Saltwater Aquariums and Tips on Cleaning Saltwater Aquariums
By: David H.
Submitted: 2009-05-12 01:38:20 | Word Count: 601
Saltwater aquariums make beautiful decorations. It brings nature close to home.
Aquariums are vivariums that consist of one transparent side where animals or water dwelling plants are kept. Fish keepers use aquariums to keep aquatic plants, turtles, marine mammals, amphibians, invertebrates and different species of fish.
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Most of the aquariums consist of glass panels banded together by silicone along with plastic frames and connected to the lower and upper edges for decoration. A glass aquarium is considered normal in size if it has more than 1000 liters or 250 gallons. Aquariums come in different shapes like hexagonal, cuboid, and bow front varieties. They are angled to fit in the corners. Fish bowls are usually made of either glass or plastic, spherical or several other round configurations.
Acrylic aquariums are the main rival of the usual glass aquariums. It is much lighter and stronger than glass. Acrylic soluble cement is used to fuse acrylic together. The laminated glass can be used because it combines the advantages of acrylic and glass.
Large aquariums use stronger materials like fiberglass reinforced plastic to withhold the weight. Reinforced concretes are used for aquariums where space and weight are not factors. The concrete should be coated with waterproof layers to avoid contamination from the concrete and to avoid water from breaking down the concrete.
An aquarium could range from small bowls which can hold less than one liter of water to immense public aquariums that can house all ecosystems like kelp forests. A larger aquarium is usually recommended to hobbyist because of their resistance to quick fluctuation of pH and temperature, making the system more stable.
Typical hobbyist aquariums often include a chiller or heater as an artificial type of lighting system as well as a filtration system that depends on the dwellers inside. There are many aquariums with a hood to protect the fish from jumping out, and also to avoid water from evaporating.
There are numerous types of aquariums like saltwater and fresh water. A saltwater aquarium is harder to maintain as compared to fresh water aquariums since the ecology of the saltwater aquarium vary and need to be taken cared of and handled with proper knowledge. However, saltwater aquariums appear more beautiful, colorful and appealing for the simple reason that they can house a greater variety of mammals and fishes, anemones, live corals, jelly fish or crustaceans.
Cleaning the tanks of saltwater is different from cleaning the tanks of freshwater due to the saltwater ecosystems that possess a delicate balance. The right temperature, chemical balance fertilizer and food supply and are all main factors in keeping tanks healthy.
Tips on cleaning saltwater aquariums:
Check the filter weekly and clean it by hand if it is already dirty. Make sure you buy high quality filters. Clean the aquarium glass weekly with a scraper to take away algae. You can also take away algae by using phosphate drops. Consider purchasing snails and hermit crabs that keep saltwater tanks clean from algae. Keep the water clean by changing it to 10 percent to 35 percent once a month with a newly replaced non chlorinated saltwater. Do not clean the tank over twice a month otherwise you kill all the beneficial bacteria that help maintain a healthy aquarium.
Stir or siphon the gravel at the saltwater aquarium’s bottom. Move the larger rocks and clean it underneath them. Make sure to use cleaning tools safe for the acrylic tank. Buy a timer for the tank lighting system. More than 9 hours of every day light fosters excessive algae development. It is also significant to light the tank at very similar times each day.
