Pet Fish and Aquariums
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An aquarium (plural aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in
which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fish keepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, and aquatic plants. The term combines the Latin root aqua, meaning
water, with the
suffix -arium, meaning "a place for relating to".
An aquarist owns or maintains an aquarium. Aquaria can come in a variety of materials, shapes, and
sizes. They are typically constructed of glass or high-strength plastic. Cuboid aquaria are also known as
fish tanks or simply tanks, while bowl-shaped aquaria are also known as fish bowls. Size can range
from a small glass bowl to immense public aquaria. A number of components are used to maintain appropriate water quality and characteristics suitable for the aquarium's residents. Organisms
maintained or type of environment mimicked classify many aquaria.
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People have kept fish in artificial environments for centuries. In the Roman Empire, the first fish to be
brought indoors was the sea barbel, which was kept under guest beds in small tanks made of marble. Introduction of glass panes around the year 50 allowed Romans to replace one wall of marble tanks, improving their view of the fish. In 1369, the Chinese Emperor, Hongwu, established a porcelain company
that produced large porcelain tubs for maintaining goldfish. Over time,
people produced tubs that
approached the shape of modern fish bowls.
In 1836, soon after his invention of the Wardian case, Ward proposed to use his tanks for tropical animals, and in 1841 he did so, though only with aquatic plants and toy fish. However, he soon housed real animals. In 1838, Félix Dujardin noted owning a saltwater aquarium, though he did not use the term. In 1846, Anna Thynne maintained stony corals and seaweed for almost three years, and was credited as the creator of the first balanced marine aquarium in London. At about the same time, Robert Warington experimented with a 13-gallon container, which contained goldfish, eelgrass, and snails, creating one of the first stable aquaria; he published his findings in 1850 in the Chemical Society's journal. The keeping of fish in an aquarium became a popular hobby and spread quickly.
Aquarium |
Most aquaria consist of simple glass panes bonded together with silicone. Usually plastic frames are attached to the upper and lower edges for decoration. Price, availably, and reliability make the glass aquarium an industry standard for sizes up to 250 gallons / 1000 liters. However glass is brittle and has very little give before fracturing though generally the sealant fails first. Aquaria come in a variety of shapes such as cuboids, hexagonal, angled to fit into a corner, bow front, and more. Fish bowls are generally either plastic or glass, either spherical or some other round configuration. |
Acrylic aquaria are also available and are the primary competitor with glass. Acrylics are stronger than glass, and much lighter. Acrylic-soluble cements are used to directly fuse acrylic pieces together (as opposed to simply sealing the seam). Acrylic allows for the formation of unusual shapes, such as hexagons. Compared to glass, acrylics are easy to scratch and care must be taken with organisms with shells and teeth. Laminated glass might be used, which combines the advantage of both glass and acrylic. Large aquaria might use stronger materials such as fiberglass-reinforced plastics. However, this material is not transparent. Reinforced concrete is used for aquaria where weight and space are not factors. Concrete must be coated with a waterproof layer to prevent the water from breaking down the concrete as well as from preventing contamination from the concrete. |
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An aquarium can range from a small glass bowl containing less than a liter (34.5 oz.) of water to immense public aquaria, which can house entire ecosystems such as kelp forest. Larger aquaria are typically recommended to hobbyist due to their resistance to rapid fluctuations of temperature and pH, allowing for greater system stability.
Aquarium Components |
The typical hobbyist aquarium includes a filtration system, an artificial lighting system, and a heater or chiller depending on the inhabitants of the aquarium. Many aquaria incorporate a hood, which prevents evaporation and protects fish from leaving the aquarium (or anything else entering the aquarium). They also often hold lights. Hoods can be opened and closed for access into the aquarium. Combined biological and mechanical aquarium filtration systems are commonly uses. These are designed to either convert ammonia to nitrate or remove it or sometimes remove phosphate from water, removing nitrogen being at the expense of aquatic plants. Particulates incorporated into the filter can provide energy for microbes and sponges that do things like nitration. Filtration systems are often the most complex component of home aquaria and people use various design and combinations. Aquarium heaters combine a heating element with a thermostat allowing and aquarist to regulate water temperature at a level above that of the surrounding air, whereas coolers and chillers are for use in cold-water aquaria, or anywhere the ambient room temperature is above the desired tank temperature. A variety of different thermometers are used, such as the glass alcohol thermometers, adhesive external plastic strip thermometers, and even battery powered LCD thermometers. In addition, some aquarists use air pumps attached to airstones or water pumps to increase water circulation and supply adequate gas exchange at the water surface. Wave making devices have also been constructed to provide wave action within the aquarium. An aquarium’s physical characteristics form another aspect of aquarium design. Size, lighting conditions, density of floating and rooted plants, placement of bogwood, creation of caves or overhangs, type of substrates and other factors (including an aquarium’s positioning within a room) can all affect the behavior and survival of tank inhabitants. The combined function of these elements is to maintain appropriate water quality and characteristics suitable for the aquarium’s residents. |
Aquarium Maintenance |
Ideal aquarium ecology reproduces the balance found in nature in the closed system of an aquarium. In practice, all aquariums change, and aquarists are seldom satisfied with all aspects of their tank. As an example, a balanced predator-prey relationship is nearly impossible to maintain in even the largest of aquaria. Typically aquarium keepers must take steps to maintain balance in the small ecosystem contained in their aquariums. Large volumes of water enable more stability in a tank by motivating aquarist to maintain them and by diluting effects from death or contamination. Any event that disrupts the system pushes an aquarium away from equilibrium, the more water that is contained in a tank the easier such as systemic shock is to absorb, as the effects of that event are diluted. For example, the death of the only fish in a three gallon (11 liter) tank causes dramatic changes in the system, while the death of that same fish in a 100 gallon (400 liter) tank with many other fish represents only a minor change in the tank balance. For this reason, hobbyist often favor larger tanks when possible, as they are a more stable system requiring less intensive attention to the maintenance of tank equilibrium. |
There are a variety of nutrient cycles that are important in the aquarium. Dissolved oxygen enters the system at the surface water-air interface or through the action of an air pump. Carbon dioxide escapes the system into the air. The phosphate cycle is an important, although often overlooked, nutrient cycle. Sulfur, iron, and micronutrients also cycle through the system, entering as food and exiting as water. Appropriate handling of the nitrogen cycle, along with supplying an adequate balanced food supply, is enough to keep these other nutrient cycles in appropriate equilibrium but not forever. |
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Water Conditioner |
The solute content of water is perhaps the most important aspect of water conditions, as total dissolved solids and other constituents can dramatically impact basic water chemistry, and therefore how organisms are able to interact with their environment. Salt content, or salinity, is the most basic classification of water conditions. An aquarium may have fresh water (salinity below 0.5 parts per million), simulating a lake or river environment; brackish water (a salt level of 0.5 to 30 parts per million), simulating environments lying between fresh and salt, such as estuaries; and salt water or sea water (a salt level of 30 to 40 parts per million), simulating the ocean or sea environment. Rarely, even higher salt concentrations are maintained in specialized tanks for raising brine organisms. Several other water characteristics result from dissolved contents of the water, and are important to the simulation of natural environments. Saltwater is typically alkaline, while the pH (alkalinity or acidity) of fresh water varies more. Hardness measures overall dissolved mineral content; hard or soft water may be preferred. Hard water is usually alkaline while soft water is usually neutral to acidic. Dissolved organic content and dissolved gasses content are also important factors. Home aquarist’s typically use modified tap water supplies through the local water supply network to fill their tanks. Because of the chlorine used to disinfect water supplies for human consumption, straight tap water cannot be used. In the past, it was possible to “condition” the water by simply letting the water stand for a day or two, which allows the chlorine time to dissipate. More sophisticated aquarist may make other modifications to their base water source to modify the water’s alkalinity, hardness, or dissolved content of organics and gasses, before adding it to their aquaria. This can be accomplished by a range of different additives such as sodium bicarbonate to raise pH. Some aquarist will even filter or purify their water prior to adding it to their aquarium. There are two processes used for that: deionization or reverse osmosis. The temperature of the water forms the basis of one of the two most basic aquarium classifications: tropical vs. cold water. Most fish and plant species tolerate only a limited range of water temperature. Tropical or warm water aquaria, within an average temperature of about 25 degrees C (77 degrees F), are much more common and tropical fish are among the most popular aquarium denizens. Cold-water aquaria are those with temperatures below what would be considered tropical; some varieties of fish are better suited to this cooler environment. More important than the temperature range itself is the consistency in temperature; most organisms are not accustomed to sudden changes in temperature, which could cause shock and lead to disease. Water temperature can be regulated with a combines thermostat and heater unit (or more rarely, with a cooling unit). |
Water movement can also be important in accurately simulating a natural ecosystem. Aquarist may prefer anything from still water to swift simulated currents in an aquarium, depending on the conditions best suited for the aquarium's inhabitants. Water movement can be controlled through the use of aeration from air pumps, powerheads, and careful design of internal water flow. |
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Of primary concern to the aquarist management is the biological waste produced by an aquarium's inhabitants. Fish, invertebrates, fungi, and some bacteria excrete nitrogen waste in the form of ammonia (which will convert to ammonium, in acidic water) and must then pass through the nitrogen cycle. Ammonia is also produced through the decomposition of plant and animal matter, including fecal matter and other detritus. Nitrogen waste products become toxic to fish and other aquarium inhabitants at high concentration.
Biological loading is a measure of the burden placed on the aquarium ecosystem by its living inhabitants. High biological loading in an aquarium represents a more complicated tank ecology, which in turn means that equilibrium is easier to disturb. In addition, there are several fundamental constraints on biological loading based in the size of the aquarium. The surface area of water exposed to air limits dissolved oxygen intake by the tank. The capacity of nitrifying bacteria is limited by the physical space they have available to colonize. Physically, only a limited size and number of plant and animals can be fit into an aquarium while still providing room for movement. Simply, all kinds of biology decay, and biological loading refers to that rate of decay in proportion to tank volume.
From outdoor ponds and glass jars of antiquity, modern aquaria have evolved into a wide range of specialized systems. Individual aquaria can vary in size from a small bowl large enough for a single small fish, to huge public aquaria that can simulate entire marine ecosystems. A variety of different types of aquaria exist; for the most part, many of these classifications are based on the environment the aquaria intend to mimic.
One of the most basic ways to classify aquaria is their salinity. Freshwater aquaria are the most popular kind of aquarium due to their low cost and ease of maintenance. Marine aquaria generally require more complex equipment to set up and maintain than freshwater aquaria. Along with fish species, marine aquaria frequently feature a diverse range of invertebrates. Brackish water aquaria combine elements of both marine and freshwater fish keeping. Fish kept in brackish water aquaria generally come from habitats with varying salinity, such as mangroves and estuaries. Certain subtypes of aquaria also exist within these types, such as reef aquarium, a type of marine aquarium that house coral.
Another method to classify aquaria is their temperature range. Most aquarist maintain a tropical aquarium as these fish tend to be more colorful. However, the coldwater aquarium is also popular, which often includes fish such as goldfish.
Aquaria may be grouped by their species selection. The community tank is the most common type of aquarium kept today, where several non-aggressive species are housed peacefully together. In these aquaria, the aquarium fish, invertebrates, and plants probably do not originate from the same geographic region, but generally tolerate similar water conditions. Aggressive tanks, in contrast, house a limited number of species that can be aggressive toward other fish or are able to withstand aggression well. Species or specimen tanks usually only house one fish species, along with plants, perhaps found in the fishes' natural environment and decorations simulating a true ecosystem. This type is useful for fish that simply cannot be housed safely with other fish, such as the electric eel, as an extreme example. Some tanks of this sort are used simply to house adults for breeding.
Ecotype, ecotope, or biotope aquaria is another type based on species selection. In it, an aquarist attempts to simulate a specific ecosystem found in the natural world, bringing together fish, invertebrate species, and plants found only in that ecosystem in a tank with water conditions and decorations designed to simulate their natural environment. These ecotype aquaria might be considered the most sophisticated hobby aquaria; indeed, reputable public aquaria all use this approach in their exhibits whenever possible. This approach best simulates the experience of observing an aquarium's inhabitants in the wild. Matching a tank to the environment at the source of fish usually serves as the healthiest possible artificial environment for the tank's occupants.
(source: wikipedia.org)
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