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Aquarium Design

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If you are thinking of buying an aquarium it would be helpful to do some reading first to make sure you are fully aware of everything you need to know and the equipment you will need. This aquarium advice section is in three parts, scroll down for part 3.

Aquarium design is not just about aesthetics, it is about providing the appropriate surroundings and water chemistry for your fish. In order to provide your chosen fish with a more comfortable natural environment, it is best to do some research into the natural surroundings and requirements before setting up your aquarium as once it is set up it is not as easy to change things around.

For an aquarium with a River Setting, sand, pea gravel and larger pebbles are ideal to set a scene. Two important things to remember are to avoid substrate materials with sharp edges and choose materials that are inert (do not affect water chemistry). For example coral or limestone materials are not inert, they are made of calcium carbonate, which can dissolve rapidly in water creating high pH and hardness levels. This is ok for rift lake cichlids and marine fish but not for the majority of tropical fish.

For a well planted aquarium it is best to choose gravel that has a grain size of about one to two millimetre as roots will take hold better in a substrate this grain size. It is important to provide under gravel heating and fertilisation that is achieved via a heating cable that is attached to the bottom plane of glass. The fertiliser normally clay based material or literate can then be placed as a layer under the gravel or can be mixed with the gravel depending on the product.

For an Amazon black water river or tributary bogwood is important as this reacts with the water to soften an acidify it. Tannins are released from the bogwood to give a slight tea coloured stain replicating the natural setting almost exactly. Sand or gravel can be used for this setting. Please note that if sandy substrates are not stirred up on a weekly basis they can become anaerobic releasing toxic gases into your aquarium.

For Rift lake cichlids like the ones from lake Malawi or Tanganyika it is important to provide a higher pH and harness level. You can achieve this by adding coral sands, gravels and rocks that are high in calcium carbonate and not inert as discussed earlier.

Part 3: Aquarium Maintence

To speak to an expert about aquarium keeping, please call 0161 304 704

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