Decorating Your Aquarium, Using Roots, Cork, Peat, And Reeds, And The Deep Sea World Of Scotland Aquarium

Decorating Your Aquarium. The most decorative and important decision you can make in an aquarium is the use of plants. Many people prefer plastic plants for maintenance ease; however, these plants do not aid in gas exchanges (oxygen and carbon dioxide). When used, other means of gas exchange must be used.

Plants are so much more than just decorative features in your aquarium and you should take as much care choosing them as you do choosing your fish. Some aquarists even go so far as to believe that they are more important than the fish. Plants are not appropriate for all aquariums, because some large fish dig so hard in the gravel or sand that plants can’t survive. Other fish are plant eaters. In either of these instances, an aquarium can only be decorated with decorative stones and roots.

If you simply must use live plants in these two instances, use ferns, fish reluctantly eat ferns.

Substrate, the under layer on the bottom of your aquarium is another source of derision among aquarists. One thing is certain that fertilizing with humus or peat is totally wrong! It leads to rotting spots in the substrate, which causes plant roots to die.

Fine gravel, between 1 and 5 mm has proven itself suitable for plant growth. It is better for the grains to be a little too large than too small. Many people feel it is better to cover the finer gravel with a layer of coarser gravel. Whether to add fertilizer to the substrate is a source of debate, and you should make this decision after much study.

Rocks are essential when decorating an aquarium. When used properly, they can act as a disguise for unattractive filters and heaters. When stacked they make wonderful caves and hiding holes for fish that wish to use them. They can be used to build terraces and for shaping the substrate! If they are chosen with care they are quite beautiful. A little tip is to wet the rock before you buy it, this way you can see what it will look like under water!

Using Roots, Cork, Peat, and Reeds
The dead roots of alders, oaks, and beeches are excellent for decorating your aquarium. The more bizarre god pine wood is especially useful because these roots have rested in the peat bog soil for a very long time.

However, before using boil them thoroughly. This not only kills the germs and small living creatures you don’t want in your aquarium; but, it also forces enough air out to cause the roots to sink to the bottom of your aquarium. Dry roots will need to be soaked long enough for them to absorb water. Choose the smaller pieces of wood because it is easy to get too much in the aquarium when selecting the woods.

Directing the air roots of some house plants is another way to decorate your aquarium as they branch beautifully and remove some of the nitrates from the water. Cork bark is chemically neutral and won’t give off any noxious tank chemicals. Cork never loses its buoyancy regardless of how long you soak it; therefore, it needs to be weighted to stay on the bottom. You may also glue it with rubber cement prior to decorating; but, remember it will be impossible to move if you don’t like its location.

Cork boards can be very useful for decorating the back wall or building terraces. Peat should only be put in an aquarium in certain cases. Some peats are woven with wood and create a beautiful rear wall. Be aware that peat disintegrates after a short period of time; gives off tannic acid, which acidifies the water; and also tends to discolor the water.

Reeds are wonderful to replicate a rice paddy by using small pieces of bamboo or pepper reeds to decorate. Use varying sizes and plant them in small groups to simulate the natural growth of reeds. Your imagination is the only thing that limits the ideas you can use in your aquarium.

Remember one thing though, shells from the ocean tend to harden the water, and should not be used in fresh water tanks.

Deep Sea World of Scotland Aquarium

There is always something new at the Deep Sea World of Scotland Aquarium located beneath the world-famous Forth Rail Bridge, North Queensferry in Fife.

Deep Sea World has two seal pools, one to care for injured and rescued seals brought to them by the SPCA, while the other houses the permanent seal residents of Deep Sea World.

The resident seals consist of the two species of seals commonly breed around the UK, the grey seal and the common or harbor seal. The facilities are able to care for up to 10 pups for the time it takes them to gain weight, so they can be released back into the wild. One to two months is the standard time period.

One function of Deep Sea World is to assist the SPCA in rehabilitating and returning seals to their natural habitat, thus giving them the best chance of survival. Deep Sea World also provides a Shark Awareness Course. This course is for qualified divers and aids their knowledge and understanding of how to dive safely around sharks. It is a full day in length and provides lunch and lectures on conservation and shark biology. Each day ends with a dive in the shark tank which includes one of Europe’s largest collections of tiger sharks.

The Underwater Tunnel holds a million gallons of water, and is one of the longest underwater tunnels in the world. The curve of the 2.6-inch (6.5-cm) acrylic causes everything to appear about 30% smaller which sends the imagination of visitors reeling when they look at the sizes of the large sharks on display! How big are they really?

Guidelines For Moving An Aquarium To Duluth

While moving, there are some items that require specific handling such as pianos, antique furniture, electronic gadgets, and so on. An aquarium certainly comes under this category because you have to move it by following certain procedures. An important point to remember is that there are two parts to the process moving the tank and fish separately. The fish should not be moved while they are in the tank.

How to move the tank?

It is essential to make sure that the filtration system in the aquarium is moved properly or else without a flow of oxygen in the water, aerobic bacteria starts dying in a matter of hours. If the move is a local one or the distance is short no more than one or two hours away, you might preserve the bacteria colony.

Purchase a holding container and put the fish inside.

Next, drain the tank completely. However, if the move is short, save some of the water so that you can preserve the bacteria colony.

Disassemble the fish tank. Plants will likely survive if you keep their roots wet. Bag them with some water and set them aside for hand-moving.

Pack the pumps, heaters and other items like fragile goods should be handled.

For a long distance move, clear or discard the filter media. In case of a short move, put the filter medium in a sealed container like a new pail or other chemical-free, hard-sided container. There is no need to clean it during this kind of move.

Enough chlorine-free and treated water should be there to fill up the tank and get water moving through the filter after a short move. For long moves, the tank has to be set up from scratch.

How to move the fish?

After the tank has been set up, wait for a week to put the fish in. Make sure that a few hardy fish are put in first to get the nitrate cycle regulated.

After putting the fish in a holding container, take them to a pet store that will board your fish during your move. Get a signed contract that outlines the responsibilities undertaken by the store and the total cost. Searching for a suitable store may take a while, so do it some time in advance.

For a short while, around two hours, the fish can be kept in sealed bags half-filled with air. You may stretch the time a little by using oxygen instead of air. These bags should be transported in a padded, compartmentalized container. For longer moves or larger fish, use a sealed bucket.

The fish should be well-fed before the move as feeding them during that period of time can degrade the quality or water. They can survive a week or more without food if they have been well-fed earlier. Try to maintain an even temperature by using a battery-powered air pump and air stone.

Contact movers in Rochester or relocation experts in Duluth for more information about how they can help you execute a smooth move.

Marine Life In Your House

Fish can be considered as one of the most beautiful creations on planet Earth.There are many varieties and the planet earth is called blue planet which forms their home. There are many people who love fishes.They love to have fishes at their house in the form of aquarium.You might have seen videos on internet regarding various marine lives deep under the ocean.It is very beautiful to see many colorful fishes moving about and through various marvelous live corals.t is now possible to create such a marine life in your home.This can be attained through salt water aquariums. You might be confused with many queries in setting up an aquarium in your house that too with salt water aquarium fishes. You have a place where you can definitely approach in order to get some assistance in setting up an aquarium. It is live aquarium healp.

The website is running with the main aim of guiding people in setting up a perfect salt water aquarium.This contains a team of experts who are having more than ten years experience with salt water aquariums. They are pleased to help both beginners in setting up a new aquarium and also for those who are already having one.The help center will provide assistance in choosing the best fish that can suit your fish tank and also in maintaining the tank with all the other tank objects.They also help in fixing various equipments like protein skimmer and also selecting various live corals that can grow within your limited space. This is because every tank will have a different atmosphere and all the fishes and corals will not survive in every tank.The temperature in the tank must be adjusted accordingly with the type of fish.They even help with breeding clown fish apart from treating marine fish diseases.

Customers can also get help in buying the adequate lighting equipments for the fish tank. You can reach for the support through a live chat session. You will have to first select the time limit for your chat session. The fees are allotted according to the time frame you have chosen.In case if you feel like asking more questions you can definitely extend your session. You can also come across situations where your chat window is closed before the expiration of the time.In that case you need to send an email to the support team and they will surely make arrangements to continue your chat session.The service offered by the website is of great help to many as they need not have to waste money in buying fishes and corals that will not survive in their tanks.Also you can be sure about all the answered you get from the chat supports are correct as they are having adequate experience in this field.Currently the website is supporting only salt water fishes and not fresh water fishes.

Tropical Aquarium Plants From Cuttings, Floating And Rooted Types

Four tropical aquarium plants from the cuttings, floating and plant types available are selected and described in this article. These will add variety and beauty to your planted aquarium.

Floating Plants
There are quite a few benefits to incorporating floating plants in your fresh water aquarium.
a) They supply an area of shading for those species of fish needing seclusion and shelter
b) They provide a site for spawning for fish that use this process
c) They give fry a place of refuge in their early days
d) They do not need to be established as they float or attach to rocks or wood

The Java Moss (Vesicularia dubyana) is very common in freshwater aquariums. Like Riccia, it attaches itself to driftwood, rocks and roots. Java Moss has no onerous requirements or any special attention as it will survive in varying water conditions, even weakly brackish, and under all sorts of light levels. But it thrives better under low to moderate light conditions and a temperature range of 21 to 24 degrees centigrade but it can survive temperatures of up to 29 to 32 degrees centigrade.

As you do not plant the Java Moss, you will need to fix it temporarily, for example, to a rock with some fishing line. Then, when it has used its own tiny roots to adhere to the rock you can remove the fishing line. You can also produce a moss wall effect by adding the moss to a net which is fixed to the tank wall by suction devices and nylon string.

It is an excellent plant in which spawning can take place and in which the hatched fry can shelter and hide afterwards. Egg laying fish that scatter their eggs would benefit most from this plant. From a maintenance point of view you need to keep it clean of algae which will have a detrimental affect on it.

A floater, Crystalwort (Riccia fluitans) is also known as Liverwort and Riccia Moss. It is popular in breeding tanks in particular as a shelter for fry and will float unless you physically attach it to under water items such as logs and rocks until in due course it attaches itself. This is similar to the way you would treat Java Moss and both would make attractive plants for your foreground in the tank. It can also be used to hide any protruding items in your aquarium.

On the surface it will quickly form a thick green mat and is ideal for nest building fish. It will adapt adequately to a wide range of light levels, a pH range of 5 to 8 and a water temperature of between 10 and 28 degrees centigrade. As with Java Moss, from a maintenance point of view you need to keep it clean of algae which will have a detrimental affect on it.

Rooted Plants
Straight Vallisneria (Vallisneria spiralis) is also known as Eel or Tape Grass. Its leaves are straight and narrow with colors varying from red to light green and have rounded tips. If not kept in check it can soon populate large areas of your aquarium as it is quite invasive and can grow up to an average of about 60 cms in length. It reproduces via runners along the substrate.

White female flowers (single) can grow to the surface on long stems. Because this plant can thrive in a range of water conditions (15 to 39 degrees centigrade, soft to hard water, 6 to 9 pH) and light conditions they are really good plants for aquariums for beginners.

The Dwarf Anubias can be fixed to wood or rocks by nylon line initially until established but be careful not to cut through the rhizome. Lighting should be somewhat subdued. Plants like the Dwarf Anubias (Anubias nana) are good for giving height to your planting layout. They have rhizomes (horizontal stems) sprouting small roots that will attach themselves onto wood or rocks. And of course, fish that dig around in the substrate will not affect these plants.

Home Decorating With Gas Fireplace And Feng Shui

The modern trends of fireplaces have evolved but decorating homes are still based on the balance of the elements to successfully harmonize any living space. in feng shui, balancing of the five elements fire, water, wood, earth and metal, are important when you are remodeling or decorating your home. . If you are buying a stove for sale, obviously you are adding an element of fire into your home. Any space with a gas fireplace will certainly exude a fiery element that emits heat embracing an ambiance and the people within it with warmth and console. This is ideal to heighten an intimacy of couples that want to restore a broken relationship.

When you search for a stove for sale or any other gas fireplace, you should consider the space and your existing furniture at home that will sit next to it. According to the feng shui masters, the south wall of your home is the best place to locate a gas fireplace. You may also locate a gas fireplace to any other areas of the house but be certain not to place them on the Northwest or the middle left part of your home. This area represents family and health. Placing the fire in this area can risk your health and relationships. Clean the space where you want to locate the fireplace; this way you do not get in the way for the heat energy to flow around the house, hence, you are not obstructing the Chi.

If you are placing your gas fireplace at the center of your home, be certain to balance it with other elements such as water. Finding a stove for sale can also weaken your health if you place it on the center of your home since it also represents the center of your body. Being exhausted with too much heat can ultimately weaken the body. Try incorporating water, wood, earth and metal elements. It does not literary tells you place a swimming pool next to gas fireplace for a water element. A small fountain or an aquarium will do but you can also use paintings or photographs with rivers, falls and the like. Other water element includes black furniture and mirrors. Placing a mirror next or near your gas fireplace is good to harmoniously balance and prevents the depletion of energy around the house. If it is a wood element, photographs or paintings of trees can help or if you can add real plants to show something that is alive and growing. Adding a television near the gas fireplace may not be a good idea. But if you and the rest of the family are fond of watching either shows on TV or DVDs, be certain to keep it hidden after use. You may use a cabinet to seal them or a projector screen that you can roll over when youre done watching.

No matter how expensive or cheap a stove for sale can be, proper placement should always be considered. Ask a feng shui expert to help you deal with the movement of the Chi. At the end of the day whats more important is your health and your familys happiness beyond all the beautiful decors and furniture around the house.