Captive Aquatics: An Aquarium and Ecology Blog

Your First Nature Aquarium [Part I]

Freshwater aquariums have definitely changed since I was little.  I remember the "cool" looking tank consisted of fake neon plants, bright colored gravel and funny skeletons that moved.  (At least I thought it was cool!)

Today's current trend is now the nature aquarium, presenting a landscape cut straight out of a river or pond.  These tanks look picturesque with their live plants, natural gravel and flowing landscapes.  I have set up many of these tanks and wanted to show you how you can set up your own in a three part series.  The extra great aspect of this step by step set up is that will allow an easy to follow guide for nature aquarium beginners.

Four ways to get a cheap tank!

Got the aquarium bug?  Have to urge to keep fish?  Then don't run to the nearest pet store and spend over $200 on new equipment, find a deal instead!  Here is a list of 4 different ways to find the perfect aquarium for your house and wallet.

1.  Join a Forum:  Forums are great places to meet people whom love keeping aquariums and people who are constantly trying to get rid of old aquariums.  You can easily find a slightly used aquarium of any shape or size that will cost you less than what you would pay if you bought it from the store.  I personally have found aquariums greater than 400 gallons selling for less than $800 that include stands, canopies and equipment!

2.  Search "Mom & Pop" Pet Stores:  The "Mom & Pop" pet store is always trying to make a deal.  You can easily find aquariums that have small leaks, scratches or just need some TLC that you can easily (and cheaply) provide.

3.  Garage Sales:  Everyone at some point in time had a ten gallon tank and want to get rid of it now.  Many people list aquariums in garage sales that are dirt cheap and usually have only been used once.  With this deal you can easily obtain everything for your aquarium (pumps, fish food, filtration, lights).

4.  Craigslist:  Aquariums are always on craigslist, from $10 to $2000, you can find your perfect aquarium.  The only draw back is usually the distance the aquarium is from you (Houston is huge!) and that costs gas and time.  If you have an extra three or four hours you can spare to pick up an aquarium, go for it!

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CO2 Injection for Planted Aquariums [Part II]

Part 2 of 2 of CO2 Injection for Planted Aquariums.  To read the first part, click here.

 How do I administer CO2 to an aquarium?

A typical CO2 setup consists of a pollen glass atomizer, CO2 bubble counter, CO2 regulator, and a container of liquid carbon dioxide.  Theses items are made out of glass to give the nature aquarium a clean look without the extra components, and makes the equipment easier to clean.  Plastic equipment is also available as a cheaper alternative. 

Sand as a substrate

If you're like me, then you've longed for some form of substrate that seems a little more natural than the bright blue and pink gravel offered at most pet stores.  I can't seem to dig up any memories of visiting lakes, rivers or ponds that offered any such from of brightly hued gravel.  Therefore, I set out on an adventure to find a type of sand that might offer a more pleasant and natural tone for my freshwater fish tanks.  There are multiple choices out there but I decided upon Playsand by Quikrete. 

An Introduction to Freshwater Puffers

One of my favorite fish of both the saltwater and freshwater hobby of aquariums are the puffer fish.  Their dog-like personalities and their cute faces have caught my heart since I started in the hobby.  Many new hobbyists can identify a puffer fish fairly quickly, and this has cause the group to rise in popularity.  Here is a list of some freshwater puffers and some brackish water puffers that are found commonly in pet stores.

 

Why you should be involved in the aquarium hobby!

Editor's Note: this post introduces Dennis Wallace, our newest contributing author.  Dennis will be writing about freshwater & marine aquariums. 

Interested in shiny things? Spend hours staring at a wall and hoping the dots in your eyes aren't in fact caused by a brain tumor?  Answer yes to either of these questions?  If so, you could be the ideal aquarist!

CO2 Injection for Planted Aquariums [Part 1]

When it comes to water chemistry, pH, ammonia, and nitrates/nitrites are my usual main concerns, and I really do not pay much attention to the other chemical aspects of a freshwater tank.  However, there is another chemical that needs to be monitored in planted tanks: CO2.  To achieve a lush, planted aquarium, CO2 injection is a must. 

Product Review: My Experience with Flourite Substrate

Planted tanks require fertilizer for optimum growth.  For my first planted tank, I picked Flourite because it was on sale, and I know Seachem makes quality products.  I wanted to write a review about a product that helped my planted tank out a lot: Flourite. 

4 Common Goldfish Myths

One of the first fish that many beginners purchase when starting with freshwater aquariums are goldfish.  Their cute awkwardness has captured the hearts of many kids and adults alike but, these fish are not easy to care for as they are often pictured (bowl+water+goldfish!).

Goldfish care is tangled with myths that cause confusion among beginner aquarists and cause many goldfish to die too soon.  Today I'm going to discuss four common goldfish myths that I'd like to put a stop to!

FIve Ways to Reduce Aquarium Algae Growth

No one likes nuisance algae growth in their aquarium, so here are 5 tips for keeping it out!

1.  Perform weekly water changes of at least 25%
2.  Use a Reverse Osmosis (RO) or Dionized (DI) water to remove nitrates and phosphates from tapwater
3.  Use a quality chemical filter media to absorb organics and phosphates from your aquarium's water column (Seachem's Purigen, Two Little Fishies' PhosBan, activated carbon)
4.  Clean your aquarium's mechanical filters at least three times a week
5.  Don't overstock
6.  (Bonus tip!)  Use a UV sterilizer to kill free-floating algae and keep your aquarium crystal clear (especially useful for ponds).

Controlling nuisance algae growth is all about controlling and/or removing the dissolved nutrients from the aquarium's water column (nitrates and phosphates for the most part).  Nuisance algae requires these nutrients to grow, and without them, your algae will disappear!  Chemical additives to kill the algae are never recommended, as these are harmful to the aquarium inhabitants as well as algae!

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