This page contains a number of aquarium tips submitted by the members of this community.

Aquarium Tips

Aquarium Tip 1.
Be sure to take the growth factor of the fish you want into account. Some fish will outgrow your tank fast (common plecos, Chinese Algae Eaters)! While some will stay relatively small (tetras, corys).

Aquarium Tip 2
If you can afford it, and have a tank bigger than 50g, consider getting 2 canister filters. It's better filtration, it's better for water flow, and it reduces the chance of algae blooms or ammonia spikes, as you are able to alternate filter cleanings (clean one month, and do the other one next month). So perhaps get 2 filters rated for 100g, rather than one rated for 200g.

Aquarium Tips 3
Get fish that suit your water conditions. It is much easier on the fish than trying to suit your water to the fish.

Aquarium Tip 4
Stability in your water is one of the most important keys to a successful aquarium.

Aquarium Tip 5
Research and then research some more. Know what you are getting into.

Aquarium Tip 6
Join a great fish forum such as the AC aquarium forum

Aquarium Tip 7
Learn about the fish you are going to get before you buy then.

Aquarium Tip 8
Keep a clean tank with weekly water changes

Aquarium Tip 9
Don't overfeed your fish

Aquarium Tip 10
Always cycle the tank in the beginning

Aquarium Tips 11
Make sure you have a established temperature before adding new fish

Aquarium Tips 12
Test your water at least twice a week

Aquarium Tips 13
Acclimate your fish properly.

Aquarium Tip 14
Tip is to feed your fish a balanced diet, consisting of more than just one kind of food: I feed my fish Ocean nutrition community formula, (contains mainly seafood) Hikari algae discs, lettuce and small, chopped carrot bits. This will support long lasting lives of your fisheee fwends!!!
(This will support long lasting lives of your fisheee fwends!!!)

Aquarium Tip 15
Quarantine new fish and plants from others for a couple weeks so not to introduce disease to current stock.

Aquarium Tip 16 (similar to tip 1)
Do NOT buy fish that do not fit the size of your tank. Common pleco's, Oscars, bala sharks go in LARGE tanks.

Aquarium Tips 17
Do not try to have a tank full of angelfish. It doesn't work due to aggression.

Aquarium Tips 18
Get as big a tank as you can afford.
A) you will always want one bigger
B) Bigger = more stable water parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp)

Aquarium Tip 19

Remember that the tank is but a small fraction of the total cost of an aquarium.. There's the filter, the substrate, the heater, the fish, the lighting, the fish food...

Aquarium Tip 20
Get a timer for your lights. And reduce stress to your fish by having the aquarium lights go off, THEN shut off the room lights 15 minutes later. They don't like sudden light changes.

Aquarium Tips 21
Only have your lights on for a maximum of 12 hours a day. Fish need sleep, too.

Aquarium tip 22
Stock the tank you have, not the one you plan on having

Aquarium tip 23
Don´t forget to turn of your heaters before a water change, (or turning them back of afterwards)

Aquascaping tips

Aquascaping tip 1.

Instead of ONE rock, which would look artificial, get 2-3 smaller stones together.. Also make sure the driftwood, rocks, etc are the same TYPE.

Aquascaping tip 2.

Remember the golden rule of having ONE focal point, at the 1.618 mark of your tank..

Measure the length of your tank and divide it through 2.618 to get your result..

So tank with a length of 48", your sweet spot would be 18.3" from the right or left side of your tank.

Aquascaping tip 3.

Get either a blue or a black background for your tank, and a black or brown substrate. The dark contrast will really help make your fish, plants pop..

Aquascaping tip 4.

Give at least 2" of space from the sides of the tank all around for no plants, so they don't smoosh up against the plants, and the fish can navigate around them..

Aquascaping tips 5.

A new tank should not be trimmed for 3 months.

Aquascaping tip 6.

A stem plant on first trimming should be allowed to grow to the top, then cut in half.

Aquascaping tips 7.

Moss on rocks is great for edge work, blending an open sandy area into a planted area.

Aquascaping tips 8

Live plants are nice, but be prepared for a more expensive set-up, if you want them to grow properly..

C02, high wattage lighting, liquid fertilizers, nutrient-rich substrates..

There are ways to keep costs down, mind, and live plants are worth the extra expense!

How to save?

* you can get low-light plants that don't require high watts per gallon, like Java Fern, java Moss, etc.. PM if you want a more comprehensive list)

* You can use liquid C02 supplements, instead of pressurized CO2 (anything over 50g, and you need pressurized) like Seachem Flourish Excel.

Aquascaping tips 9
Plants like it to have a little dose of liqid fertilizer every day, instead of a great amount of it once a week (or whatever it says on the bottle). This way they have everything they need in the right dose (and a fresh iron source). Depending on the tank a syringe does a good job in feeding the plants.

To estimate the right daily dose for them, just divide the amout of fertilizer given on the bottle by the number of days until new fertilizer is needed.

My plants are now growing much faster than I ever thought possible ant they are really green.

Remember to test the water for iron from time to time.

Tips to reduce algae

Tip to reduce algae 1
Cut back on light till it clears up.

Tip to reduce algae 2
Do 10% daily water changes till it clears up.

Tip to reduce algae 3
Cut back on your fish feeding
.
Tip to reduce algae 4
Get algae eating fish, if you haven't already. (Chinese Algae Eater, Bristlenose pleco, ainistrus claro, otocinclus)

REEF AQUARIUM TIPS

REEF AQUARIUM TIP 1. Take it slow, work on the tank over a 1 year period, not 1 month

REEF AQUARIUM TIP 2. Do not add uncured LR to a established tank

REEF AQUARIUM TIP 3. Tanks over 33g should have a skimmer

REEF AQUARIUM TIPs 4. Most reefs need powerheads to bring corals food, clean them, and provide flow

REEF AQUARIUM TIP 5. Fill the tank with RO water and use RO water for topoffs, else youre gonna get alot of hair algae and cyano

REEF AQUARIUM TIPs 6. Do not stick more than 1 tang in a tank unless its above 200g

REEF AQUARIUM TIP 7. Place high lights corals near the top, lowlights on the bottom, if youre using 3 WPG lighting or less place lowlights near the top

REEF AQUARIUM TIP 8. Use 50/50 lights, all actinic or all daylights wont work

If you want to add your own tips you can to by visiting this thread. Admin looks through that thread and add useful tips from it to this article every now and then,