Aquarium Equipment
There is one piece of equipment that is obviously required and that is the aquarium itself. The word ‘aquarium’ has a general meaning and a specific one, generally it means a place to go and see water dwelling creatures, and specifically it is the box that everything goes in, the box that forms the boundaries of the captive world.
So in the first instance it seems easy to choose at least one piece of equipment, the aquarium itself. This however is not quite as straightforward as it seems and informed consideration needs to be given to certain aspects before purchase.
The marine aquarium of whatever type is wonderful to have and watch. There must be very few people who are not impressed by the livestock, with its varied colours and many shapes. Many see the aquarium as a display and have no further thoughts on the matter and this is fair enough. However, this captive scene needs to be maintained and nurtured and for the most part technology is employed for this.
One of the most confusing areas for a novice aquarist is equipment. Go into any local fish shop and there is a large array of equipment on display, lots of boxes of all sorts of shapes in all sorts of sizes. What does everything do? It puts many a potential marine aquarist off, as it seems that if the aquarium contains salt water then there is so much that needs to be fitted to it.
The marine aquarium environment has to be of high quality, if it isn’t the aquarist is not going to see a display with all the beauty that Mother Nature intended. Instead there could be all sorts of niggling little problems that individually or combined are very annoying. Or there could be major problems because of a deficient environment causing serious disruption to the livestock.
To make matters worse, there are different types of marine aquarium. Some require equipment that other types don’t. Confusion arises because of all the varying requirements. Searching the internet and obtaining opinions often causes more confusion as some information is very detailed and technical and other information conflicts because of varying opinion.
The local fish shop would seem a good place to go to obtain information. Sometimes it is as the retailer is knowledgeable and takes an interest in what the aquarist wishes to achieve – ¬what type of aquarium is going to be kept and what size. Unfortunately there are others who are willing to sell any piece of equipment and could even suggest that it ‘should do some good, and anyway won’t do any harm’. This of course isn’t good enough, setting up a marine system is not particularly cheap and money should not be wasted on items that are not needed or inadequate. It must always be remembered that retailers must sell and make a profit or the business will fail. The good retailer, the one that takes an interest in the aquarist’s ambitions and considers necessity, is wise in the longer term because the aquarist is less likely to meet frustration and disappointment, never mind excess costs, so is going to trust the retailer and return for more business.
Despite there being good retailers about, it is important that the aquarist understands the needs of the type of marine aquarium they desire. These needs apply to one thing, and that is the livestock. The livestock type varies; there are some common needs and some that are particular. Failure to provide these needs isn’t going to help achieve a successful aquarium.
The fact is that setting up a marine aquarium of whatever type is quite straightforward. The aquarium is serviced by equipment, each piece of which has a specific target. As said, what is not so straightforward is obtaining information on what is required in the first place.
There are aquarists who have several pieces of equipment just lying around in a garage or storeroom gathering dust. Why? It is either because the equipment purchased turned out to be unnecessary after it had been running for a period, or was found to be inadequate. The aquarist abandoned the use of the first sort, and spent more money to replace the inadequate item. It would obviously have been much better for the aquarist’s finances to have avoided the unneeded equipment or bought adequate equipment in the first place. All equipment has limits and there is information available on the checks that need to be made before purchase.
Finances have been mentioned. How can an aquarist properly budget, that is know that a marine aquarium of the type desired is not excessively expensive? This budget consideration applies to the setting up process when all the equipment is purchased and also to the future running costs when the aquarium, or rather the equipment with it, increases the electricity bill. It is necessary to know the equipment required and its cost before purchase, and to know the electricity demand when running the equipment. This knowledge means the aquarist could adjust the setting up cost if it was found to be initially excessive, and likewise if future running costs were too high. Information should be obtained to ensure that future indicative running costs are known, and then there won’t be any surprises in store down the line, and no enforced ‘corner cutting’ which will not do the livestock any good.
As far as the equipment is concerned, the aquarist will wish to purchase only that which is necessary and adequate. Anything else will be a waste of money, possibly cause frustration, and even be a hindrance to the livestock. It is essential that information is sought on the equipment required for different types and sizes of aquarium.
A properly designed marine system is easily achieved and not as complicated or difficult as it could appear. What is required is informed methodical selection. This will go a long way towards success, a marine display that will delight the aquarist.
If you are interested in purchasing aquarium equipment then we recommend either using your local fish shop or on online aquarium store like Drs Foster Smith or That Fish Place.