Fish Tank Supplies

Fish tank supplies for a new manageable Fish tank that you can maintain anywhere. The “new fish tank” means that it’s acceptable by public opinion and that you are caring for your fish in a responsible fashion.

A few years ago it was acceptable to get a gold fish and a bowl some water conditioner fish food and you have a fish bowl with a fish in it. By popular belief the Goldfish although it’s a hardy fish that can survive these conditions is not comfortable being in a fish bowl at room temperature. Although a fish bowl requires a few fish tank supplies that it didn’t a few years ago we can still get a fish tank up and running for a reasonable amount of money. This article is focused on making a safe home for our fish with out spending an absurd amount.

To make sure we have a reasonably safe environment for our fish were going to need a few things. We’re going to need a heater a filter and a tank appropriate for our fish. Using the gold fish as an example, at the very least for a gold fish were going to need a 10 gallon fish tank. These supplies are the deterrent now for Wanna-be fish keepers. When researching this topic I found that for the most part this set up was going to cost $100 or more. That’s not including the fish! Well I think that fish tank supplies should be more affordable. I found and recommend the Marineland Eclipse System Six Aquarium. I found it for $58.99 it comes with everything mentioned above and more. Now because we used gold fish as a example I would like to add this comment. A bio wheel is a filtering system that uses good bacteria to filter pollutants out of the water. Gold fish produce a lot of waste and if after setting up this tank you should submerse a piece of lettuce in this tank for 1 week then remove it. This tank will be perfect for keeping gold fish only after you give it a chance to grow that much needed good bacteria.

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FILTER:Bigger is better when it comes to filters. Your going to need a filter that can process the water in your tank every hour (gallons per hour rating). This is a list of the top 3 filters for your convenience in order starting from apperent “best”. Refugium or wet/dry trickle filter. Canister (Fluval, Ehiem), Biowheel (Marineland) and (Aquaclear) standard hang-on-tank.

POWERHEAD: Circulate dissolved oxygen though-out your tank. Providing more oxygen in hard to get to places. Recommendation- Hagen Aquaclear.

HEATERS: I would recommend something that is completely submersible, and has a temperature that you can set. For a saltwater tank 30 gallons or larger, 2 heaters are recommended placing one on each end. This provides heating more evenenly, also your tank will have a back-up making it so the failure of 1 heater doesn’t have a impact on your fish. As a rule of thumb you want at least 5 watts per gallon and half that if using 2 heaters. When heating the water 10 degrees or more above the room temperature, double the watts per gallon. Recommendation- THEO UL Heater 300W.

LIGHTING: If you want corals of plants you want to upgrade your lamps to a 10,000K tube or a 50/50 actinic. Use a compact fluorescent or metal halide. These will provide more intense light for photosynthesis. Recommendation- Metal Halide and T5 Combination Light for Reef Tank

SUBSTRATE : Something made of aragonite will minimize the changes in pH and keep it from falling below 7.8. Most commonly used is crushed coral. Oolitic aragonite and aragonite sand is a very fine grained material. Preference depends on the size of the grain of the material.

SALT MIX: Synthetic sea salt is recommended for keeping only fish, Instant Ocean is available almost everywhere. Shrimp and yes snails, crabs, corals all require a higher quality mix.

HYDROMETER: This measures the salt that’s dissolved in water. There are two available hydrometers, one made of glass that floats on the surface more accurate and a plastic container that has a needle that rises and falls as the amount of salt changes. In a fish only fish tank 1.020 - 1.026 would be the ideal gravity reading. When inverts are concerned the reading would ideal at 1.024 - 1.026.

WATER TESTING KIT: minimum of pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. The API saltwater master kit, which has all these tests.

CLEANING SUPPLIES: elbow length gloves, gravel vacuum, 5 gallon bucket, large plastic container and powerhead for mixing the salt (to be done well ahead of water changes), algae scraper, razor blades for coraline algae and diatoms that like to attach to the glass.

WATER CONDITIONER: for removing chlorine or chloramine from your tap water.

PROTEIN SKIMMER: This removes dissolved and small organic materials that would normally contribute to the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in your tank.

GLASS COVER: Reduces evaporation and closes in the top of your tank that protects your fish for a number of reasons.

LIVE ROCK: This not only makes for a more natural appearance, it also provides hiding places for you fish and increases the biological filtration. The chances are pretty good that the live rock will bring some company with it that will benefit your tank as well.

CHILLER: Your only really going to consider a chiller if the following is affecting your tank. Metal halide lighting is increasing the temperature of your tank, or the water temperature regularly gets above 85. The water temperature should run 76-80.