Freshwater

Table of Contents
Choosing the Right Stand..............................................................................41
Wooden cabinet stands .......................................................................42
Angle and wrought iron stands...........................................................42
Do-it-yourself stands ............................................................................42
Material-based stands..........................................................................43
Mixed-media stands .............................................................................43
Bow-front stands ..................................................................................43
Placing the Stand Correctly ..........................................................................43
Checking floors and walls ...................................................................44
Looking for power ................................................................................44
Moving an Aquarium .....................................................................................44
Chapter 5: What to Put and What Not to Put in Your Tank . . . . . . . . . .45
Taking Clues from Your Fish’s Natural Environment.................................46
All About Substrates......................................................................................47
Gravel.....................................................................................................47
Substrates and pH ................................................................................47
Substrates to avoid ..............................................................................48
Gravel size and the perils of sand ......................................................49
Adding substrate to your system.......................................................50
Rocks, Wood, and Artificial Plants...............................................................50
Rocks for freshwater tanks .................................................................50
Wood for a freshwater tank.................................................................51
Safely sealing wood..............................................................................52
Plastic plants.........................................................................................52
Other Aquarium Decorations ......................................................................54
Unsafe decorations can cause problems ..........................................54
Plastic divers and other oddities .......................................................54
Aquascaping Tips and Tricks .......................................................................56
Chapter 6: Equipment and Other Technical Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Taking the Mystery out of Filters .................................................................60
Mechanical filtration............................................................................60
Biological filtration...............................................................................61
Chemical filtration................................................................................62
Sifting Through Filtration Systems ..............................................................62
Undergravel filters................................................................................62
Sponge filters ........................................................................................63
Corner filters (submersible filters) ....................................................64
Power filters..........................................................................................64
Powerheads...........................................................................................65
Canister filters ......................................................................................66
Fluidized bed filters .............................................................................66
Diatom filters ........................................................................................67
ix