In times of economic distress, many people abandon expensive entertainment, and turn to less-expensive hobbies and forms of entertainment that keep them closer to home. Is it possible that fish-keeping and the aquarium industry is able to actually benefit from this downturn? At least one company is proving that to be the case. AquariumPlants.com experienced a 60% burst in sales in February compared to a year ago.
“I’ve been doing this for ten years and I’ve never seen anything like it”, owner Mark Hamran said of the February surge in freshwater aquarium plant sales. “I guess that consumers are turning to soothing and relaxing hobbies like aquariums to relieve stress from the recession”, Hamran said.
Hamran stated, “We are seeing a boost in new buyers just getting into the hobby, as well as returning customers expanding their aquascape”. “Friday and Saturday night orders have increased substantially, I guess it’s an indication that people are staying home more”, Hamran said.
Nestled in the tiny town of Tea, South Dakota, the company has already hired one new employee in February, and is recruiting another aquarium expert and customer service representative in March as their surge in sales activity continues.
If you are looking at starting a new freshwater aquarium fish tank, or just want to redesign your existing aquascape, be sure to check out their selection of online freshwater plants or aquascape design services.
For people new to fish tanks or just starting their first freshwater aquarium, be sure to review our 11 Steps for Starting a Fish Tank for important “dos and don’ts” in starting your fish keeping hobby.
read comments (0)Starting your fish tank is just the first step in your fish keeping hobby. Proper fish tank maintenance and cleaning will help ensure that your aquarium stays clean and maintained, and your freshwater or saltwater fish alive and happy.
Regular fish tank maintenance is needed because your aquarium is a closed system. Your aquarium has a much higher fish-to-water ratio than found in nature, and your water filtration system will never match that found in a natural ecosystem. As a result, without regular fish tank maintenance and cleaning, chemical buildup will occur - your water will naturally harden due to evaporation, your water pH will decrease over time due to decomposition of fish waste, and nitrate and phosphate buildup will occur.
Your fish tank maintenance and cleaning schedule will depend on the amount of time you have available. But it is much better for your fish if you can commit to a regular and frequent maintenance and aquarium cleaning schedule for your fish tank. Listed below are the fish tank maintenance supplies you’ll need and a recommended fish tank maintenance schedule for your aquarium.
Fish Tank Maintenance Supplies
- 5-gallon bucket
- Gravel Vacuum with 5+ feet of tubing
- Water quality testing kit(s)
- Water conditioner to remove chloramines and chlorine
- Algae glass cleaner
- Reverse Osmosis Filter (saltwater)
Daily Fish Tank Maintenance
- Make sure your equipment is running properly
- Check your aquarium temperature
- Feed your fish, observing their behavior. Don’t overfeed!
- Look for signs of disease or distress with your fish
Weekly Fish Tank Maintenance
- Count your fish
- Use a Gravel Vacuum to clean the gravel and extract 10-15% of the aquarium water
- Replace 10-15% of your aquarium water with water prepared for your aquarium
- Remove any dead plant material from your aquarium
- Rinse your water filter media with water pulled from your aquarium
- Conduct water tests - pH, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia
- Remove algae on your fish tank windows
Monthly Fish Tank Maintenance
- Replace your filter media
- Clean the top glass or acrylic cover of your aquarium to ensure proper lighting
- Clean the exterior glass or acrylic with water & soft towel (after all, you want to be able to clearly see your fish!)
Your proper fish tank maintenance and cleaning schedule should only require about 30 minutes a week, and will help save you money over the long run by providing a clean and well-maintained aquarium environment for your fish.
There are a number of shapes, sizes and types of material you can choose from for your first fish tank, but the best advice for the beginning fish-keeper is: Bigger is better. Simply put, depending on your budget and type of aquarium you would like to start, you will just have a better experience with a larger tank than with a smaller one.
Why is a bigger aquarium better?
A larger fish tank gives you more flexibility in making mistakes as a beginning aquarist. The larger volume of water is better able to absorb waste, is less susceptible to changes in temperature, provides a buffer for sudden changes in water conditions, and gives you more time to notice problems with the tank before they turn deadly.
A large aquarium means you can safely handle more fish (instead of over-populating your small aquarium) and usually gives you more time between required water changes. It provides sufficient space as your fish grow to their adult size, and gives you flexibility to add more tank features to enhance the beauty of your display. It also increases the types of fish you can keep, as both schooling fish and larger fish need more space to be happy and healthy in your tank.
For the saltwater aquarium, a larger tank is especially important, as clean and stable water condition is the most important factor in your success.
What size aquarium should I purchase?
While the size of your first tank will be dependent on its location and your budget, you should try to start with at least a 20- or 29-gallon tank for a freshwater tank (larger is still better), and a 55-gallon tank if you are starting a saltwater or marine aquarium.
What if I have a smaller tank?
Don’t worry, just because you have a smaller tank doesn’t mean you can’t be successful, it just means you need to be extra diligent in the care of your small fish tank. Follow these tips to increase your chances for success:
- Resist the urge to overpopulate (1 inch of fish per gallon of tank)
- Change water frequently (10-15% weekly)
- Monitor water temperature daily
- Test water quality weekly
- Do not overfeed
In selecting your aquarium, you will be considering a number of factors, including size, shape and style. You will also need to decide between what material you want your aquarium made out of - do you want a glass aquarium or an acrylic aquarium? There are benefits to both types, and it really comes down to personal preference and budget when making your decision.
Glass Aquarium Tank
Great for beginners, a glass aquarium is typically cheaper than its acrylic counterpart. All-glass Aquarium tanks are constructed with panes of glass sealed with nontoxic silicon, and framed with plastic molding (typically black or a simulated wood grain). The thickness of the glass pane will increase along with the size of the aquarium.
A glass aquarium is suitable for use with either saltwater fish or freshwater fish, and is recommended for the beginning aquarist due to their ready availability, scratch-resistance and price.
Glass Aquarium Features:
- Long lasting
- Readily available
- More scratch-resistant than Acrylic
- Usually cheaper than a similar-sized Acrylic Aquarium
- Larger all-glass aquarium tanks become very heavy as they get larger
Acrylic Aquarium
An acrylic aquarium makes for a great show tank for your living or family room. Unlike a glass aquarium, an acrylic tank has rounded corners which enhances its look and viewing experience to see all your fish, plants and other decorative features. Since they are individually molded, acrylic tanks are available in more unusual shapes & sizes than a glass aquarium.
Acrylic aquarium features:
- Lightweight
- Curved Corners
- Many Shapes available
- Can be easily scratched during cleaning
- More expensive than a Glass Aquarium
- Less image distortion than a Glass Aquarium
I’ve heard and read these stories all too often. A child’s birthday is coming up, and Mom & Dad want to surprise junior with a freshwater aquarium or saltwater aquarium for that special day. Mom & Dad visit the local Pet Store or Fish Store, buy a 10-gallon starter aquarium kit and wrap it up.
The birthday morning is then spent setting up the aquarium. That afternoon, the family goes back to that local Pet Store to buy some of those colorful fish. And those small shiny ones. Oooh - and that cool-looking catfish in the corner tank. Dad! I want one of those neon-looking ones too!
One week later, the fish have died, and Mom & Dad decide that maybe starting a fish tank wasn’t such a good idea. Junior is bummed that all of his fish died, but he’s since been distracted by the new video game he got for his birthday as well. The fish tank is emptied and put into the attic or garage, only to be sold at next spring’s garage sale.
Luckily, your experience with starting your fish tank doesn’t have to end up like this. Follow these 11 simple Tips to Starting your Fishtank, and you should avoid many of the common mistakes made by first-time fish keepers.
Tip #1: Buy and Read a Book on how to Start an Aquarium
A book on starting an aquarium is a must if you are a first-time fish keeper looking to start a fish tank. You can research your aquarium interest online as well (for free), but books offer portability and are sometimes just an easier read. You will learn what conditions fish need, what aquarium equipment you will need, how to choose proper aquarium lighting, what type of filtration works for freshwater or saltwater aquariums, whether to choose live plants, how to setup your aquarium, and lots of other handy background information you need to be successful.
Some good starter books include:
- The Simple Guide to Fresh Water Aquariums
- Setting up a Tropical Aquarium Week by Week
- Freshwater Aquariums For Dummies
- Saltwater Aquariums For Dummies
Tip #2: Start with a Freshwater Aquarium
For a first-time fish keeper, I would recommend starting out with a freshwater aquarium. A freshwater aquarium setup is considerably less expensive and less complicated than its saltwater equivalent. Freshwater fish are also much cheaper for starting out, ranging from $2 to $10 instead of $20 to $100+!
Tip #3: Buy the largest aquarium you can
In general larger tanks are easier to maintain than smaller tanks. The larger water volume serves as a buffer to slow down chemical imbalances in your aquarium, and also let’s you have more fish! Stay away from the ten gallon fish tank special at WalMart - a starter tank would ideally be a minimum of 20-30 gallons.
Tip #4: Purchase the required equipment to start your fishtank
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Lighting
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Heater
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Thermometer
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Filter (Power Filter, Undergravel Filter or Canister Filter)
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Gravel or sand (one to two inches)
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Aquarium Vacuum
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Nitrogen and PH test kits
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Aquarium Glass Cleaner
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Fish Food
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Decorations / Plants
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Fish Net
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Two 5-gallon buckets
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Towel
Tip #5: Choose an appropriate location
The location of your aquarium is an important consideration for your new hobby. You want to keep your fishtank away from drafts and direct sunlight, and preferably away from any areas in your house that has heavy traffic. You also want to locate your aquarium stand near an electrical outlet, as you will have lighting, heating, filters and possibly an air pump to plug in. If you are keeping a large tank (100+ gallons), you may also need to take structural considerations into account, as your finished tank setup will weigh over 1,000 lbs!
Tip #6: Provide some decorations & shelter for your fish
Decorations, such as large rock, live plants, plastic plants or wood make your aquarium more attractive and provide a place for your fish to hide when they are stressed. Live plants provide a benefit of being able to process some of the aquarium waste as well.
Tip #7: Setup and cycle your aquarium
When you first setup your aquarium, it will not be able to process the waste the fish are producing. You need to give the aquarium time to develop the naturally-occuring bacteria needed to process the amonia produced by your fish into the more harmless nitrate. This process can take up to 8 weeks, during which time it is important to not have too many fish in your aquarium, and to do weekly water changes (15-20% of the water). Don’t forget to add a water conditioner (such as Start Right) to remove the chlorine from your water if you are on a municipal water supply.
Tip #8: Purchase some starter fish
During the cycling process, you need to have some fish in your tank to produce the waste that creates the beneficial bacteria for your filter system. These fish should be hardy and able to withstand some less-than-ideal water conditions. White Cloud Mountain Fish, Zebra Danios, Platys and most catfish are all good choices to start with your aquarium. Don’t overdo it though! Two or three of these starter fish are all that your tank can handle at the beginning.
Tip #9: Introducing more fish to your aquarium - don’t overpopulate!
As a general rule, you should budget one to three gallons of tank size per one inch of fish to not stress your filter system. For a 20-gallon tank, this would mean 15 to 20 inches of total fish length total. Resist your urge to get more fish than your tank can properly support. After selecting your fish, travel straight from the store to your house, and float the bags in your aquarium for 15-20 minutes prior to introducing your fish into your aquarium. This will help match water temperatures and reduce the stress on your fish.
Tip #10: Conduct regular 15-20% water changes
More than anything else, regular water changes will help recover from any mistakes you might be making with your aquarium. Smaller, weekly water changes of 15-20% of the water volume are better than a large (40+%) monthly water change, and will keep your fish healthy and happy!
Tip #11: Involve your whole family!
If you’ve followed all these steps, congratulations! Take some time to enjoy the fruits of your labor with your whole family. We’ve spent countless hours in front of our salt and freshwater aquariums watching our fish, plants, invertebrates and other animals interact with each other. By having all family members involved, no one individual gets stuck with all the maintenance, and it can be a fun family activity for all involved.