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Friday, August 16, 2013

How to Build Your Own Fish Tank

When you build your own fish tank, there are only a few really important things to do. Anyway, before buying your fish you should sit down and make a detailed plan about how to start up with your fish tank and answer yourself the following 3 questions:

  1. Do I want a freshwater or a saltwater aquariums? (This is probably the most important question. Both fishes and plants can only survive in their natural habitat, freshwater and saltwater plants and fishes cannot be mixed with each other.)
  2. How large do I want my fish tank to be? How many gallons of water should it hold? (The larger the aquarium, the more it weights. Never underestimate the weight of 'a few litre water' when calculating the weight of your aquarium. 1 U.S gallon are 3,8 litre are 3,8kg. A fish tank stand for a 55 gallon fish tank has to carry about 208kg water plus the fish tank itself!)
  3. Do I want only one species in my fish tank or several different species? (Not every species is as peaceful as we want it to be. Mix the wrong fishes and watch how the attack each other instead of getting along with each other.)

After answering this three questions, you probably know, what you want to have. The next step is to gather all supplies you need to build your own fish tank. You need at least the following 5 piece of equipment:

1. The fish tank itself - only use tanks that are made for being filled with water! Never divert some canister from its intended use! Can you image a dozen litres of water pouring on your floor because the container you used (maybe to save some bucks) burst under the large weight?

2. The fish tank stand - Since you know the proportions of your fish tank now, you can calculate, how much weight the fish tank stand will has to endure.

3. A filtration system - Without any filtration system the water in your fish tank will become cloudy in no time. The filtration system depends on how much water it is supposed to filter. If your filtration system is too weak, the amount of filtered water will be to low and it will have no effect at all. A good filtration system also provide fresh oxygen.

4. Heater - Most fish species have a certain temperature which represents their natural environment. Your fish will be unable to survive if the water in your aquarium it either to warm or too cold. Temperature fluctuations can have the same effect, that is why a constant temperature should be provided. Tropical fish will most likely prefer a warmer water.

5. Light - A light system is important for your fish and the plants in your aquarium. Like any other animal, fish have a day and night cycle and they will negatively react to any disturbance. How would you react, if the sun would rise an set randomly?

Now that you know what kind of fish tank you want to have and what kind of equipment you need, you know how to build your own fish tank.

Learn special techniques and tips from a real professional. Check out my review of a complete guide to fish care on my blog Here's the link: http://www.best-tropical-fish-guide.blogspot.com/

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