Transcript Aquarium - cloudfront.net

Aquarium
Factors to Consider
• Biotic (Living)
• Type of Fish, newt,
turtle etc.
• Beneficial Bacteria
• Live Plants
• Harmful
microorganisms and
multicellular
organisms
• Abiotic (Nonliving)
• Substrate (gravel,
crushed coral)
• Plastic Plants
• Decorative rocks,
caves, or toys
• Equipment (filters,
lights, heaters, etc.)
• Wastes
(EX.Ammonia)
Equipment
• Determine what equipment is needed
– Size and shape of tank
– Heater or Heat Lamp
– Lighting
– Filtration System
– Stand
– Substrate (gravel, crushed coral, sand,
dolomite)
– Plants, Rocks, Shells etc.
Tank Placement
• Away from windows, radiators, and air
conditioners.
• Placed in a manner that all equipment
should be available for maintenance,
cleaning and care of fish
Tank Placement
• Place tank on a steady surface that can
support the weight.
• Fresh water =8.8 lbs a gallon, saltwater
ways more.
• Calculate the approx weight of the tank?
Filtration
• Install a filtration system.
• To maintain optimal fish health, 3 types of
filtration are necessary.
– Mechanical/physical – eg. ?
– Biological - eg. ?
– Chemical - eg. ?
Mechanical/Physical Filtration
• Pads, sponges, floss, sand or other media
that remove solid particles from the water.
– Removes
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Excess food
Wastes
Pieces of fin, scale
Plant matter
Biological Filtration
• A biowheel, prefilter media, biosponge,
gravel, or sand for beneficial bacteria to
grow on.
• These bacteria break down deadly
nitrogenous wastes from living organisms
and decaying food.
• Bacteria break down
– Ammonia (deadly) to Nitrite to Nitrate
Chemical Filtration
• Activated Carbon removes harmful gases
dissolved in water.
Heating
• Most fish can only survive within an
environment with narrow range of
temperature change.
• Approx. between 72 and 80 degrees
Fahrenheit.
• To maintain optimal temperature, install a
submersible heater
Heating
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You need 5 watts per gallon
10 gallon – 50 watts
20 gallon – 100 watts
25 gallon – 150 watts
30 gallon – 150 watts
Decorations
• Organisms need to be in an environment
as similar to their natural environment as
possible.
• rocks, live plants, caves, shells plastic
plants, plastic pipes etc.
Cover and lighting
• A cover is needed to:
– Prevent fish from jumping out of the tank
– Slow evaporation
– Keep dust out of the tank
Care of Fish
Water Chemistry
• Test and Record
– pH
– Ammonia level
– Nitrite level
– Maintain ideal levels for optimal health
pH
• pH is a chemical component of a solution that
determines how Acidic or Basic it is.
• Neutral pH is 7.0
• pH above 7.0 is Basic and below 7.0 is Acidic
• Ideal pH of a freshwater aquarium is 6.5-7.5
Ammonia (NH3)
 Ammonia is a chemical that is created as a
waste product by living organisms.
 Animals urinate which is converted into
ammonia
 Ammonia is the most toxic chemical tested
for in Aquarium water tests
 Ideal ammonia concentrations should be
less than .25 ppm. Amounts over this can
stress fish and even cause death.
Nitrite (NO2-)
• Ammonia is converted into nitrite by Nitrifying
bacteria.
• Toxic to fish but less toxic than ammonia.
• Ideal concentrations should be less than 1 ppm
(Parts per million) once the aquarium is
established.
• New aquariums may spike to concentrations of 10
ppm until the bacteria concentration reaches
equilibrium and convert nitrite to nitrate.
• Too much Nitrite can indicate over-feeding, too
many fish or inadequate biological filtration.
Nitrate (NO3-)
 Converted from Nitrite by nitrifying
bacteria.
 Not considered toxic to animals in lower
amounts but can cause algae blooms in
excess.
 Ideal concentrations should be less than
40 ppm.
 Partial water changes will lower
Care of Fish
Maintenance
• In order to prevent disease, regular
maintenance is critical
• The single most important maintenance
procedure is a water change
– Clean gravel at least once a month
– Change 20% a month to remove harmful
wastes and replace trace elements
– Clean filter pad every month, replace every 3
months