Introduction	Equipment	Decor	Adding Fish	Maintenance
Equipment and Setting up

Unless you are buying a complete setup (e.g. the Juwel aquarium packages), you need to select the right equipment for your tank. One of our staff at Wharf can help you with this, but it's helpful to have some advance knowledge of what is required.
Equipment will include a filter, heater, lighting, substrate (gravel or sand), backing material and other decor (such as rocks, wood and real or plastic plants). Once set up, you will need additional accessories such as a water conditioner, net, test kits, etc.

FILTRATION
Filtration can be considered as three major types: mechanical, biological and adsorptive/chemical. Mechanical filtration is necessary to remove particles from the water to keep the water sparkling clear and to maximise the efficiency of subsequent biological or adsorptive filtration.
Biological filtration is essential to ensure the breakdown of waste products in the aquarium by 'friendly' bacteria. This occurs most efficiently in highly porous media such as sponge and specific bio-media such as ceramic tubes and sintered glass. This media should only be lightly rinsed in aquarium water (not tap water) to maintain the bacterial colonies which establish.
Adsorptive media selectively remove various substances from the water. Examples include activated carbon which removes toxins, medications, dyes, etc. and specific resins which remove ammonia, nitrate, phosphate, etc. These products are also often referred to as chemical media, although some would reserve this term for media which chemically modify aquarium water in other ways, such as peat which can acidify water by adding humic and tannic acids.
Buy Filters and Media in our online shop

HEATING
Tropical fish require a normal maintenance temperature between approx. 22-29^oC (72-84^oF), with many species being kept at a 'middle value' of 24-25^oC (75-77^oF). Maintaining a stable temperature (and more importantly avoiding rapid changes) is vital to avoid stressing fish. The temperature of a tropical aquarium can be maintained in a number of ways. Most commonly used are rod-shaped combined heater-stats, placed inside the tank. These are available in a number of standard wattages between 25W and 300W. The table below gives examples of recommended heater wattages for various tank sizes. The modern combined heater-stats use very reliable thermocouples to maintain a stable temperature.

Thermofilters are external canister filters which have a heating element built into them. Many are fitted with a precice temperature controller, which may include a digital readout. Using a thermofilter avoids having an unsightly heater unit inside the tank. Heating pads, placed beneath the aquarium, can be used to heat the base of the aquarium. It is often suggested that heating the substrate is beneficial in planted tanks as it may promote warm convection currents through the substrate to carry nutrients to plant roots. Heater cables are often employed for this purpose. These are laid on the base of the tank and substrate material (often a nutrient-containing type) placed above. Both of these substrate heating devices are normally used in conjunction with a standard heater.

On larger tanks, it is advisable to use two or more heaters to make up the required wattage - this not only gives a more even heat distribution, but gives an extra safety margin. If one heater fails, the other heater will provide some heat and the malfunction should be noticed before the temperature drops significantly. Also, if one of the smaller heaters should stick in the 'on' position, it will not raise the tank temperature as rapidly as one larger heater.

It is worth mentioning the importance of a thermometer, which should be checked daily to verify that the temperature is correct. Although modern heater-stats are very reliable and can be set to a specific temperature, you will need to verify initially that they are actually maintaining the correct temperature in the tank, and adjust as necessary. If you check the temperature every time you feed, you should notice any change in temperature caused by a failed heater before fish are affected.

LIGHTING
The lighting used in an aquarium is governed to a large extent by whether the tank is to contain live plants. If the tank will not contain plants (or only plastic plants) then the light need only provide a means to view the fish. The choice of lighting is then only governed by choosing a light which enhances the colours of fish. A light intensity of around 10W per square foot of water surface area is sufficient for this purpose (e.g. a 40W fluorescent tube for a tank with a base measuring 48x12"). Fluorescent tubes are the most commonly used form of lighting in aquariums. They are available in a range of sizes and colour spectrums to suit different tanks and applications.

In our experience, three suitable tubes for fish-only tanks or tanks containing plants with a low light requirement are: Arcadia's Tropical tube, Interpet's Beauty tube and Juwel's Warm Lite tube. These give the aquarium a 'warmer' appearance than some higher intensity 'white' lights, which can give a bleached-out look. Planted tanks need more light than fish only tanks, and the type of lighting becomes more important. The light requirement of different plant species varies somewhat, but generally the light will need to be at least double that recommended for a fish only tank, i.e. 20W per square foot of tank surface area. Light requirements are also quoted per volume, e.g. 2W per gallon. A number of manufacturers produce fluorescent tubes designed to provide maximum plant growth. These include Arcadia's Freshwater tube, Interpet's Triplus tube, Hagen's Powerglo and Juwel's Day Lite.

Brighter T5 fluorescent tubes can be useful for deeper tanks, or those with high-light requiring plants. These are also available as High Power Compact T5's to maximise the light using smaller tubes.

For heavily planted tanks, some may opt for metal halide or mercury vapour lights, which are normally suspended above an open-top tank. These are able to punch light deeper than fluorescent tubing and are therefore useful for tanks 24" or more high. It should be remembered that when higher intensity lighting is employed to boost plant growth, it will be necessary to balance this with an adequate amount of nutrients and CO₂.

		Introduction	Equipment	Decor	Adding Fish	Maintenance

Special thanks to www.thetropicaltank.co.uk for providing this information