Multi plug - Most Important Things for freshwater aquarium setup

This is the most funny and short topic in this series and you may be thinking why the hell do I need multi plug for the aquarium. If you have enough sockets in the room that your aquarium is in then  that's good but maximum people don't have such sockets hence we require multi plug because in my room I can only run one aquarium equipment and that's not enough for the tank so I need multi plug in my tank.

The purpose of multi plug is to help you run multiple equipment at once like filters, heaters, air pumps, lights , etc. So multi plug indirectly helps in keeping your fish alive :D . Nowadays you can get many types of multi plug in the market but I recommend you to buy the one that has fuse in it which will supply only required voltage and will help to elongate the working years of the equipment. Or you can use volt guard and then connect multi plug to it.
Thanks for reading :D Comments, Questions and Suggestions are always warmly welcomed.

Aquarium decorations - Most Important Things for freshwater aquarium setup

Is it fun to watch an aquarium that has only fishes in it? If it's me who's gonna answer the question then my answer would be "obviously not :D". Yes dudes, in my opinion there is no fun in watching aquarium with only fishes and that's when aquarium decorations come. To be frank I don't know what to write in this topic, it's funny that I have researched but also haven't got much information on aquarium decoration but what I know from my experience and everything extracted from all the research is what I share in this blog.

DIY Cave

Striped Raphael Catfish in his Cave

Okay now, here it is. There will be many decorations in your LFS(Local fish store) that you will be overwhelmed by all of them and you will want to take all of them to your home. But that's where you will be short on money and only look at those beautiful pieces of decorations. So actually what are the aquarium decorations, to keep it simple whatever you keep in aquarium apart from filters and water are all aquarium decorations because they will make your aquarium worth looking for. Examples we can give for this are substrates, background, scuba diver, air driven animals and caves , rocks, driftwoods, logs. Plants (either it be live or plastic) and many more.

Main purpose of these decorations is to mimic the mother nature so that fish could feel that it's their home. Substrates help in beneficial bacteria colonies and hides poop of your fishes. Some fishes need caves and rocks to show their natural behavior. Air driven decorations helps in oxygenating water, plants help to give your aquarium more natural look, if it is live plant then it provides oxygen, uses fish wastes as fertilizer and also filters water. Some decorations even help for breeding like flower pots.

Chemicals - Most Important Things for freshwater aquarium setup

Is chemical really necessary in aquarium? That must be your question and I have kept chemical as most important thing because sometimes when you don't have it, you surely will regret. Now what type of chemicals do you need while starting a hobby? The one and only that's really needed is dechlorinator and you can't get away without it if you are using drinking water provided by municipality.


The water that municipality supplies to your home will have chlorine and chloramine in it which is used to kill bacteria in the water making it safe to drink but that chemical is very harmful for fishes and must be treated before putting it into your aquarium. When I was new to the hobby my fishes died because I didn't know this fact but when I used dechlorinator, my fish were safe and I had them for longer although I grew tired of goldfishes and don't keep them now.

You can get many types of chemicals in the market or fish store but all of them  are not necessary until you really have to use them (in case your fish suffer from some sort of diseases.) Don't buy big bottle of malagreen(used to cure white spot, fin rot, parasitic fungi, swabbing wound) because you don't need them altough fish store owner say you have to use them once a week but actually they only want to sell their product to you so beware especially in case of chemicals.

You may be wondering which chemicals should I buy? Here's the answer if you use drinking water then you need Garon (popular dechlorinator in Nepal) for Rs. 50-60 for small bottle and one small bottle of  malagreen just in case. You can get other types of medicines for curing different types of diseases but at least buy those to I mentioned above and others when only necessary.

Carbon is also a chemical used in filtration especially chemical filtration which removes medicines and also prevents water to be yellow in color. But I don't like to use any chemical(except dechlorinator) in my aquarium because I don't like it and want to filter water biologically.

Thanks for reading :D Comments, Questions and Suggestions are always warmly welcomed.

Aquarium lights - Most Important Things for freshwater aquarium setup

What type of light do you want? tube, cfl, led. Which color do you want? pink, blue, green, white. You can choose from wide varieties available in the market if you need one but have you wondered why you need light in an aquarium? If you have access to the natural light from the sun then it's good but then you will have more work to do because of high algae growth in your aquarium because of sunlight and it also brings sudden change in temperature which is more likely to kill or affect your fishes. It's not like your fish can't survive in an aquarium without artificial lights because in the wild there is no one who will go to the river and lakes to lit a light for fishes and it is not compulsory to have unless  you have live plants in your aquarium when  it's a must to add a light.  Now you may be wondering why do I have to keep light in my aquarium? Here are some reasons

1. Your aquarium looks better and it looks pleasing to the eyes if you add a light.
2. Light helps in bringing vivid color in your fishes.
3. Proper growth of plants is only possible if you have light in the aquarium.

There are also few disadvantages of aquarium lights

1. Chances of high growth of algae.
2. If not chosen the correct type of light, there will be sudden change in temperature in aquarium due to heat produced by some types of lights.

Most people say that you have to put aquarium lights on for 10-12 hours a day in planted aquarium whereas 6 hours of light is sufficient for fish. It's a matter of personal choice to put light in the aquarium if you only have fish , since it's for the viewer and not the fish. Hence you can turn on the lights when you like in fish only aquarium and turn it off at night because certain researches have shown that fish do sleep at night and you don't wanna disturb your pretty little pets. 

Thanks for reading :D Comments, Questions and Suggestions are always warmly welcomed.

Air Pump & air stones - Most Important Things for freshwater aquarium setup

Air Pump serves the purpose of aerating water as well as creating current in the aquarium. Most of the hobbyists use air pump in their aquarium in Nepal. If you use undergravel, sponge or corner filter then you can't run them without air pump. Many decorations also use air pump to throw bubbles. Air pumps move air by using an electromagnet to rapidly vibrate a rubber diaphragm due to which it will create more noise. Sometimes you can make it quiet by putting it in sponge or foam or folded cloth. You should put air pump above aquarium because if you put it below the aquarium there is high chance that water will flow back to the air pump in case air pump stops and damages it. The more expensive the air pumps become it will also be more powerful, quieter and more efficient so choose wisely so as not to end up with 10 air pumps rather than one nice air pump.

                           

           

Air stones, bars and tubes are used in aquarium to diffuse air in the aquarium and it also looks cool to see it throwing small tiny bubbles that look fantastic. It also helps in proper circulation of water in the aquarium. You can different sizes and types of air stones in local fish store (LFS), but it entirely depends on your opinion and taste as which to buy for your aquarium. I prefer small air stones than the large one because it throws small, fine bubbles which looks very nice.

air stones

Thanks for reading :D Comments, Questions and Suggestions are always warmly welcomed.

Filter - Most Important Things for freshwater aquarium setup

In nature, regular flowing of freshwater makes it clean for fish to live in but in aquarium it doesn’t happen itself and water will become foul. That’s where Filter comes, although we can’t mimic everything as in nature we can make water clean for fish to live in our aquarium healthily. There are three different types of filtration that a filter can perform: mechanical, biological, chemical filtration. We can find different types of aquarium filter in market/fish store.

1.  Under gravel Filter (UGF) : Most of the people know about UGF because you are  given UGF along with fish bowls in fish store  while you buy your  first fish usually it is goldfish (it was same for me J and I ended up killing all of them due to lack of knowledge.) UGF has been around in aquarium hobby for a long time and some people still use it although many people now use other different types of filters which are far more efficient than UGF. UGF provides good mechanical and biological filtration.  UGF is cheaper than other types of filters but you have to buy gravel for it to sit in aquarium and filter your water. When you use UGF it can be hard for you to vacuum gravel thoroughly and harmful gas pockets can form under the gravel plates which will harm your fishes.  I personally don’t use it and I don’t recommend it to anyone although it’s personal preference of which type you want to choose.

   

   UGF

2. Corner Filter: Corner Filter sits in one corner of the aquarium from which it got its name. I have found that this filter can be used in small aquariums effectively and in breeding tanks effectively. It can be used for all three types of filtration mechanical, biological and chemical filtration. It uses three sponges and one tray in which ceramics, carbon and gravels can be kept.

   

   Corner Filter

3.  Sponge Filter : Sponge filter is mostly used in breeding and hospital tanks. Water is passed through a sponge which will make mechanical filtration possible and when colony of beneficial bacteria is established it will also do biological filtration.
   
4. Powerhead : Powerheads are the most common filters in Nepal. Powerheads are submersible water pumps that produce unidirectional current in aquarium. They are most affordable as well as very efficient filters, which is the reason why Nepalese aquarists use them.
   
   

   

   Powerhead

5. Canister Filter : Canister filter provides mechanical, chemical as well as biological filtration. The one I had seen in fish store cost Rs. 10000, which was very expensive for a hobbyist like me. It contains several media compartments that usually contain foam, carbon, ceramic,etc. The water is drawn from aquarium through hose which then passes through different medias and lastly filtered water goes back to the aquarium. Although it's very efficient type of filter due to it's cost as well as lack of availability in Nepal, it is not popular.

   

   Canister Filter

6. Wet/ Dry Filter : I haven't seen this type of filter below the tank but have seen one over the tank in fish store which was DO IT Yourself(DIY) filter. If over the tank, water is drawn with the help of powerhead to the sump which has different media compartments and water passes through it into the aquarium. 

Thanks for reading :D Comments, Questions and Suggestions are always warmly welcomed.

Aquarium Stand - Most Important Things for freshwater aquarium setup

What are you planning to keep your aquarium on or have you already placed ? Whatever be the case you need to know about aquarium stand. Basically whatever you use to put or support your aquarium that can withstand the weight of aquarium is aquarium stand. Although you can buy various types of aquarium stands in other countries, person buying it in our country are very few because it is not available in fish store and we should give order to make it in furniture shop and that becomes expensive.

Quite a sight, aquarium stand downloaded from google

You can use something sturdy in your room that doesn't break if you don't have money to buy, if you can buy then buy it although I never will buy because money I have to invest in aquarium stand I rather will use it for buying fishes and other equipments for my aquarium. Or you can make your own by checking different forums about DIY(do it yourself) aquarium stands. You can use study table like me but don't keep aquarium above drawer or daraj. You can also make cheap stand of iron, I have seen local stores use it. Best of luck for whatever stand you choose, but decide only after thinking thoroughly about it.

 My 4 ft. aquarium in study table

 Thanks for reading :D 

Comments, Questions and Suggestions are always warmly welcomed.

Fish Tank--Most Important Things for freshwater aquarium setup

Fish tank is the home for fishes and without one fish tank, we know that we start fish keeping hobby. Today we can get a lot of variety of fish tanks in fish stores starting from fish bowls to plastic tanks to plywood tanks to glass and acrylic. We prefer to buy fish bowl at first and buy goldfishes which won't last much longer and we will see goldfishes dying every time we buy and put it in fish bowl. Nowadays there are two types of aquariums that are very popular: Glass and Acrylic. 

Plastic Tanks in Nepal are imported from China    

Fishbowl

                                         


Now let's get to our main topic today, we are especially discussing about Acrylic and Glass tanks.

Glass Tanks: My preference is glass tank, also because acrylic tanks are not available in Nepal. All tanks that use glass as a material for building tanks are glass tanks. You can either build it on your own or buy from fish stores which is usually expensive but is best for beginners.

4 feet tank I built and in process of leak checking

Acrylic Tanks: These tanks are expensive than glass tanks and are not available in Nepal. If you are thinking of owning very large tank then you are best to buy acrylic tank. If you want to know more about this tank do read my blog I will write after I wrap up this topic about most important things for freshwater aquarium setup.

Acrylic Tank

 Thanks for reading :D 

Comments, Questions and Suggestions are always warmly welcomed.

Most Important Things for freshwater aquarium setup

Then finally you have decided to set up your freshwater aquarium after researching about different aquarium that you could choose from. When you setup freshwater aquarium most important things you need are

• Fish Tank
• Aquarium Stand
• Filter for keeping tank water clean
• Air Pump for pumping air to airstones and also for running under gravel filter
• Air stones for generating oxygen in water
• Aquarium lights for bringing out vivid colour in fishes and for the proper growth of aquarium plants
• Chemicals for neutralising water 
• Aquarium decorations for making fishes feel at their home
• Multi plug to run filter, light, air pump 

I will talk about all these things one by one in my upcoming posts.

 Thanks for reading :D 

Comments, Questions and Suggestions are always warmly welcomed

8 things that Beginner Aquarists need

When we are at beginner level of fish keeping we need many things, if we don't have those things then we will surely be taking lives of many fishes. Today let's discuss about very important things that you will need if you are going to start fish keeping.

1. Researching Ability- If you didn't have researching ability then you wouldn't have come here,would you? If you want to have success in fish keeping then you should start to read books articles and blogs about fish keeping and join forums where there are many experts who are always eager to help you. 
2. Good Fish store Owner- We can easily recognize good fish owner, s/he is good if he is eager to help you buy healthy fishes and also give important advise needed for fish keeping.
3. Attitude towards Fish- Aquarist always needs to have good attitude towards fish i.e. you should see fishes as your pet and should care and love them.
4. Fish Compatibility Knowledge- You should know compatibility of fishes otherwise your fishes may vanish the other day with only one fish remaining. You should ask fish store owner if the fish you are buying is compatible with the fish you already have or search in net for it.
5. Tank or Fish Bowl- Many beginners don't know that large aquariums are better in every ways than fish bowls or small aquariums so they end up buying fish bowl in most cases for keeping especially goldfish, most of the times we find them dead the other day. So you should refrain from buying fish bowls or smaller tanks and go for large tanks if  your budget allows.
6. Journal of Fishes- Recently I have started keeping data about fishes in my diary so that I would know its growth rate and keep track of its activities when I read in one book that it is a good habit to keep journal of fishes.
7. Knowledge about water that goes in a tank- You have many choices when it comes to water that you put in your tank. You can use tap water, jar water for drinking, rain water, well water. Please note that you should treat water that you put in a tank with chemicals that you can buy  in fish stores for safety of your fishes.
8. Patience - It is the most important thing that aquarist need. You need patience in every step of Aquarium hobby either it be while setting up aquarium or after setting it up, if you don't have patience then you will always end up regretting. 

Thanks for reading :D
Comments, Questions and Suggestions are always warmly welcomed

Types of Aquarium Systems

Basically there are three types of aquarium systems which are categorized based on dissolved salt  and you can choose from : Freshwater, Brackish.or Saltwater

Group of Swordtails

• Freshwater System - This is the most popular aquarium system all over the world and mimics the water  of lakes, ponds as well as streams and doesn't have salt like marine or saltwater aquarium system. Freshwater fishes are easily available in all pet shops and are cheap as well as easy to maintain.We can further categorize this system into Tropical and Coldwater. Goldfishes, guppy, Oscar, Flowerhorn, Catfishes are some of the freshwater fishes.

  

  Blood Parrot Cichlid
• Brackish System - The water in in this system lies between fresh and marine in salt content. This is the least popular system because brackish water fishes come occasionally in fish stores. Some popular brackish water fishes are Scats, Pufferfish, some Mollies, Monos and Archerfishes.

  

  Brackish water fish Scat

• Saltwater System - Reef, marine or saltwater aquarium system are also popular among aquarists. Salt content in this system is higher than that of brackish water. Cost for maintaining salt water aquarium is higher than freshwater or so I have read in many articles since I don't have the first hand experience. Clownfish, Angels, Butterfly fish are some of the saltwater species.

Group of Clownfishes

 Thanks for reading :D 

Comments, Questions and Suggestions are always warmly welcomed.

It started but how?

It was a long break of 3 months after S.L.C. exams and I was very much excited to have a holiday since I was in hostel for ten long years and could only come home on long holidays. One day I went to visit my uncle's house nearby and there I saw goldfishes in small bowl, I was fascinated to see fish swimming in a small bowl. So I asked sister who owned that fishes about fish bowl and where I could buy them and after that I bought one for N.Rs. 400 with gold fishes costing N.Rs.110. I bought 2 pairs  of those goldfishes and came home. I set up my bowl with water and put fishes in it only to see fishes dead after certain days. I bought many goldfishes after that and all died then I thought of giving up my hobby but couldn't so I searched on Internet about causes of their death but I didn't understand anything, what I found out from whole research in net was,"I should buy new big aquarium so that I could save fishes ".