Freshwater Fish Supplies - Aquascape 

Key Factors 

 Descriptions

Recommended Freshwater Fish Supplies

Aquarium size / Water volume

For aquascape / planted aquarium, bigger is better ! Bigger water volume can keep good water conditions since it gives bigger tolerance for shift in water conditions.

 Aquarium Location

Direct sunlight to your planted aquarium is strictly prohibited ! even only for few hours. It will create algae problems.

Put your planted aquarium in shaded area or you can use car sunshade to cover your aquarium for sometime to reflect sunlight.

 Plant substrates

You should use aquarium plants substrates that already had essential nutrients. If you already had gravel in your established tank, , choose plant substrates that can be put over your existing gravel or mixed with other gravels.

  Good Planted Aquarium Substrate contains :
• All the mineral nutrients needed for luxuriant aquatic plant growth without nuisance algae!
• Nitrate and Carbonate free which will not increase pH or carbonate hardness.
• No artificial dye, paint or chemical coating.
• Heterotrophic Bacteria to rapidly convert fish waste into natural food for your aquatic plants, also creates a natural biological balance which makes cycling in a new aquarium faster and safer.

 Media for Bacteria habitat

Sand, gravel and wood are excellent media for bacteria colonization. Plant Substrates can be used alone as an integral substrate bed, but it may be mixed with other sand/gravels.

Make sure that you don't use any kind of sand/gravel. It's safer to buy washed sand/gravel -made by trustable brand- from fish store. Avoid using lime sand & stone ! It can increase your aquarium water hardness and pH significantly and it can't be used at all even after you washed it several times, the lime stays.

Biological filter media gives place for beneficial bacteria to colonize. The bacteria is important to convert toxins produced by organic waste into more friendly forms - important aquarium cycle process for your aquarium's health . Use different biological filter media for different filter types , you can adjust your filters's biological surface area based on your aquarium needs. Heavy bio-load (more crowded) should have bigger surface area. You can maximize your biological surface area by turning your filter into 100% biological filter.

You can add Beneficial Bacteria directly into the water or spread directly on to your filter pad or media to immediately establish biological activity to stabilize aquarium environments.

Cleaning tips : Don't remove all your biological filter media at once - bacteria takes a while to get established and removing it leads to catastrophic spikes in ammonia and pH . If your filter isn't designed for partial media changes, you can pack biological filter media in multiple filter bags, only rinse one at a time using it's own aquarium water.

Bio Substrate contains natural gravels and sands packed with living, water-purifying bacteria, state of the art clarifier, and a complete water conditioner. Tap water is all you need to get started, immediately begins the cycling process, eliminating new tank syndrome, and discouraging nuisance algaes. 

Bio Filter Substrate is high porosity biomedia that encourages beneficial bacterial growth which provides efficient biofiltration for the removal of nitrogenous waste such as ammonia & nitrites.

Bio Balls will enable you to maintain large biological loads within much smaller filter areas. The dramatic increase in surface area is achieved by the unique geometric design of the smaller bio ball.

Bio-rings/ Hollow Ceramic Rings are shaped as smooth, hollow ceramic tubes. This filter media can be used as Biological or Mechanical Filter Media :

• As Biological filter media, it encourages beneficial bacterial growth for optimal filtration within canister filters. Media can be placed directly into the filter (Middle layer filtering), without a bag.
• As Mechanical filter media, it works much like a sieve trapping articulate waste as it passes through the material. This coarse mechanical filter material is to be used as Bottom layer filtering. Its hollow ceramic design creates eddies which disburse the water into many paths. It traps large debris while creating an even flow of water for subsequent layers.

• Natural wood and rocks are commonly used for aquascape, they are also excellent media for beneficial bacteria colonization.
Genuine aquarium wood is not only a beautiful and natural addition to a freshwater aquarium, but it's essential for keeping "blackwater" rainforest tank (where tannins would be naturally present) and for some wood-eater fishes, like plecos and other suckermouth catfish which need a large amount of wood fibre for their properly digestion functions.

• Artificial aquarium wood can give you an authentic, natural look without worrying about tannins.

Aquarium CO2 System

The following Freshwater fish supplies - CO2 can be considered :

The Tablet CO2 is the cheapest CO2 supply for your planted tank, they are fast dissolving, premeasured tablets that make caring for your aquarium plants quick, easy and convenient.

But it has disadvantage : you can't monitor and adjust the amount of CO2 being released ! - you should regularly check your aquarium pH to keep it stable. 

Canned CO2 . This is an economical way to provide CO2 to your planted aquarium without having to buy expensive gas canisters and other equipment.

To produce CO2, the Turbo CO2 Bio System from Red Sea uses natural yeast-based fermentation. It can be used for up to a month with inexpensive refills. This CO2 system uses aquarium pump with venturi injector to inject CO2 that produces micro-bubbles for optimal CO2 diffusion and dispersal.

You should use a day/night timer that connected to the aquarium pump. At night, aquarium plants stop consuming CO2 and take in oxygen instead. The timer prevents too much CO2 that can dangerously drop your aquarium pH.

Although it's better than Tablet CO2, this Canned CO2 has the same disadvantage. Regular pH checking & keep it stable are important.

CO2 - pH Control system. This Complete CO2 system can automatically adjust CO2 being released, it has magnetic valve that can open / close CO2 flow depending on needs. The censor system will automatically combinates CO2 with given KH and desired pH. Although it's more expensive than others, what this system can do is worth the price. So, I recommend this system for your aquascape purposes.

This advanced system usually includes safety pressure regulator, needle valve, CO2 monitor, bubble counter, tubing and CO2 reactor. 

Fish Tank Filters

All external filters like canister or wet dry filters usually include 3 stages of filtration : mechanical, biological and chemical filtrations. Based on my experience, it's better to use seperate filters for 100% biological filter & 100% mechanical filter.

More biological filter media ensures enough bacteria quantity to do the aquarium cycle job.  Besides the 100% biological filter doesn't need to be cleaned often, just clean it twice a year or even yearly. All you have to do is regularly clean the mechanical filter.

Wet dry filter is the best biological filter so far, since it has larger surface area than others. There are so many brands in the market, but remember to always buy freshwater fish supplies from trustable and reputable brand. EHEIM filters is one of the best brand I know, since I already used several Eheim products for more than 20 years and still working perfectly until now. 

External power filters or HOB (hang on back) filters are good for mechanical filter purpose. Please remember to clean the filter media at regular basis.

Aeration

Usually, there is always sufficient oxygen available for all inhabitants in well-planted aquarium with CO2 nutrient, so Do not use aerators!

But, sometimes the remaining oxygen during the night might not be sufficient for quite a number of fishes and other organisms. If reducing the inhabitants is not an option, you should add oxygen into your tank - it also means throwing away the CO2 (as result of plant's respiration process) that needed for the next day photosynthesis.

If the normal oxygen level (about 5-8 mg/liter) can always be maintained, you don't need any additional oxygen-generated devices. But if it drops, sponge filters with air pump/aerator can be a good choice for keeping healthy oxygen levels at night. You can use a day/night timer to operate the air pump.

Sponge filters provide good mechanical filtration especially for filtering small particles and also excellent as biological filters, since it provide plenty of surface area for bacteria colonization.

Water Flow & Water Agitation

In planted aquarium, water flow has important functions :

• Makes roots of freshwater aquarium plants grow stronger, also clean leaves from sticking small particles.
• Stabilizes aquarium water temperature.
• Spreading out CO2, oxygen and nutrition evenly.

You should adjust the flow until you find comfortable flow for your aquarium plants and pet fishes.

You can use Circulation pumps , Water pumps or Powerheads to create GENTLE water flow (bottom & middle water) & a bit/slightly surface agitation. Be careful not to throw away CO2 that needed in photosynthesis process during the day!

For tank circulation, planted tanks need Turnover Rate at least 2 times per hour. If you fill your tank with 50 gallons of water, you'll need a GPH pump at 100 GPH (50x2).

It's necessary to get higher gph pump by adjusting the turnover rate by 1 or looking for the next highest GPH rating - especially if you use filters for circulation devices where accumulate waste in filter media will slow down the water flow. 

Protein Skimmer

Can aquarium protein skimmers be used in freshwater aquarium ?
Some opinions said that the protein skimmer can only be used in saltwater aquariums, due to the very nature of saltwater which has high water density/ salinity (34-36 ppt), high degree of water hardness (KH around 7-10 dKH) and high pH level (pH around 8.2-8.6).

• At first, I was also in doubt about the effectiveness of using aquarium protein skimmers in freshwater aquarium, but I tried it anyway. It appears to be quite effective to overcome the water's surface problems, the oil slicks dissapeared and other particles stick to the collection cup. Although it doesn't produce foam froth as much as in saltwater usage, it does work anyway to dump the surface waste into the collection cup.

Note : Actually, a protein skimmer is a chamber with a column of bubbles. Surface tension attracts organic waste to the bubbles & carries it through the column; then it's "skimmed" into a collection cup. This process stops organic waste from breaking down into toxic chemicals that can lead to water surface problems previously mentioned. It also can keep your filter cleaner.

The following Freshwater fish supplies - Protein Skimmers can be considered :

Counter current protein skimmer is powered by an air pump & airstone (usually limewood to create smooth bubbles). It is inexpensive, effective and particularly used in smaller tanks. The protein skimmer works by forcing water to fight an opposing current, that slows bubbles' advancement through the chamber which allowing them to collect more waste. Choose the tallest counter-current protein skimmer for the best results.

Venturi driven protein skimmer is powered by Water pumps or Powerheads with venturi to create and inject air bubbles. Then injected air bubbles create a vortex of water and foam froth in the bottom of the chamber. This vortex greatly increasing the amount of contact time and waste collected.

Turbo protein skimmer  is driven by Water pumps or Powerheads. It works by drawing air into the needle-wheel style impeller system. The needle-wheel chops air into the water, creating a bubble rich froth that is then pushed into the chamber of the skimmer.

Every hobbyist desires a crystal-clear water, including the water surface!. Dissolved organic compounds, oils, and other agents form slicks on the surface (especially in planted tank where there's only slightly surface agitation), they are a nuisance that only a special device can eliminate.

The tubes of aquarium protein skimmers indeed disturbing the aquarium's appearance and they all take-up a lot of space (inside/outside the aquarium) especially if your aquarium is not quite big. Is there another way to eliminate the surface problems ?

Yes, there is. What you need is a device that can take out /extract water from the surface to be filtered by existing filtration system (s.a canister or wet/dry filters). It's different from the protein skimmer that uses air-bubbles to filter/ skim the water.

You can consider to use some devices as follows :

• Surface Extractor will suck aquarium water's surface into filtration system, it can be used stand-alone or as filter input extention (using T connector).   

• Surface Overflow Box will overflow water from the surface into filtration system.

• HOB +  built-in Surface Skimmer for effective removal of Surface Film (oily, organic film and scum) & Dust from the surface.

Aquarium Light

In aquascape, Aquarium Light is very important. Good lamps provides the right Color Temperature (°K) & Intensity for aquarium plants' photosynthesis.

How to choose ? Whatever type of lamps you choose, you should check out the :

• Color Temperature, measured by Kelvin ratings (K):
Common Aquascape needs White Spectrum (6,500-10,000°K) which have the best effect for aquarium plants.

• Intensity. Intensity is the ability of the lamp to penetrate water. This factor is partly determine by wattage, but be careful in choosing the bulbs since different types & brands of bulbs differ in intensity even with the same wattage!
Following is the sequence of codes which represent different intensity (highest to lowest) : D(Daylight), ND(Natural Daylight), WD(Warm Daylight), CW(Cool White), UW(Universal White).

Although minimum intensity (wattage) for planted tank is 4 Watts/gallon of water, The right intensity for each planted aquarium is different, it depends on your choice of freshwater aquarium plants & how deep your tank is. Some aquarium plants need stronger intensity than others, while plants which come from shaded regions, only need low-intensity light. Deeper tanks need more intensity too.
You can read our next articles for further details.

Remember to always research your intended organisms to learn the habitat's depth and what spectrum ranges have the best effect for them.

The following Freshwater fish supplies - Lamps can be considered :

Linear-Fluorescents come in 3 different sizes by thickness /diameter : T12 (1.5"), T8 (1"), and T5 (5/8").

• T12 and T8 bulbs are standard sizes and can fit in the same standard fixtures.
• T5 bulbs are shorter, take up half space that T12 occupy, achieving higher intensity in a smaller space, but T5 requires special fixtures (they won't work with your standard fixtures, they need special ballasts and end-caps!).
T5 lighting can be the answer for increasing intensity (higher wattage) that limited by aquarium hoods' space.

Higher wattages for intense fluorescent lighting can also be provided by T5-HO(High Output) and Very High Output (VHO) lamps.

Power Compact (PC) fluorescents are relatively new technology in fluorescents, they take up less space than classic fluorescent bulbs and more efficent (less wattage for producing more intensity).
These aquarium lights need special fixtures to be installed into the aquarium hood or canopy - 3 types of base : Straight/ linear pin, Square pin & Threaded /mogul base.

Metal halide systems are High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting systems popular among many aquarium hobbyists. Halides are either:
• Single-ended : Mogul base (screw socket) or G12 base (bi-pin).
Metal Halides are high-powered bulbs that provide highest intensity and color temperature (until 20,000K). They are usually used for aquarium with 60-100 cm depth & hanged above your aquarium with 30-70 cm distance from the water's surface. Metal halides' fixtures include cooling fans to reduce the intense heat generated by the bulbs.

• or Double-ended : HQI lighting/ R7S.
HQI bulb /R7S is much smaller than screw socket halides and is double ended. HQI systems are relatively new to the hobby and offer many of the same features as conventional metal halide systems, but differ in design. Many of the ballasts for the metal halides can also be used for HQI fixtures.

The HQI bulbs, however, require a system-specific socket & special fixtures with filtering mechanism to block UV light that is produced by them. The fixtures of the HQI bulbs usually include a sheet of glass or plastic in between the bulb and the tank to filter out the short-wave UV.
HQI bulbs are commonly available in 150- and 250-watt bulbs.

Note : Freshwater planted tanks /paludarium usually use 70 or 150 Watts Halides with 8,000-10.000 K for each bulb. For deeper aquarium (>100 cm), intensity should be increased to 250 or 400 Watts.

Usually, LED light is used as an add-on to an aquarium light (for night lighting /moonlight, add a shimmering effect and enhance color).
Now with advances in modern LED lighting, they are intended for serious reef / planted aquarium lighting.

Some benefits of LED lighting :
• High Efficiency. LEDs use less than 50% the power of a traditional fluorescent. LEDs can provide up to, or in excess of 50,000 hours of life.
• Cooler Running. Aquarium chiller /additional air conditioning is not required.
• LED Lighting Start-Up & Cool-Down instantly, do not require a warm-up period.
• LED lights contain a solid state lighting element, eliminating several risk factors associated with high pressure gases.
• The LED narrow beam angle featured on many LED lights provides illumination within the intended areas only, promotes higher overall system efficiency.

pH Control

For aquascape, ideal pH is around 6.5 - 7.5.  Any change in pH value is stressful for aquatic life (freshwater aquarium plants, fishes and microorganism). So it's very important to keep your aquarium pH stable. 

pH is strongly related to CO2 and KH (Carbonate hardness). For aquascape, Complete Aquarium CO2 system  is recommended. It can automatically balance CO2 with given KH and desired pH.

Please check the pH level regularly to make sure it's still in tolerable range.

Use water testing kits like pH Test Kit or pH Electronic monitor  for best results.

Aquarium Temperature Control

 Aquarium plants Nutrients

Never use regular fertilizers for your freshwater aquarium plants !. In aquascape, aquarium plant's nourishment shouldn't harm fishes or disrupt natural processes.
CO2 & iron are crucial elements for your freshwater aquarium plants. Besides that, aquarium plants must have appropriate light and substrates to survive!

Good aquarium plants food & supplements deliver vital trace elements like potassium & iron for your aquarium plants' growth, also completely safe for your fishes & other aquatic creatures. Aquarium plants food and supplements should be used regularly to create beautiful-lush planted aquarium.