Mundy Obilor Jim - Aquarium Making

F or centuries, fish have been found worthy of keeping as pets or in captivity by people and the interests have grown continually due to the many fun ways of making the aquarium and caring for the fish. Fish has become one of the most popular pets in many parts of the world. Fishkeeping has been advanced in recent decades with fancier and easier methods and even the breeding of fish for pets has improved greatly in terms of techniques.

This book is for both experienced fishkeepers who have had aquariums for a considerable period of time and for new aquarium hobbyists alike. It is for those who want to build and set up their own aquariums and for those who wonder how they can dismantle the aquarium accessories and still be able to set up the aquarium to function appropriately. It also aims at teaching how to properly maintain the aquarium, feed the fish adequately, know when they are sick or need attention and take good care of them.

A lot has been learnt about different types of fish that can be nicely kept as pets in aquariums. We now want to keep beautiful fish like the goldfish, those with striking colours like the zebra danios and even the odd-looking ones like the leaf-fish and longnose. We have come to know fish which can survive long in aquariums, types of environment that favour some particular fish, compatibility of fish, etc.

The book will surely serve as an elaborate guideline which I believe will also enable anyone interested in the aquarium hobby to benefit from and even study further, especially on deeper areas like breeding. It starts with the make-up of an aquarium in chapter 1. Chapter 2 renders several crucial tips while chapter 3 dwells on feeding and gives some tips on breeding. No one will ignore the challenges or common problems and diseases associated with keeping an aquarium and these are treated in chapter 4. The most commonly kept aquarium pet, the goldfish gets chapter 5 and finally in chapter 6, a step-by step approach in setting up an aquarium is outlined; and this will help those who just want to set up an aquarium right away.

Chapter 1

Aquarium Makeup

A n aquarium is usually made of a glass or transparent plastic tank coupled with a variety of accessories and decorations in which fish or other water-related creatures live in captivity. There are bowl-shaped aquariums simply regarded as fish bowls. They are not large enough to host a considerable number of fish and are mostly without filters which make them less popular than regular aquariums.

In some communities keeping fish in bowls (especially the goldfish) has become illegal under 'domestic animal welfare legislation'[1] as there is a risk of stress and suffocation to the fish due to high de-oxygenation rate and poisoning by ammonia. In other words, goldfish have high oxygen needs and their high waste output makes these bowls inappropriate environment for them.

Figure 1.1 A simple aquarium design containing three air-powered accessories.

Aquarium design

A simple aquarium design is shown in Figure 1.1. A single airpump is meant to aerate three accessories: an external filter (1), a decoration (2) and a long airstone (3) via a cross-connector. A combination of stones, gravel and sand is part of the design. This aquarium has three artificial plants. The red thin lines from the cross-connector are a representation of the airhose. This is a basic design suitable for any aquarium within 36 inches in length, 12 inches wide and 15 inches high. A design of a tank greater than 36 inches in length will most likely require more accessories and extra connectors. We assume here that we already have the aquarium stand and a cover fitted with lighting.

Building the tank

Aquarium tanks are usually built in such a way that the number of view sides are one or several. One-sided view could imply that the two other sides are backgrounds and the top and base views are triangular in shape. Figures 1.2 shows that we can achieve different tank shapes.

Figure 1.2 Two basic tank shapes (four-sided and five-sided tanks).

The all-glass type is built by joining sheets of glasses with silicone sealant (Figure 1.3). The commonest way is to firmly hold the glass frame with masking tapes at the four corners of the tank frame (this coupling process may involve 2 persons). The glass must have been cut accurately to the required dimensions to avoid eventual cracks or sudden breakages of the built tank due to pressure or lack of symmetry. The sealant is applied with the gun within the gap from bottom to top and smoothed with the tip of a finger once or twice (also from bottom to top). Assume you are smoothing with the tip of your finger a sticky substance between two planes at right angle to each other. It is best to use a colourless sealant for joining the glass sheets.

Figure 1.3 Glass coupling for the application of silicone sealant.

Best alignment practice

People may have different ways of coupling the glass sheets to get a tank. From experience, there are two simple configurations to join the glass sheets.

Figure 1.4 Best glass alignment practice before they are joined with silicone sealant.

1. Alignment 1: This is suitable for the coupling of any tank of less than 70 litres, and it shows that the side glass sheets can be placed on top of the base glass sheet before the silicone sealant is applied (Figure 1.4). A 4 millimetre glass thickness will be sufficient for a tank within this volume.
2. Alignment 2: Surrounding the base glass with the side glass sheets is the best secure option for a tank that should hold more than 70 litres of water, i.e. the side glass sheets are placed not on top but around the base glass. The glass thickness should be at least 5 millimetres.