Aquariums Vs Goldfish Bowls

Why choose a coldwater aquarium Vs a Goldfish Bowl?

Probably one of the most popular cold water fish kept as a pet is the common goldfish, after all, all you really need is a bowl, a bit of gravel, and some sort of plant in it, change the water in the bowl for fresh stuff from the tap every couple of weeks and they are as happy as a clam aren't they?

Wrong! Although many goldfish have been kept this way over the years it is actually a very cruel thing to do as most bowls are to small and many owners don't put the correct filtration or aeration systems in place meaning that the poor fish is permanently stressed and will probably only live for a matter of months. For your goldfish to be happy, healthy, and stand the best chance of reaching the 25 years or so of age that is the average lifespan for the species and its full grown size of over 30cm (1ft) is to ensure it is kept in a properly set up coldwater aquarium, not a goldfish bowl.

Choosing and positioning your Coldwater Aquarium

As always when choosing an aquarium, you should buy the largest tank that you can afford, and find room for in your home as many coldwater fish will grow quickly and require a lot of room to swim. Fish keepers that don't follow this and opt to buy a smaller tank often live to regret it as their fish quickly outgrow the little "Starter Tank" that has been brought for them. When buying a tank, be sure to think about what you will be standing it on as much of the modern household furniture isn't built to stand the weight of a fully set up aquarium, you may want to consider buying a purpose built "tank stand" as this will easily accommodate the weight of the tank once it has its decoration and water in and will be high enough for the fish to be viewed easily without the risk of the glass getting damaged and also help keep the tank away from the unwanted attentions of other pets in the household.

When considering where to position your new coldwater aquarium, it is important to find somewhere for it where it will be out of drafts or direct sunlight as these can cause temperature fluctuations in the tank which may cause stress to your fish. It should also be placed somewhere fairly peaceful, so not somewhere where there are always people walking past it, or next to a stereo or television as as loud noise and constant movement could also cause stress to the fish. Many children want their pet goldfish in their bedroom, but this may not be a good idea as the tank requires 24hr filtration to keep your fish healthy and the filter will produce a certain amount of background noise which could interrupt your child's sleeping.

Setting up your Coldwater Aquarium

Once you have found the right position in your home for your new aquarium, it is time to start setting it up ready to home your fish. The first thing is to attach your background to the back of your tank, not only are the backgrounds attractive, helping to hide the wires behind your tank and the wall beyond, but they make your fish feel more secure as well. Then you need to put in the aquatic grade sand or gravel that will be the base of your tank - although there are many types available, the more natural tones will make your fish feel more secure as they won't reflect bright, unnatural colours around your aquarium. Before putting the gravel into your tank, it should be washed thoroughly with clean tap water to remove any dust from it that could affect your water quality.

One of the most important pieces of equipment for the health of any fish is the filter, as the sponge of the filter will provide the ideal home for the beneficial bacteria that break down the fishes waste matter and turn it into less harmful substances - if you don't have a filter, then the poor fish are left to swim in an ever thickening toxic soup of their own waste which will inevitably cause disease and death. Filters are available in a range of different sizes to suit all aquariums and are available as both internal and external fittings

Most filters will require you to clean the filter sponge in water taken from your aquarium about once a month, using tap water would kill all the beneficial bacteria and could affect the water quality. Personally I use the Tetratec Easycrystal Filterbox 300 with good result and it is very easy to clean and maintain removing the need to "clean" the sponges manually. The filter should be positioned so that it is just above the water level of your tank so that when the filtered water is re-introduced to your tank it helps aerate the water, but you should also get a air pump which will add oxygen to the water. The air pumps sit outside the tank and you place "Air stones" in the tank which are connected up to the pump by tubing. Many fish keepers choose to bury the tubes and stones just under the surface of the gravel or sand allowing the air to ripple up through the tank without the somewhat unsightly stones being visible.

Any decoration like rocks or bogwood should be placed into the aquarium before you fill it with water to ensure it doesn't overflow. If using bogwood in your aquarium, it is advisable to soak it in a bucket of water for several days before adding it to the tank to avoid the natural tannins discolouring the water. Plastic plants can also be put into the tank at this stage, but if you want to use real aquarium plants, you should partially fill the aquarium first - it is worth remembering that fish will often nibble the real plants as they like to have some "green food" occasionally.

Once you have your tank set up as you like it, you need to start adding the water. Fill the aquarium until there is approximately an inch of glass left at the top. Leaving this gap will help aerate the water and also help prevent any condensation issues. Once the tank is full, you should add something like "AquaSafe" to remove the chlorine from the water, and turn the filter on. The tank then needs to rest for at least a week before adding any fish to it, this allows the beneficial bacteria to build up in the sponge of the filter ready to deal with the fish waste. Introduce your fish slowly to the tank, only buying 2 or 3 fish at a time, adding them to the tank, leaving it a fortnight then testing the water to check the water quality before adding more fish - repeat this until you have the desired number of fish in your aquarium.

Maintaining your Coldwater Aquarium

Once your tank is established you should still take some steps to maintain it. If you have real plants in the aquarium, check the top of the water daily for loose peices of broken plants and remove them as soon as possible. Change approximately 20-25% of the water in your aquarium on a fortnightly basis to assist with water quality, and be sure to use something to remove the chlorine each time you do this. If you have used gravel in the tank, then the use of a gravel siphon might be needed to remove the debris from between the stones. You may also need to remove algae from the glass with an algae removal sponge which is available from most good aquarium shops.