GRAVEL
Gravel comes in a variety of colors which can really enhance the beauty of your tank. All of my tanks are color coordinated, blue, green, red, pink, etc. You can buy plain colored gravel in either light or dark gravel. The color of gravel you choose can bring out the color in your fish as well. I picked my gravel according to the color of the fish in my tank. For instance, my Oscars have bright orange on them and I purchased red gravel which brightens their color. My Goldfish tank has bright green gravel in it. Since the Goldfish are so colorful, the green gravel contrasts with them and makes their color stand out.
The gravel can be purchased in very small up to large bags at your local pet/aquarium store. You save money by purchasing larger quantity bags. The gravel comes in different sizes as well. For the most part I have small gravel in my tanks as it seems to work the best. The gravel is not inexpensive so you may not want to opt for the color gravel which is the most expensive. One other alternative that we had was to go to a company here locally that sells sand, gravel, rock, sawdust, etc. They sold us 5 gallon buckets of pea gravel for 50 cents a bucket. We used this as the bottom layer of gravel in the tanks and then put the colored gravel on top of that. Through cleaning it all gets mixed up, but it still looks very nice since there is more colored gravel than regular gravel.
The amount of gravel you should put in your tank will vary according to the size of tank that you have. 5-15 gallon tanks should have 1 inch of gravel. 20-40 gallon tanks should have 2 inches of gravel. 50-75 gallon tanks should have 2 1/2 inches of gravel. 80-120 gallon tanks need 3 inches of gravel and anything larger needs around 3 1/2-4 inches of gravel. In the beginning we tried to save money and put just a small layer of gravel down. Bad mistake. The UGF was not able to work properly. Once we added more gravel to the tanks it was greatly improved.
Before putting your gravel in your tank you need to wash it thoroughly. We use a strainer. We pour the gravel in the strainer, place it under the faucet, stir it around for a few minutes and then put it in the tank. You can also put it in a bucket and do the same thing. No matter how long we wash the gravel though it seems that there is still some residual dust/dirt that never quite gets washed away. But for the most part it is clean.
When placing gravel in your tank the front of the tank should have less gravel than the back. This aids in the waste matter collecting in the front of the tank for easier cleaning. Some fish, however, do not like this. They much prefer to decorate their tank in the way they want it. In my 80 gallon tank my fish kept constantly moving the gravel and piling it up where they wanted it. The same with their plants. I happened to like the way I had my plants arranged and thus, every morning I would get up and put the gravel and plants back where *I* wanted them. The next morning I would get up just to find the tank back the way *they* wanted it. After about 2 weeks of this I just gave up in frustration. I let *them* have their home the way they wanted it.
DECORATIONS
Buy ONLY aquarium decorations. Do not buy ordinary every day ceramic figurines that you can buy in any store. This can be very dangerous. There are certain chemicals in the paint used on them, such as lead, that can kill your fish instantly. Aquarium decorations can be more expensive, but better than losing an entire tank of fish. The simple ones, though, are pretty cheap whereas the elaborate larger ones run into a lot of money.
Many fish like to get inside of things and hang out. I have a castle and a few other things in some of my tanks. Some of my fish love to get in there and kind of hang out. Some fish get very protective of their "homes" and won't let other fish get in there. The decorations can be great places for a fish to run and hide if they happen to be getting chased by other fish.
Decorations can also add to the beauty of your tank. They come in all colors and if you have color coordinated your tank they can look real good in there. There are even some that you can hook an air tube to and water bubbles come out of them. Some have animated things that move with the air flow from the air tube. These are a little spendy, but are entertaining.
PLANTS
I personally don't favor live plants, though the fish, I'm sure, love them. I have had nothing but problems with them. Bits and pieces fall off and go to the bottom of the tank and decompose. This can cause a rise in ammonia as well as a messy tank. If you have to medicate the tank for any reason, often times it kills the plants. Plants can promote algae growth and rob your tank of oxygen. After about 6 months of having live plants I totally eliminated all of mine and went to plastic plants. When I notice algae forming on them that is not being eaten by my algae eaters I pull them out and throw them in the dishwasher. They come out bright as new.
DRIFTWOOD
I have never had driftwood in my tank and have stayed away from it upon the advice of the man at the fish store. I have received numerous letters from the fish help service from other fish owners that have nothing but problems once they put driftwood in their tanks. Anywhere from discolored water to dying fish. I recommend you don't use it. However, if you do, it should only be purchased from your aquarium store. Ask first to be sure that it has been properly cured before placing it in your tank.
Driftwood is a great collector of algae which does not keep it looking pretty very long. The wood may put substances into your water which change the pH which can be bad for your fish if they can not live in that pH. Driftwood can also put acids into the water (much like peat moss), possibly softening it and lowering its pH. Again, this can be harmful to your fish. The color of your water may also turn to a yellowish or brown color. The color is not harmful and can be removed by filtering the water through activated charcoal, but that is a hassle and it takes a long time to get it removed.
TANK BACKING
Most all fish stores carry a variety of backings to put on your tank. They range from natural looking backings to the more elaborate foil shiney backings that come in a large variety of colors. When we first started out we chose the natural look. After getting so many tanks and trying to color coordinate everything we replaced a lot of those backs with the shiney foil backings that were the color of the tank.
The foil backings are more spendy. Here, in Oregon, they cost around $4.99 a foot. My 150 gallon tank is 6' long so you can see how much that type of backing would cost. The natural looking backings are around $1.59 a foot, a much more reasonable price indeed. Again, this is a matter of preference and budget.
A friend of ours used the colored aluminum foil that you find in grocery stores to make their backing. It turned out really nice and you couldn't really tell the difference. Another friend used the foil Christmas wrap to cover his tank. His looked equally as good. These types of materials are far less expensive than backing designed for aquarium usage.
When putting the backing on tape it all around. When we first started out we only taped it here and there. After a while the backing started to draw away from the tank and it looked pretty bad. Since then we have moved the tanks around so much that we ended up replacing most of the backing on our tanks. We have taped all edges completely and it looks much nicer.
You may want to put your backing along the sides of your tank as well. Some fish seem to have a hard time realizing that the tank does not go on forever and will run into it while swimming. If you have two tanks side by side you may want to put backing between the two tanks. We has our Oscars and Cichlids in one tank and our Goldfish in another tank. For a while these tanks were butted up against each other. The Oscars, being live food eaters were constantly at the side of the tank running into it trying to eat the Goldfish. This problem was alleviated by placing backing in between the two tanks.
MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT
THERMOMETER
An essential part of any fish hobbyist is a thermometer. A thermometer should be kept in your tank at all times so that you can monitor the water temperature. The other time you will use your thermometer is when you are refilling the tank after a water change. It is important that you put the water back into the tank at the same temperature as the tank is currently at. Thermometers are very cheap. They cost around $1.59 at most stores.
There are three types of thermometers on the market. One is a strip type thermometer that sticks to the outside of your tank. These are not very good and are very hard to read. This is the first type of thermometer we purchased. We quickly replaced it.
The second type has a lip on it and hangs on the side of the tank in the water. These are pretty good and accurate. I don't care for them too much because they are constantly getting bumped and fall into the tank. It's a pain to have to fish them out of the tank. I do own one that I use to check my water temperature before adding it to the tank after cleaning the tank. They are real handy for hanging on the side of a bucket or glass to check the temperature.
The third type goes right inside your tank. There is a suction cup attached to it that allows you to stick it on your tank anywhere you want. This is the type I use and the type I prefer. The suction cup wears out after a couple of years or so, but since they are so inexpensive it really doesn't matter much. Every one of my tanks has one of this type in it.
CLEANING EQUIPMENT
GRAVEL CLEANERS/WATER CHANGERS: There are many types of water changing hoses at the fish stores. They basically work by siphoning the water out of your tank. There is a gravel cleaner on the end that is connected a to the end of the siphon hose. When the tube is pushed into the gravel, the water flow stirs up the gravel. The gravel is not sucked up and out the tube, instead the dirt, waste matter, feces, etc is siphoned out. These are fairly inexpensive, but a must. NOTE: The water that you take out of your tank makes excellent fertilizer for your flower or vegetable garden because it contains nitrates.
There is another product on the market for cleaning tanks called the "Python". It comes in hose lengths ranging from 25' to 100'. This is an excellent product as far as filling is concerned, especially if you have a large tank. However, for removing the water, personally I feel it leaves plenty to be desired.
The Python works in very much the same manner as your regular gravel cleaners. It siphons the water out of your tank. However, how it does it is completely different. You attach one end of the hose to your faucet and the other end goes inside of your tank. In order for the siphon to work you have to turn on your water full force and let it run down the drain. The water running out of your faucets begins the siphoning process. Needless to say, you waste a lot of water this way. If you are on a well system this would not be costly at all. However, if you are on city water and have to pay for your water it can add up real fast as gallons and gallons of water go down the drain. In addition, the power behind the siphoning is not much. Your tank does not get as clean as when you use the standard gravel cleaning systems.
I use my Python only to fill the tanks. This makes tank filling SO EASY. No messy buckets of water to carry and spill all over. It is much faster than making trip after trip to fill a larger tank.
SPONGES/GLASS CLEANERS: For cleaning the inside of the tank use a sponge that is specifically designed for aquariums. They will not scratch the surface. Most aquarium cleaning sponges come with a sponge side and a scouring pad side. The scouring pad side can be used to clean any algae buildup in your tank, whereas the sponge side will clean the water spots off your tank. These can be used to clean the outside of your tank as well.
I suggest buying and using only sponges designed specifically for aquarium use. Commercial home scouring pads will scratch your tank. The commercial home sponges will break apart and leave little bits and traces of sponge in your tank which can be very harmful to your fish, possibly even killing them. The aquarium sponges are very reasonably priced and last a long time.
A WORD OF CAUTION ABOUT SPONGES
NEVER put soap or any other cleaning solution on your sponge. Never use a sponge that has been used to clean anything else. Soap residue will KILL your fish quicker than anything. No matter how hard or how long you rinse your sponge, there will always be traces left in there. So ALWAYS buy a new sponge and never use an old one.
There is also a Magnet Cleaner. I never had experience with one of these until we got one with the 150 gallon tank we bought. I truly couldn't see how such a thing could work very well. I was VERY surprised at how easy and well it worked.
One half of it is a magnet. This goes on the outside of the tank. The other half is a scraping block that goes on the inside of the tank. Moving the outside magnet moves the scraping block thus cleaning and removing algae without having to put your hands and arm in the tank. When you are done cleaning you rinse the scouring part off, put the 2 halves back together and it is ready for the next time.
One word of caution though... the magnet is very powerful so when putting it together make sure that you don't get your finger in there. I did it once and boy oh boy did it ever hurt. The same holds true when applying it to the side of your tank. Be very careful that you don't let it snap together or it can break the glass of your tank.
TUBE CLEANING BRUSHES: There are many different tube cleaning aquarium brushes on the market. I will say though that they don't hold up very well. One of the best tube cleaners is a plain ordinary household toothbrush. They work great for removing the algae from the insides of your plastic tubes. They are stiff, last a long time and most importantly cheap. Another thing that I use is household cleaning brushes or baby bottle brushes. These are also very stiff and last a long time. You can find many different sizes at the store. I have a wide assortment of them and just love them.
BUCKET: You will need a bucket for adding and removing water from your tank. Use the biggest bucket you can handle. This can save you a lot of trips to and from the sink. Use this bucket ONLY for your aquarium and don't ever put any soap or other type of cleaning solution in it. AGAIN: Soap residue will KILL your fish quicker than anything. No matter how hard or how long you rinse your bucket, there will always be traces left in there. Plastic gets little nicks and scratches in it the the soap can stay in. So buy a new bucket from the store and never use an old one that you perhaps used to wash your car with. You should be OK if you get one from a restaurant that had pickles or something like that in it. You wouldn't have to worry about soap in there.
CLEANING SOLUTIONS: Once again I stress not to use any types of household cleaners in your tank. One of the best cleaners you can use is salt. Plain old ordinary NON-IODIZED salt. (Use Non-Iodized salt as Iodine will kill your fish.) This acts as an abrasive, much like Comet Cleanser does and it will not hurt your fish. The only time, however, that you would need to use a cleaner would be when you first set up a tank, especially if it is used and the prior person did not clean it out or if you were sterilizing your tank. (See Tank Sterilization)
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