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There are
lots of different kinds of fish tanks available. It is important
to look for good value, but also features which will make for
easy maintenance and a practical long term home for your fish.
This page should help you choose the right tank to meet your
needs.
Size
The size
of the fish tank you choose, should depend on the number and
size of fish you are intending to keep in your tank. As a rough
guide, you should have 1 gallon of water for every inch of
fish (body).
An "all
in one" tank
All in one
tanks are sold in many pet stores. They include a tank with a
filter and a light and if its a tropical or Marine tank. it will
have a built in heater.These tend to be small volume tanks and
are suitable for beginners or small mixed aquarium. The problem
is its hard to find a big all in one tank.
Poor Vitality due to water quality issues are common in new and
established tanks. Experienced fish keepers know to regularly
test for common problems such as acidity (pH) ammonia, nitrites
and Nitrate levels. Bensfish offers a range of easy to use
simple dip & read tests for aquarium water quality,so that you
dont have to buy 1 of all of these the best way is to buy an
aquarium 5 pad test which cothers Ammonia,Nitrate, acidity (ph)
and nitrite.Underneath here it gives you the option to buy the 5
pad test.
Plastic Tanks
Tanks made out of
plastic are not long lasting they break very quickly if you are
rough with them. They are usually small volume tanks. The big
advantage is they are usually cheap. I use plastic tanks to
raise fry in.
Glass Tanks
I feel that glass
tanks are a lot better than plastic. They are much more
hardwaring and you can get them in much bigger sizes. One
disadvantage is that they are a lot heavier. Also they cost a
lot more than plastic tanks. Make sure that all tanks are well
supported as the combined weight of glass and water is very
great.
Tall or wide?
You can keep much
more fish in a tank which has a large surface area, for
this reason you should avoid tall thin tanks. Surface area is
how much water is exposed to the air, as this determins the
natural oxygenation that can occur. Tall tanks will require
extra aeration if they are to support the same volume of fish.
What
sort of fish?
Some fish need
more room than others. Say we had a 1800cm squared surface area.
Amount of Marine
fish in that tank = 1`15cm marine fish.
Amount of
Goldfish in that tank = 2 11.5cm goldfish.
Amount of
tropical fish in that tank = 4 15cm tropical fish.
Fish Bowls
I would
advise
you not to buy a fish bowl. They are not very good for
the fish and fish living in them die
usually at a very young age.
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