What Is Required To Set Up An Aquarium?

The soil for a freshwater aquarium should be dark (on a white or light background, the fish become pale in color), not too small and not contain various impurities (iron, calcium, etc.). For small and medium-sized fish, it is best to buy coarse-grained (particle size with buckwheat grain) river sand of dark gray color. Small rolled basalt or granite gravel or medium-sized expanded clay (particle size about a pea or bean) are more suitable for large fish.

Coral sand and gravel should not be used for aquariums with soft water species: they will make the water hard and alkaline. From the experience of St. Petersburg aquarists it follows (and, as you know, the water in the Neva is soft and slightly acidic): corals and shells placed in aquariums dissolve within six months. But for African lake cichlids and live-bearers, such a soil is what you need. Multi-colored artificial sand and gravel have appeared in pet stores in recent years. They must be purchased with caution: cheap soils, for example, "Colisa", release substances into the water that are toxic to both plants and fish. This is evidenced by the sad experience of my friends, designers, who designed aquariums for clients. The same soil, poured into some of my aquariums, quickly led to the death of not only quite capricious fish and plants, but even Vallisneria and swordtails.

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The primer, regardless of where it was purchased, must be rinsed. A small amount is easiest to place in a large funnel, which is connected to the water supply with a hose. The water consumption is selected so that it washes away only small particles, and sand or gravel remains. But it's easier to put the soil in a bucket and, turning on the water, mix it with a sturdy stick. It is undesirable to do this with your hand, as glass fragments or similar sharp objects that can injure your hand may appear in the ground. In order not to accidentally clog the sewer system with soil particles carried out by the water current, it is recommended to put the bucket in the basin. After the flowing water is free of turbidity, the flushing can be finished. The temperature of the wash water can be in the range of 20-40 ° C. The old soil removed during the general cleaning of the aquarium is also washed.

If you doubt the bacterial purity of the soil (for example, river sand), then it must be poured into a metal container and ignited in the oven of the stove. The cooled soil is washed again with running water. You cannot pour hot sand or gravel into the aquarium - the glass will break.

Silicone glue. For connecting various decorative elements, and maybe for repairing an aquarium, you can use silicone glue sealant. You only need to buy adhesives specially designed for aquaristics. Using other sealants can kill your pets.

Stones … The stones placed in the aquarium bring life to the underwater landscape and make it more natural. Some hobbyists use silicone glue to glue fish shelters from them. Stones can also be useful for pressing unrooted plants to the ground. When choosing stones, make sure that they do not have sharp edges (fish can get hurt on them) and do not contain various inclusions, for example, iron (rust stains are visible) or calcium (drop acetic acid on the stone if gas bubbles begin to emerge in this place, then the stone must be thrown away). Tuff, granite, pebbles are relieved of these shortcomings. You cannot use ore chunks, no matter how beautiful they look! When decorating an aquarium, do not overdo it: too many stones will turn it into a quarry, in which it will be impossible to catch fish,and when trying to disassemble a pile of stones, an accidentally falling cobblestone can break the glass.

Foam concrete. In an aquarium with Malawian and Tanganyik cichlids, decorative reefs can be made from foam concrete. It is lightweight, easy to handle, but it has good buoyancy! To prevent your reefs from turning from underwater to above water, use silicone sealant to glue the foam concrete structure to stones or a plexiglass plate covered with a thick layer of soil. You can also glue blocks of aerated concrete to the back of the aquarium. The disadvantage of all these structures: it is impossible to catch a fish that has been hunted in a safe shelter.

Styrofoam decorations … In aquarium practice, the use of various construction foams sold in aerosols is impossible. Not only does the polymer itself release various substances harmful to fish and plants for a long time, water from the aquarium itself penetrates into its pores. The organic compounds contained in it begin to decompose sooner or later, which does not improve the quality of the water. Often, manufactured structures are covered with various sealants, epoxy resin, but who can guarantee that holes, cracks will not appear in the coating and water will not seep through them? It is even more dangerous to use dyes such as printing ink to paint the surface of polystyrene - they are themselves toxic. Dismantling the foam glued to glass (and especially plexiglass) is difficult and time-consuming. If the designers of any company are trying to impose this type of jewelry on you, firmly refuse such a service, no matter how they try to convince you of its harmlessness.