Aquarium List

Here is a basic list of all you need to start an aquarium.

What size aquarium do you want?  The bigger the aquarium, the more fish , and the bigger the fish you can have. But it is A LOT more work.

Before you decide on what tank size to buy, figure out if you want a saltwater aquarium or a freshwater aquarium. Freshwater aquariums are cheaper and easier.

Here are some basic sizes.

• Smaller than 1 gallon (only for Betta)
• 2.5 gallons (only for betta)
• 5 gallon (betta and breeding fish)
• 10 gallon (most fish,but not big or many fish)
• 20 gallon (good starter tank, can have most small fish)
• 30 gallon (good starter tank, can have most small-medium fish.)
• 40 gallon (a great tank for people who know that they love aquariums, and it can handle more and larger fish.)
• 50-60 gallon (expert only, large fish  lots of fish)
• 70-100+ gallon (EXPERT ONLY, BIG fish, lots of fish, expensive, lots of work.)

That gave you a look at the size of some tanks. I recommend 20-30 gallons for the beginner because they are large enough to have cool fish, and small enough to be easy to care for.

There are lots of bottles that you pour into your tank

There are many things you can add to your tank.  There’s water conditioner, plant food, water purifier, bacteria supplement, medicine, ick be gone...the list is long! But what you need to know today is about water conditioner.  Tap water will kill your fish because it has chlorine and a lot of minerals that are good for us but bad for fish. Water conditioner purifies tap water so that it’s safe for fish. Just follow the directions on the bottle exactly and your fish will be fine. I will cover other bottles in future articles.

Here is what you will need….

You need a lot of stuff to run a successful aquarium.

Here is a list of every thing you will need, and its price. (Remember, the bigger the tank, the more expensive the setup will be.)

What you will need for any Freshwater Aquarium

Here is the price for a 20-30 gallon Aquarium

• Water filter (two are good, but not absolutely necessary) $20-$30
• Water filter cartridges $10
• Air pump $15
• Air pump tubing $2
• Air pump diffusing stone $ 2-$10
• Heater $20-$30
• 20-30 gallon tank $30-$50
• Tank cover $40
• Tank light $50
• Gravel or sand $20-50
• Real or fake plants (Real plants need a special light, things you put in the water, and special soil.) $ Depends on how much you buy
• Decor $ Depends on how much you buy
• Tank stand $Free-$200
• Fish $ Depends on how much you buy
• Thermometer $3-$10

After you have done your homework, it is time to choose your fish.

Here is some stuff you need to know.

After you set up your tank, you need to let it cycle. This means that you need to turn the heater, filter, air pump on for at least two weeks before you purchase your first fish.

When you cycle your tank, you are setting up a complete system of bacteria. That is a whole other topic. The bacteria are crucial to the survival of your tank. You can by stuff that you pour into your tank that speeds the cycle up. I would do that. Once your tank has cycled for two weeks, you can take a sample of your water into your local pet store and have them test it. Most pet stores do that for free. If they don't, you can buy a test kit and test the water yourself. The kit is only about $30.

Your first fish will most likely be the fish you really want. Your first fish need to be hardy, “starter” fish. This means they are tough and the imbalance of chemicals in your tank will not kill them. These fish will help even everything out in your tank. Every 1-2 weeks take a water sample into your pet store and see where your chemical balances are.

After your water has been cleared, YOU CAN BUY SOME MORE FISH!!!!!

Here are some Great Fish    

*= one of my fish **= one of my starter fish

*Mollys **

Sailfin Molly**

*American Koi

*Knifefish

*Gourami**

Swordtail**

*Placosimis (Some can grow HUGE)

*Cory catfish**

*Most small species of catfish

Discus (They are beautiful, but expensive and not the easiest.)

Most Tetra

Cichlids (Aggresive, needs to be in an aggressive tank with other cichlids)

*Loches

All Guppies

Goldfish (Non-fancy, fancy take care)

Oscar (Need to be alone, will eat all other fish)

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Possible future topics

The science of the tank

Salt v. Fresh

Types of fish

The science of the fish

All the aquarium chemicals

The basics

Yuneec Dreeze Drone

 I said I would make a more detailed post in the video (). I was flying a Yuneec Breeze. It is in a new category of drones called "selfie'' drones. For the same amount of money as I spent on the Breeze Drone, I could have bought the first generation Phantom drone. Selfie drones are basically easy to fly from your smart devices. It is fine to fly when it is cold. I was careful not to touch down on the snow. I let it take off and land on my hand. When I was flying by trees, the snow was melting and dripping on my controller (it's a iPad mini) and the drone! When I bought this drone I was a little nervous because there was a big sticker on the outside of the box (and on the inside of the box) warning me that I could not return this expensive item. I was nervous, but it was totally worth it! This drone is very maneuverable, and it has a drift camera that stops it from drifting, plus a infrared camera that regulates height. I recommend this drone to anybody, especiall beginners.

Merlin Outdoor's Social Media

         Share outdoor related things on this site, or just look at what other people have done.

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Photo Contest #1

  Post you comment on what you think it is.
       Good Luck- Zach

Brown Creeper

 Today, I saw a Brown Creeper. This is the third time I have seen one. The first time was at a place called the Margery Adams Audubon Sanctuary. The second time was in Los Angeles, CA, and the third time was back at the Audubon Sanctuary. This is the first time I got a good picture of one.

Building Bird Houses Part 1- Chickadee House

Well, today I built a bird house. The bird house was for a chickadee. The first thing I thought about before I built the house was, "Where do chickadees live?" They live in tree hollows, so what would better replicate that than a long narrow bird house? But before I built the house, I used a staple gun to staple some chicken wire to the inside of the house so the bird could get out.

A Day Out Birding With Ebird

       

       Today I went on a birding adventure. It started at 9:00 a.m. Well, that is when I started to plan for it. We didn't leave until 12:00pm. The first thing I did was go onto ebird and decide where to go. Then, I made a map of all the places we were going to go.




  The first stop on the map was a little place called Hazel Dell Cove. My goal was to become the top ebirder there. I needed to identify two or more species of bird. I identified three. I saw one American Kestrel, seventeen Hooded Mergansers, and four Mallards.




The next stop on the list was a place I call eagle island, but is really called Marine Point (and it's called Hickory Point on ebird). I call it eagle island because there is a little island that has a Bald Eagle Nest on it. My goal was to try to find the Long-tailed duck that was sighted three days ago. Sadly, I didn't see it. I did see ten Common Goldeneye, two Turkey Vultures, twenty one Ring-billed Gulls, one Great Blue Heron, one Herring Gull, four American Crows, ten American Robins, and one Pie Billed Grebe. 



Next, we went exploring. We drove down a little street, past houses and regular things in a neighborhood. The farther we went, the more wild it became. We found a little stream that overflowed its banks because of all the rain we've had and in it we saw a little family of Mallard ducks and a Muskrat.

As we continued down the lane we started to see deer. I saw and took this picture of a mother deer, baby deer, and father deer. I like all the pictures of the mother and the baby, but the father was behind some branches and my camera was only focusing on the branches. By the time I had it focused, he had walked out of view. I only had time to snap one bad picture.

                                                                         Mother

                                                                        Mother

                                                                                  Baby

                                                           

                                                                      Baby

                Father; Can you find him?

The last stop on my adventure was a place called the Beach House. I go there all the time, only because on ebird there are so many cool sightings, but when I go there I see nothing.

That concludes my adventure.