Aquarium Life

Welcome to Aquarium Life - A complete source of information on aquariums, aquarium fish and aquarium equipment. We have a wide variety of articles about aquariums, aquarium fish, african cichlids, oscar fish and more. Please feel free to register on our forums to ask questions or just chat with other people who love aquarium life! We are constantly adding new content to enhance the value of our site. We have several projects planned including photo galleries, additional aquarium calculators and an aquarium web cam of Keith Pardee's 90 gallon oscar aquarium. Check back from time to time to see our updates!

 

Do It Yourself and Save!

Our DIY projects section contains many DIY plans for filters, diy decorations, diy aquarium stands and more. If you are an aquarist on a budget, then the DIY projects can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars! Don't let a budget restraints prevent you from providing your fish with all of the equipment they need to be happy and healthy. Visit our DIY Aquarium Projects section today.

 

New Features Added

		Heater Wattage Calculator This tool is very helpful when calculating how many watts of total heating you need for your tank. This is an advanced tool that accounts for ambient room temperature as well as tank size.
		Aquarium Substrate Quantity Calculator This handy tool will tell you how many pounds of substrate to purchase to get a specified substrate thickness for any size aquarium.
		Aquarium Fish Profiles We have added an aquarium fish profile database to our website. Species are added daily to the aquarium fish database.
		Aquarium Capacity Calculator Have you purchased a used aquarium and never really knew your capacity? Planning on building a custom aquarium and want to know how big it needs to be to hold 300 gallons? Our Aquarium Capacity Calculator can tell you the gallon capacity of your aquarium
		Hexagonal Aquarium Capacity Calculator If you have a hexagonal aquarium, try this calculator to compute your hex tank volume.
		Aquarium Fish Quantity Estimator Wondering how many aquarium fish you can fit in a given tank size? Use our handy tool to determine how many 6 inch cichlids you could fit into your 125 gallon tank or how many guppies you could fit in your 29 gallon tank.

Recently Added Content

Your Childs First Fish Tank

Article excerpt: If you are an aquarium enthusiast with children, at some point the love/obsession of the hobby will rub off on them. When it does and they ask for their own aquarium, there are a few things to consider. Here's some of the questions you may face and some suggestions about the best way to tackle them.

Read the full article here...

 

Aquarium Water Puzzle

Article excerpt: Various hobby magazines publish quite a lot of articles about the maintenance of water conditions in aquarium tanks. Sometimes the opinions expressed by experienced hobbyists differ about how to maintain the quality of aquarium water and what is a desirable rate of water changes.

Read the full article here...

 

Breeding Corydoras

Article excerpt: I am a relatively novice aquarist with a passion for corydoras catfish. About a year ago, we decided to get an aquarium for the house. My partner was going to get Cichlids as he had kept them before. However, I managed to talk him into getting a "community" tank with your normal run of the mill gourami, angels, barbs and like fish.

Read the full article here...

 

Beginners Guide to Cichlids

Article excerpt: This article was produced for those looking for more info on cichlids, and probably should be considered as a beginners guide. It was produced for those just getting into the hobby and requiring more info on Cichlids.

Read the full article here...

 

A Closer Look at the Mosquito Fish (Gambusia Affinis)

Article excerpt: Read the articleThe Mosquito Fish (Gambusia Affinis), is a Livebearer, which means that it gives birth to live free swimming young, rather then laying eggs like most fish. These fish look a lot like the common female guppy, except for the absence of any colour, and this applies to the males too. They also grow to the same size as guppies.

Read the full article here...

 

Latest Aquarium Article - Your Childs First Fish Tank

If you are an aquarium enthusiast with children, at some point the love/obsession of the hobby will rub off on them. When it does and they ask for their own aquarium, there are a few things to consider. Here's some of the questions you may face and some suggestions about the best way to tackle them.

 

How old should my child be to have their own aquarium?

I say there is no age limit for children having their own aquarium. Our second child had a 10 gallon tank in his room as an infant and the sound of the water bubbling through the filter soothed him to sleep. If you keep an aquarium in their bedroom as they grow into toddlers, make sure it is high enough and in a secure spot so they can't play in it or shake a stand over. Very young children are often mesmorized with watching the fish go back and forth in the water. As kids get older,  they can become more involved with the care of the fish, plants, and water. If you teach them the names of species and reasons for certain maintenance, they will take pride in the hobby and their tank and enjoy sharing it with others any chance they get.

 

Should my child have a reef tank or freshwater aquarium?

If you are anything like our household, we have a few of each type of tank. If your child has a preference, one choice doesn't have to be that much more expensive than the other. Once you have decided reef or freshwater, buying a used tank can save money as well. Nano tanks and stands are small and very self-maintaining for a reef tank, because the lid has the proper lighting built in and a filtration system is all included in the back of the tank. You can gift fish, plants, decorations, live rock, and some frags, depending on the type, to your child's tank. Once setup is complete, you can go to the fish store and then have your child pick one or more new fish for the environment they helped design. Even if you purchase everything new, involving your children in the decisions about their tank is what's important. I would not recommend a reef tank to a younger child because many of the corals or fish can be toxic.

 

What size tank is best for my child?

The best tank size for kids is usually a 10 or a 20 gallon tank. This seems to be true because they don't take up a lot of space, they can have a filter, and kids can help feed the fish and clean the water easier because they aren't massive in size. Tanks smaller than 10 gallons are delicate because there is so little water. Any imbalance can be life-threatening for its inhabitants.  Gold fish bowls may appear cute, but without a filter are difficult to keep clean. Tanks larger than 20 gallons are feasible options for children, but will take up much more space, especially if you plan to put the tank in their bedroom.

 

Where should I put my child's fish tank? 

The most important thing about placement of your child's tank is to make sure they will see it often. If it is not in their bedroom, put it by the kitchen table, or in the living room so they can enjoy it and help take care of it as well. Do not put it in a window where it will receive direct sunlight because this will cause rapid growth of algae. The algae will grow as a green scum on the glass on the inside of the tank and give you the daunting task of working to keep the tank clean.

 

Passing on your knowledge about aquariums to your children is a great learning experience. Children grasp this hobby very easily and tend to love it as much as us adults. So, have fun and enjoy the quality time with your kids!