Freshwater and Saltwater Aquariums

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Freshwater and Saltwater Aquariums

• Adapted from Jenessa Gjeltema and Mr. Krutz

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Choose Your Aquarium Type
The specific aquarium setup will depend upon the
requirements of the species you choose.
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Choose Your Aquarium Type
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Choose Your Aquarium Type
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Factors to Consider

• Biotic (Living)
• Type of Fish, newt, turtle etc.
• Beneficial Bacteria
• Live Plants
• Harmful microorganisms and multicellular
  organisms

• Abiotic (Nonliving)
• Substrate (gravel, crushed coral)
• Plastic Plants
• Decorative rocks, caves, or toys
• Equipment (filters, lights, heaters, etc.)
• Wastes (EX.Ammonia)

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Setting up your new AquariumFreshwater Basics

• Choose the largest aquarium
• Choose gravel just a ¼ for the bottom
  (Undergravel filters need about 2). A thick
  gravel bed will cause ammonia problems.
• Fill with water tap water, well water or any
  other you still need to use a dechlorinator such
  as Prime or Stress Coat. Any water changes a
  dechlorinator must be used.
• Set up your filter and get it running.
• Set your heater to the desired temperature and
  place your heater in but dont plug it in for 30
  minutes
• Add some good bacteria to help age the tank such
  as Bio Spira or Cycle
• Let tank run for 1 to 2 days and add in 2 or 3
  starter fish.
• See how these do for a week and slowly add a
  couple more.

A new aquarium needs patience and time to
establish itself. A new freshwater tank takes
45-60 days before it cycles through. A saltwater
tank can tank up to 8 weeks.
Bio Spira and Cycle will help introduce new
beneficial bacteria to a new tank. If no
bacteria is used the new tank may become cloudy a
few days after set up.
1/2 -1 pound of gravel per gallon of aquarium
with outside or canister filter.
Make certain you have all the filter media you
need to get it running!
Let heater stay unplugged to 30 minutes anytime
it has been removed from water and placed back in.
These are two excellent dechlorinators.
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Step 1 Select Organism

• Select the Organism(s) Determine its needs
• It could should be a freshwater community fish
  (or aggressive if you can set up an aggressive
  tank with another student
• Number of organisms 1inch fish/gallon

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Starter (Hardy) Fish Freshwater
All these fish should be fed a variety of
foods. Flake foods and frozen.
Dwarf Gourami
Platy Livebearers little salt
Dalmatian Molly
Zebra Danios
This salt is good for most freshwater fish
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Coldwater \ Goldfish

• Coldwater ornamental fish requiring a little
  cooler environment if possible between 70-76
  degrees. These include all kinds of goldfish.
  Goldfish are messier than other fish and require
  more filtration and cleaning.
• Feeds on goldfish specific food
• Following are some examples

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Basic Needs

• Appropriate enclosure/housing
• Nutrition
• Hygiene
• Enrichment

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Step 2 - Equipment

• Determine what equipment is needed
• Size and shape of tank
• Heater or Heat Lamp
• Lighting
• Filtration System
• Stand
• Substrate (gravel, crushed coral, sand, dolomite)
• Plants, Rocks, Shells etc.

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Enclosure Components Tank
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Step 3 Cleaning the Tank

• WASH THE TANK WITH FRESHWATER AND SALT
• Note NEVER USE DETERGENT, SOAP OR CHLORINE
  BLEACH THEY ARE DEADLY

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Step 4 Tank Placement

• Select a location away from windows, radiators,
  and air conditioners.
• It should be placed in a manner that all
  equipment should be available for maintenance,
  cleaning and care of fish

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Step 5 Tank Placement

• Place tank on a steady surface that can support
  the weight. Fresh water ways approximately 8
  lbs a gallon, saltwater ways more. FOR EXAMPLE A
  10 GALLON WEIGHS OVER 80 LBS.
• The stand or support surface should be water
  resistant

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Step 6 Check for Leaks

• Place cardboard underneath tank to cushion it and
  make it easy to slide
• Half fill tank with water, wait 24 hours and
  observe for leaks

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Step 7 Check for Leaks

• Fill to within 1 inch of top, wait 24 hours and
  observe for leaks

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Step 8 - Salt

• In a marine tank add marine salt to the water
  until a density between
• 1.017g/ml to 1.020g/ml is reached
• Use a hydrometer to measure density
• In a fresh water tank add one tablespoon of non
  iodized salt to prevent fungal infections

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Step 9- Substrate

• Add substrate to a depth of 1 inch
• Freshwater tanks
• gravel
• sand
• Marine
• crushed coral
• dolomite
• marine sand or living sand

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Step 10 - Filtration

• Install a filtration system.
• To maintain optimal fish health, 3 types of
  filtration are necessary.
• Physical
• Biological
• Chemical

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Filtration Systems
Filtration Physical Biological Chemical
Types Wool, sponge Ceramics, sponges, rocks (SURFACE AREA!!) Charcoal, zeolite
Purpose Remove large particulate waste Removes fish waste products Removes odors, discoloration, toxins, and some waste products
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Filtration Systems

• Considerations
• Tank size
• Stocking capacity
• Water flow
• Breeding
• Aeration

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Filtration Systems
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Filtration Systems
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Step 11 - Heating

• Most fish can only survive within an environment
  with narrow range of temperature change, usually
  between 72 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
• To maintain optimal temperature, install a
  submersible heater

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Step 11 - Heating

• You need 5 watts per gallon
• 10 gallon 50 watts
• 12 gallon 75 watts
• 20 gallon 100 watts
• 25 gallon 150 watts
• 30 gallon 150 watts
• 55 gallon 300 watts

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Step 11

• To install heater safely
• Place unplugged in heater at bottom of tank
  horizontally for 15 minutes
• Then set temperature and plug in heater
• Wait 24 hours then measure temperature and adjust
  heater

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Enclosure Components Temperature Regulation

• How?
• Heaters
• Chillers
• Fans
• Ventilation

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Step 12 - Decorations

• Organisms need to be in an environment as similar
  to their natural environment as possible. To
  accomplish this we put rocks, live plants, caves,
  shells plastic plants, plastic pipes etc.

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Step 12 - Decorations

• Adding live plants provides food, 0xygen, a place
  to hide and lay eggs
• Plastic plants provide a place to hide and lay
  eggs
• Rocks, caves, coral, and tubes provide a place to
  hide
• Note shells, coral and calcareous rocks can only
  be used in High pH aquariums, mostly marine

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Enclosure Components Environmental Enrichment

• Why?
• Evasion
• Breeding
• Quality of life
• Express Personality

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Enclosure Components Environmental Enrichment

• Types
• Wood
• Rocks
• Substrate
• Plants

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Enclosure Components Plants

• Why?
• Oxygenation
• Waste removal
• Protection

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Step 13 Cover and lighting

• A cover is needed to
• Prevent fish from jumping out of the tank
• Slow evaporation
• Keep dust out of the tank

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Enclosure Components Lid/Condenser

• Why?
• Keeps fish from jumping out
• Prevents evaporation
• Protects lights

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Step 13 - Lighting

• Only reef tanks and tanks with live plants need
  daily lighting
• Reef tanks need actinic (bluish light) for live
  coral and anemones and full spectrum white light
  for plants and algae
• Tanks with live plants need 12 hours a day of
  full spectrum white light.

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Enclosure Components Lighting

• Why?
• Plant Growth
• Coral Growth
• Visualizing the Fish
• Fish health

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Enclosure Components Lighting

• Considerations
• Fixtures
• Wavelength
• Light Intensity
• Reflectors
• Photoperiod (12 hours)

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Step 14 - Selecting Fish

• Fish should
• Be active
• Have regular breathing pattern
• Have clear eyes
• Have no torn fins or sores
• No fuzzy stuff on body or fins

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Step 15 Catching Fish

• Fish should preferably be caught slowly using a
  container
• A net removes the protective slime coat and
  irritates skin
• Try not to stress fish, it suppresses immune
  system

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Step 16 Acclimating fish

• To minimize stress and protect fish
• Float bag in new tank for 15 minutes adding small
  amounts of water to the bag to make the
  temperatures similar
• After fifteen minutes turn open bag sideways and
  let fish swim out of bag
• Observe behavior
• May have to rearrange tank so all fish establish
  new territories

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Step 18 - Care of FishFeeding

• Determine best diet for organism
• Feed small amount only as much food as fish can
  eat in 3 minutes then remove excess

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Step 18 Care of Fish Observe and record
behavior

• Need to establish baseline for comparison
• Observe fish for 20 minutes or more for several
  days
• Determine its favorite spot in the tank
• Draw a diagram of its body and fins noting
  markings and coloration
• Observe its behavior toward tank mates and their
  behavior towards it and record

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Step 18 Care of FishObserve and Record Behavior

• Observe its gill movements count and record for
  1 minute
• Observe its eating pattern and how it eats record
  in log

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Step 19 Care of FishWater Chemistry

• Test and Record
• pH
• Ammonia level
• Nitrite level
• Maintain ideal levels for optimal health

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Water Composition Water Testing
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Water Composition Testing

• Fresh Water
• pH
• Ammonia
• Nitrite
• Nitrate

• Salt Water
• Salinity

• Other
• Phosphate
• Calcium
• Strontium

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Step 20 Care of FishMaintenance

• In order to prevent disease, regular maintenance
  is critical
• The single most important maintenance procedure
  is a water change
• Clean gravel at least once a month
• Change 20 a month to remove harmful wastes and
  replace trace elements
• Clean filter pad every month, replace every 3
  months

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Water Quality Nitrogen Cycle
badmanstropicalfish.com (originally from
www.hagen.com)
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Water Quality Nitrogen Cycle
www.cichlid-forum.com
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Water Quality Cycling A New Tank

• Purpose grow bacteria for nitrogen cycle
• Takes 4-6 weeks
• Tips
• Seed the tank
• Monitor values closely
• Avoid water changes
• Can achieve without fish

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Water Changes

• Why?
• Dilutes waste products
• Corrects pH imbalances
• Can reduce algae growth

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Performing Water Changes

• Regular water changes
• 2 every 2 days
• 4 every week
• 20 a month

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Adding Fish Acclimation

• Temperature
• Water composition
• Environmental factors
• How
• 15-30 min. for temperature
• 15 minutes for water composition

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Nutrition
Dry Flakes Pellets Sticks Floating Sinking Wafers
Seaweed
Live/Frozen Blood Worms Daphnia Brine
Shrimp Feeder fish Plants
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Nutrition

• Know your fish
• Observe mouth
• Use dry food as staple
• Supplement with fresh/frozen foods
• Do not overfeed

Picture from Jeremy Gays The Perfect Aquarium
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Maintenance

• Daily
• Feed
• Monitor
• Lighting

Weekly Replace evaporation Water testing Clean
algae Empty protein skimmer
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Maintenance

• Monthly
• Charcoal replacement
• Plant maintenance
• Electrical Inspection

6 mos. To Yearly Change light bulbs
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Common Questions

• Why is my tank cloudy?
• Answer The aquarium is going thru a cycling
  process known as the Nitrogen Cycle. This occurs
  in new tanks and tanks that have recently had
  major water changes.

Solution Adding Bio Spira or Cycle will help. Do
not overfeed or overpopulate a new tank.
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More Common Questions

• Why is my tank water green?
• Answer Tank is getting too much or the wrong
  kind of light. Customer should make certain the
  tank is getting no sunlight. Also make sure the
  bulbs are correct for fish tanks. Any bulb older
  than 18 months probably needs replacing.
• Answer Partial water change is needed and
  replace old filter media (charcoal).

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Ickey Fish

• What are the white or salt like spots on my fish?
• Answer This is most likely a disease known as
  ick. Fast temperature change or stressful
  environment can bring this on.
• Solution Ick medicine and making sure your tank
  water is good. Make certain heater is working
  and keeping the temperature stable.

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More Questions

• My fish has big white patches on its body and
  fins, why?
• Answer Commom on fish with injuries or poor
  water quality. Other fish picking on them is
  also a cause.
• Solution Several products treat this Fungus
  Cure,
• Mar Oxy or Triple Sulfa

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Question

• I have been treating with medicine but my fish
  dont seem to be getting any better, why?
• Answer Medicines take several treatments and
  fish heal slowly. Also, make certain there is no
  charcoal (carbon filters). These will absorb the
  medication.

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References

• Axelrod, Herbert. Handbook of Tropical Aquarium
  Fishes. Neptune City TFH Publications. 1983.
• Borneman, Eric. Aquarium Corals Selection,
  Husbandry, and Natural History. Neptune City
  T.H.F. Publications. 2001.
• Fenner, Robert M. The Conscientious Marine
  Aquarist. Neptune city T.F.H Publications.
  2001.
• Gay, Jeremy. The Perfect Aquarium The Complete
  Guide to Setting Up and Maintaining an Aquarium.
  New York Readers Digest. 2005.
• Hawkins, A.D. Aquarium Systems. London
  Academic Press. 1981

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References

• Hemdal, Jay F. Aquarium Fish Breeding. New
  York Barrons. 2003.
• Hiscock, Peter. Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants.
  New York Barrons. 2003
• Sandford, Gina. The Tropical Aquarium. New
  York Barrons. 2004.
• Stoskopf, Michael. Fish Medicine. Philadelphia
  W.B. Sauders Co. 1993.
• Tullock, John. Water Chemistry for the Marine
  Aquarium. New York Barrons. 2002.