An aquarium can be a beautiful addition to your home. Not only are they relaxing to look at, your friends will ooh and aah at the colorful fish and vibrant underwater plant life inside. Even the sound of water trickling through the filter return is soothing. If you're not convinced yet, keep in mind that aquariums also can serve as excellent educational tools for children.
For all the wonderful things that aquariums are, there's one thing that an aquarium isn't: simple. Inside a typical aquarium is a miniature ecosystem with many variables and elements that have to work in concert and stay in balance. If things move away from that healthy balance, your fish will get sick and eventually die. Proper filtration, cleaning, the correct kinds of fish, lighting, heaters, cleaning, currents, oxygenation, ph balance and salt concentration are all crucial factors that contribute to the livelihood of your aquarium.
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For the beginning aquarist, maintaining this precarious balance can be overwhelming. The research involved in figuring out what size aquarium to get, what fish to put in it, which filters to use with a given volume of water and all the other factors crucial to building a successful aquarium is pretty daunting. There are entire books on the subject of aquarium lighting alone.
While maintaining a healthy aquarium full of fish will always take a lot of hard work and experience -- in fact, most aquarists will tell you that's part of the appeal -- there's one way to take some of the guesswork out of purchasing an aquarium set-up. All-in-one aquariums are kits that provide all the basic tools needed to get an aquarium up and running. The hood, lights and filters are designed specifically to fit the kit's provided tank. In addition, the tank and stand are constructed for ease of use.
Is an all-in-one aquarium the right kind of aquarium for you? This article will help you find out.
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