil must be free of excess impurities. It should be remembered that natural soil does not contain dyes.
Some types of soils can slightly change the hardness of the water - to lower the pH level in the water.
Soil elements can have different diameters, and large predatory fish will like large soil, but it will be difficult for aquarium plants to grow in it. Optimal for plants is a 5 - 11 cm thick soil flooring with a grain diameter of 2 - 4 mm.
There is no need to clean the soil in an aquarium that contains live algae. All waste from the "fish table" and fish metabolic products accumulate in the soil layer and serve as an excellent fertilizer for algae.
You can buy special algae supplements: by filling them in the soil when setting up the aquarium, you can be sure that your algae will immediately begin to receive their portion of feeding.
The soil is a kind of additional filter, inside which contains bacteria that have a positive effect on the microflora of the aquarium. In addition to all of the above, the soil fixes the algae and decorations at the bottom of the aquarium.
Aquarium vegetation
The aquarium accessories market is represented by the widest range of artificial algae. Artificial plants are very beautiful, bright, do not require special care. The only action that may be required in relation to the algae is to re-fix them in the soil layer (if some frisky fish manages to dig them out).
You can find a wide range of artificial plants for the aquarium in the "Decorations for the aquarium" section.
Decorative elements
Decorative elements are of great importance for the biological system of the aquarium. Many beginner aquarists are mistaken that the main purpose of decor is to aesthetically enhance their little aquatic world.
Far from it.
Ornate driftwood, amazing grotto caves, bizarre stones and similar beautiful elements really delight the eye of observers. But for the inhabitants of the artificial water world, they can serve as houses, shelters or even border structures (some fish build a kind of barrier from stones around the perimeter of the territory they like).
In aquariums in which small fish and fry live, a couple of stones with a spongy porous structure should be placed: the fish will definitely arrange houses and shelters for themselves in these pores.
The F.ua online store is in a hurry to please aquarists with a rich assortment of aquarium decor: sunken ships and pirate treasure chests, underwater volcanoes and ancient castles, ancient amphoras and funny reptiles, and much more!
The shape and size of the aquarium
When choosing a container in which fish will live, it is necessary to accurately calculate its volume. In a very small aquarium, freedom-loving active fish will feel oppressed, and the oxygen content in the small tank is very low. Buying an aquarium with a large volume for a couple of fish can be very expensive.
There is no single formula for calculating the optimal volume of an aquarium. But you can adhere to the following rule: one fish, the body length of which does not exceed 5 cm, should have at its personal disposal about 4-6 liters of water. This is an average, assuming a good filter and monthly water changes. The ideal situation is when every centimeter of the fish body is "covered" with two liters of water.
Depending on where the aquarium will be located, the length and width of the tank will vary. Remember the basic rule: beauty and biological balance are easier to maintain in a large aquarium.
If you have planned to put the aquarium in the corner of the room, then the following models will perfectly fit into this place: Fauna Angular 57x57x50 97 l, Fauna Angular 57x57x60 115 l, Fauna Angular 57x57x40 75 l, Fauna Angular 72x72x60 174 l, Fauna Angular 87x87x60 255 l, Fauna Angular 72x72x50 and Fauna Corner 72x72x70.
In the niche and along the wall, you can install cubic, classic or oval-shaped aquariums. In the center of the room, a hexagonal, oval, cubic or classic-shaped container, as well as a round aquarium, will ideally be.
Having calculated the volume of the future aquarium, you should decide on its height. The higher the height of the aquarium, the thicker its walls.
The considerable height of the aquarium requires powerful lighting fixtures. In turn, in bright light, biological processes in the water are intensified, as a result of which the walls of the aquarium, plants, soil and decor are covered with green "mold".
Tall aquariums require intensive aeration of the water, since the peculiarity of their design does not allow the bottom layers of water to be enriched with oxygen in sufficient volume. Compressors purchased for tall aquariums should be above average. Such equipment will have to work under conditions of increased pressure (high water column).
Basically, aquarium compressors are designed to operate in containers that are no more than 50 cm high. It should be remembered that the higher the aquarium (the height exceeds 60 cm), the more difficult it is to reach the bottom with your hands. Such an aquarium is quite difficult to care for.
The widest range of aquariums of various shapes and sizes is presented in our online store in the "Aquariums" section.
Remember that the aquarium requires weekly cleaning of the soil, replacing water by a third of its volume, cleaning the filtration system every 5 days. Remember that the health and beauty of your fish and plants requires a varied diet and vitamin supplements.
