Tuesday, September 11, 2007
An attempt was made in Europe to build saltwater aquariums, but the first real trend-setter was Marineland, near Saint Augustine, Florida, in 1938. Seaquarium, Miami, is a similar marine life exhibit with a huge tank of 1,000,000 gallons.
Saltwater aquariums, or oceanariums or seaquariums as they're often referred to, represent a new dimension in reality-viewing as they allow spectators to actually observe, often large, deep-sea fish like shark, dolphins, and whales almost in their natural habitat. In addition, their authenticity is enhanced by having little or no separation between the different species as in the ocean proper. The Sea World aquariums in San Diego, for example, are home to over 15,000 specimens of fish, including one of the world's largest collections of sharks, while Sea World in San Antonio has the world's largest marine zoological park.
The oceanariums are often actually built in the sea, ocean, or rivers, and clear,
acrylic window-partitions allow virtual interaction between the public, and sea creatures. Their value for entertainment, education, and scientific research is unsurpassed. This especially so when attempts are made to replicate the natural environment using fiberglass and other materials.
The symbiosis of fish and plants is still practicable in large tanks. Plants generate carbon dioxide, and consume dissolved oxygen. In photosynthesis, triggered by bright light, plants also consume carbon dioxide, and generate oxygen. In addition, plants consume the waste products of the fishes.
The logistics of rearing, and maintaining fish in huge marine exhibits is inevitably complex. The prime concern is maintaining water purity, and the optimum chemical balance. Accordingly, the filtration, oxygenation, temperature control, lighting, and plumbing is highly sophisticated and, the consideration of toxicity is paramount.
The water supply must be pollution-free, with no sewage, chemicals, or industrial wastes. There must adequate oxygen and nitrogen super-saturation must be avoided at all costs. In recirculating systems, water treatment must not only ensure water clarity, but also the purification of metabolic wastes to prevent over-acidity.
Natural seawater is obviously easier to supply, but, inevitably, marine organisms such as barnacles, and mussels intrude into the system, necessitating alternative plumbing systems to flush them out. A viable alternative is artificial seawater, which excludes pollutants, and alien organisms, including those which cause disease.
It is of course possible to have domestic scaled-down versions of the marine aquariums for those whose penchant is for saltwater fish and animals. One advantage is that a balance between the fish and plants is far more viable than it would be in the huge aquaria. Here the necessity for expensive filtration can be avoided because of the symbiosis between the plants and the fish. The water can be artificial, in which case salinity is a vital consideration. Alternatively, especially if one lives close to the sea, it's possible to acquire salt water, but beware of introducing toxic substances, or alien organisms.
Filtration, water circulation, and oxygenation are not radically different to freshwater aquaria, but it's advisable to seek professional advice to ensure one gets the chemical balance and other idiosyncratic saltwater considerations right.
Tropical Fish
Tropical Fish
Tropical fish are pets like other pets and you have to know what you're doing and I will try to help you with it.
First of all you have to buy a tank. Look for a tank that is big enough to store the fish you want
(keep note that some fish need bigger tanks as they need more place so do your homework !)
I'd suggest to go for a bigger tank cause having some extra room is a good idea.
When you're in the store make shure to take some extra equipment with you cause you'll need it.
I suggest getting:
The heater is the most important part of a tropical tank. For most tropical fish, 25Cis a good average.
4 watts per gallon is ok, buteach heater will state the size aquaria it accommodate for.
For the larger aquaria, it is often best to have two smaller heaters for a couple of reasons, one because should one break,
u still have one to keep your tank going until u can replace it, and two should you have 1 big heater, and the thermostat got stuck on, it would raise the temp of the tank far more and in less time than a smaller one would.
All heaters now have a built in thermostat which turns the heater on and off when needed to keep the tank at a stable temperature, the heater should never be un-plugged.
Filter.
Best to check if the filter fits your tank. this is very important !.The size of the filter depends upon 3 factors :
- tank size
- # fish
- plants
There are lots of different types of filters : internal filter,external filter,gravel filter and box filters
(I advise to skip this one cause they are for small tanks).
The gravel is mainly for aesthetic purposes, but it also is vital if you are keeping live plants as they need a substrate of some sort to anchor them selves down with.
If you have a planted tank, then 2-3inches of gravel is advised, but if u have an unplanted tank, then u may use ½ - 2inches of gravel.
The gravel also holds some of the bacteria in the tank, and if the tank has an under gravel filter, then the gravel will contain nearly all of the bacteria in the tank.
Its best to start with the gravel and other decorative ornaments, place it in a bucket , stir the gravel ensuring that no dust is left. Once this has been done its probably a good idea to pour boiling water over the gravel and shake it in the container before straining it off, the boiling water will kill any bacteria or other nasty organisms and prevent them getting in your tank!
Use a clean cloth and a bucket of clean water and clean thoroughly the inside of the tank, look for any leaks or cracks (hopefully there will be none!) Then empty or sponge out the water you have left in there. Your aquarium should now have no nasty residues or dust in it! Position the tank in the place you want it remembering that once filled a tank can not easily be moved use a level to ensure the surface you place it is on is flat, if not then the glass will put under stress and may crack, also remembering how heavy the tank will be make sure the place you put it on is strong enough to hold it, and if on an upper floor that the floor is strong enough for it.
1) Add the gravel, place it evenly in the tank, do not waste too much time on a design as when you add the water it will get disturbed again.
2) Fill the aquarium half way with dechlorinated water, once half full you will be able to sculpt the gravel the way you want it to look. If you wish to have plants then they'll need at least 5cm of gravel in order to establish a root system. Also add plants and any decorations you wish to add now as they will be easier to plant and position now.
3) Install the equipment place the filter in and secure it using the suction caps which have been moistened with water from the tank. Keep them turned off till the tank is full of water, once securely in position proceed with step 4.
4) Finish adding the water use your hand or the side of the tank to prevent the water splashing heavily into the tank and potentially upsetting your gravel and plants, use your hand above the water to soften the impact when the water actually hits the water surface of the tank.
5) Turn the system on Make sure all the equipment is working, the heater will take a couple of hours to get your tank to the desired temperature. The filter should kick in immediately producing both bubbles and water movement.
Thats it you now have an aquarium set up and ready to go! Well not quite!! Leave the filter and heater running for two or three days before you purchase your first fish for cycling the tank, alternatively you could go for a fishless cycle in which case you will have to delay adding the fish for several weeks while adding pure ammonia every day in order to build up a decent colony of bacteria in the filter. When adding the fish float the fish bag in your aquarium to allow the water inside the bag to adjust to the temperature of the tank, so when you introduce the fish there is not a big temperature shock, for 15 minutes gradually introduce a bit of tank water at this time and after 5 minutes release them into the tank. Please note that for first fish you should only have a few fish, for a 20 gallon tank 6 platies is ample for cycling the tank, adding more will just lead to fish dying because the ammonia produced by their waste is toxic.
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Dog Training
Dog Training
Pets, we all love to have them, specially an dog which is one of the most WANTED pets. Why? Because they are the famous Men's Best Friend. Now just imagine how bad would it be to have a untrained dog. An untrained dog could litter anywhere in your house, back yard, front yard, just anywhere. After less than a month of having that untrained dog with you, it could create all over inside your house that really bad odor that could be coming out of anywhere. Especially if you have carpet in your floor which absorves all types of smells and odors that are so HARD to get it off, sometimes impossible. Now belive that all these things can be avoided if you go with your dog through a proper dog training.
If you are willing to go through the proper dog training it will save you alot of work and problems in many areas. But getting your dog through the dog training is not a easy thing to do. Sometimes it takes alot of work and dedication to achive just one small objective. To make your dog become more familiar with the training, so that your dog can acconplish a fast and productive dog training you will need make all this dog training more than just a 2, or 3 , times per week thing. You will need to make DOG TRAINING part of your daily life. You should try to work with your dog in daily bases, that way your dog will be more and more familiar with the tasks you ask and teach him to achieve. One good thing to remenber is you must make your dog training in short sessions, comparing to those long sessions you would normally have with your dog 3 times a week.
Remenber to make the dog training a fun task for you and your dog, so knowing you are talking to a Dog, give him simple commands to achive such as, Sit, Come, Stay, avoide the HARD Ones since you are in the early stages of your DOG training sessions. Make sure you use short words for your commands and the best thing is to use a different command word for every different TASK you give. When telling him to stop a action , dont say CHILL DOWN, or cool off DOg, just say STOP.
To make the Dog training even more fun, dont forget the treats. YES! Everytime your doggy achieves a task make him happy by givinbg him a treat, that way he will understand he did a good action, he will know he deserved that treat and will always want to deserve because he likes it. But only give the treat if your dog accomplishes the task.
If you live alone, or you are a couple with no kids then you will have no problem in achieving a good dog training, because both of you will understand what is going on, but if you have kids at home make sure they understand what is going on around them, because we know kids love to have fun with their pets, fool around in the house, dig and hide small objects, play and get dirty everywhere. So make sure they understand that there will be a time for all that.
Owning a dog is taking the responsability to care, train, love and always give your best to your dog, so when you are on your dog training sessions, never forget one thing. Have Fun!
Dog Training
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