People have owned home aquariums for centuries, and arguably, their fish and aquatic setups got along very well without aid from the modern contraptions you would find at any self-respecting aquarium supplies dealer today. These new devices available today, the aquariums chiller, the powerful lighting or the protein skimmer, were not just thought up by bright marketing departments to part you from that last dollar; these were made for the true aquarium enthusiast, one who tries to expand his aquarist's horizons delving into areas of aquarium-building heretofore unexplored: raising saltwater coral reefs, or raising exotic fish from cooler climes.

Building a coral reef in your home is no easy matter; these reefs occur naturally close to the water surface out in the sea, and are accustomed to receiving the full benefit of a day's sunshine. There is no way you could keep these at home illuminated with just a couple of florescent lighting fixtures. Successfully raising coral reefs and the life forms dependent on them requires that you invest in lighting technology that's really out there- metal halides, Very High Output fluorescents and so on. These do solve your lighting issues raising corals and other tropical life, but not without raising a problem or two of their own. Intense light will always come with intense heat. In the ocean, the heat, as much of it as the sun is able to supply, is pretty much lost in the vast volumes of the ocean's waters.

An aquarium tank has just so much water, and can be heated up a degree or three with just a few hours of intense artificial lighting. When you switch off the lights at night, the small body of water that the aquarium is, it can hold the heat for only a couple of hours before the temperature in the tank plunges. The temperature swings can be distressing to your aquarium's inhabitants, for the discomfort they cause and also for the amount of oxygen that warm water will quickly lose. And here enters the aquarium chiller.

Aquarium chillers can be quite expensive, running into hundreds of dollars for a reliable unit. You might think that using a fan would cool your tank adequately: there is a little added wrinkle to the problem though. To have a fan constantly playing on the top of the water will certainly cool it a couple of degrees; the fan will also hasten evaporation. It won't be easy to top up the water levels either. In some cases you will need to spring for a special reverse osmosis filterto easily do this all the time.

It's not really difficult buying a chiller; you just measure your tank for volume, and you buy a unit in proportion to the size. If you don't live in a particularly hot desert-like area, a midsize 30 gallon tank will require a 600 BTU aquarium chiller and a large tank will require as much as 4000 BTU. Think of an aquarium chiller as an air-conditioner for your aquatic friends. Aquarium chillers can often be quite noisy, and can turn out to be stress contributors themselves. Check out online forums for the best brands to buy, and the best feature-choices to make.

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• Your Aquarium And Algae by Mick Turret Anybody that has had an aquarium understands that algae cannot be avoided and it is simply a thing that fish owners, whether salt or freshwater, need to deal with on a regular basis. There's four major types of algae - green, brown, red-brush, and blue green. If......
• Securing the Best Fish Tank Supplies by Darren Bradley Anyone can easily set up a fish aquarium for a hobby or for decorative purposes nowadays. Fish supplies like fluorescent lighting and aquarium gravel are easily available, with many fish tank suppliers setting up shops on the Internet. As much as starting your own fish aquarium at......
• The Importance Of Choosing the Ideal Fish Tank Filter by Darren Bradley If you have always planned on setting up an aquarium, you have to choose the necessary fish supplies carefully. There are various types of fish tank supplies available, all designed to cater to the needs of different fish species and different aquarium types. The web is home......
• Knowing the Right Fish Food for Your Aquatic Pets Having an aquarium can be fun, but it can also demand time and conscious effort. More than the fish tank and fish tank accessories, you need to know which types of fish food work best for your pets. Feeding your fish the wrong types of food may result in......

• Money Saving Tips: 75 Ways to Survive Recession Regardless of how economists refer to this economy, recession or no recession, people are hurting, financially. Unemployment, flat wages and rising costs for food and gas have many hurting. Check out these great money saving tips to help your family survive these tough times. Here are a few money saving......
• Building An In-Wall Aquarium - What To Look Out For Constructing a marine aquarium system is very enjoyable and exciting, with all the research into different types of equipment that will be needed following the decision on what type of system to have - fish only, corals only, or mixed. As has been mentioned before in other texts the first......
• Guide to Buying a Home Water Softener If your home’s water is excessively hard, it may be time to think about purchasing a water softener. If you are not sure if you have hard water, there are a few easy tests that will help you determine this. First and foremost, you can send a sample to a......
• The Good Human Eco-Friendly Holiday Gift Guide. No greenwashing, no spending money you don't have, no buying stuff just for the sake of buying stuff. Just real, useful products for the green or the green at heart. I received a few emails last week while we were moving asking me for my ideas for "green" Christmas presents,......

	Aquarium Care of Livebearers (Animal Planet Pet Care Library) List Price: $10.95 Sale Price: $9.30 Used From: $16.36
Written by an expert on livebearing fish, this comprehensive yet easy-to-read guide offers advice on a wide range of care issues from diet and nutrition to species selection and health care. Livebearer species covered include the popular platies, mollies, swordtails, and guppies.

	GE 10908 Color Changing LED Aquarium Night Light List Price: $12.99 Sale Price: $8.00
This night light cycles through red, blue, green, and multi-color phases, lighting the aquarium design which is complete with decorative plastic fish and plants floating in a fluid-filled tank. This night light can be positioned so that it will not block a second electrical outlet...

Written by David Rice using tags: aquarium, aquariums, new aquarium, online aquarium, pet aquarium, Pets