From: tli@caldera.usc.edu (Tony Li)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria,sci.aquaria
Subject: FAQ: Beginner topics and books
Date: 16 Apr 1992 01:05:03 -0700
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Reply-To: tli@cisco.com,patti@hosehead.hf.intel.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: caldera.usc.edu


			 Beginner topics and books

Rev. 1.3 2/11/92

Prologue:
---------
This monthly series is intended to address some of the frequently
asked questions (FAQ) on the rec. and alt.aquaria newsgroups.  Because
the answers may not be complete, please feel free to ask questions. 
This is only intended to address first level concerns, and not to
dampen discussions.

Currently, the series contain the following messages:

     > Beginner topics - Glossary of terms (used on the net)
                       - Setting up an aquarium
                       - Moving an aquarium
                       - Good beginner books

     > Equipment       - Filters and related issues
                       - Air pumps

     > Water Quality   - Nitrogen Cycle
                       - Plants
                       - When your fish are sick

     > Mags and MO     - Magazines, subscription rates and
                         addresses
                       - Mail order outfits.

Please review and send any corrections or inputs to the FAQ maintainers
with "(FAQ)" in the subject line.  You are absolutely welcomed to tackle
(i.e. WRITE) sections that have not been written yet.

I've received recommendations to put email address "pointers" in
the FAQ to vector questions to specific experts on particular
subjects.  If you would like to offer yourself as such an expert,
please send me your email address and the specific topics you want
to host.  Please include an email path that is generally accessible
to the greatest number of people.

GLOSSARY OF COMMONLY USED ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMS:
--------------------------------------------------

     AFM     = Aquarium Fish Magazine
     CO2     = Chemical symbol for carbon dioxide
     DIY     = Do-it-yourselfer type articles (somewhat equivalent
               to the FAMA "For what it's worth" column)
     (F)     = Used in subject line to indicate Freshwater
               discussion
     FAMA    = Freshwater And Marine Aquarium (magazine)
     H2O     = Water
     (M)     = Used in subject line to indicate Marine discussion
     MFM     = Marine Fish Monthly (magazine)
     M/O     = Mail Order
     NH3     = Chemical symbol for ammonia (highly toxic)
     NH4+    = Chemical symbol for ammonium ion (not so toxic)
     NO2-    = Chemical symbol for nitrite ion (toxic)
     NO3-    = Chemical symbol for nitrate ion (not so toxic)
     O3      = Ozone.  Highly reactive and unstable form of oxygen.
     pH      = Measure of acidity/alkalinity (See H2O quality)
     ppm     = Parts per million
     RO      = Reverse Osmosis (See filters)
     RUGF    = Reverse UGF
     sp.     = Species not identified; i.e. Cichlasoma sp.
     TFH     = Tropical Fish Hobbyist (magazine)
     UGF     = Under-Gravel Filter (See filters)


Anaerobic    = Without Oxygen.  In aquaria, this typically refers
               bacterial activity in water of low oxygen content.
Bettas       = Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta Splendens).  Often
               named Alpha for annoyingly obvious reasons :-). 
               Often misspelled as Betas.
Redox        = Reduction-oxidation potential.  Measured in millivolts 
	       (mV).  Higher means better water quality.

REC.AQUARIA, ALT.AQUARIA, SCI.AQUARIA:
--------------------------------------
     A common question is why are there three newsgroups dedicated
to talking a aquaria related topics.  The actual story is quite
long and dirty, and will be written up at a later time.  For those
who don't know the history, let me whet your appetite by describing
the history with the name (of my creation):  "The Great Aquarian
Flame Wars."  [or maybe "The Dumb and the Fishless" :-)]
     The simple answer to the reason of why three groups is that
not all sites receive all three newsgroups.  The best solution (given the
existing setup) is to cross-post hobbyist-type articles to both
rec. and alt.aquaria.  Sci.aquaria should be reserved for egghead
discussions of fishy  science in latin :-) (e.g. physiology,
taxonomy, plant biology and ecology ... any topic ending in a "y").
     Although cross-posting will result in some people receiving
duplicate articles (because some newsreaders will not "mark"
articles as being read across newsgroups), this is generally the
best solution).

STARTING A NEW AQUARIUM:
------------------------
     Before one buys and sets up an aquarium for the first time,
one should buy or borrow a good beginner's book on the subject.  A
list of suggestions is included in this message.

     In summary, the following is a flow for setting up an
aquarium.

-    Decide on the type of fish and the number. DO NOT RUSH OUT AND
     BUY THE FISH YET!!
-    Decide on real/plastic plants.
-    Read up on the requirements and the compatibility (of flora
     and fauna).
-    Review choice of flora and fauna.
-    Determine size and type of aquarium.
     >>Rules of thumb:<<
     *    12 sq. in. of surface area per inch of ADULT fish (not
          including tail).  This is a very rough rule of thumb.
     *    Tall fish look good in tall tanks.  A tall tank with a
          given surface area will support the SAME number of fish
          as a short tank with the same surface area. (See above).
     *    Most fish prefer long/wide tanks.  We humanoids generally
          prefer tall tanks; they look better.
     *    PLASTIC vs. GLASS:
          Glass tanks weigh more and cost a lot less than plastic
          (acrylic/Plexiglass(TM)) tanks.  Plastic is easily
          scratched; glass can crack and spring a leak, or worst
          yet, shatter.  Fish look better in acrylic tanks (if it's
          quality plastic) because the index of refraction of
          acrylic is closer to the index of refraction of water.
     *    Each gallon of water weighs 8.5 pounds. Make sure your
          floor can support the weight.  Also ensure a stable
          platform.
     *    Larger aquaria are subject to less fluctuation of temperature
          and water quality.  Get the largest you can afford.
-    Choose a filtration system most appropriate for your fish and
     aquarium.  In general, water should be turned over 3-5 times
     an hour depending on fish load.  (See filters).
-    Determine size of heater.
     >>Rules of thumb:<<
     *    2.5 watts per gallon of water (for example, a 10 gallon
          tank needs a 25 watt heater).
     *    When possible, use two heaters to achieve desired wattage
          instead of one large heater (even distribution of heat,
          backup in case of breakage).
     *    Submersible heaters, for the most part, are a better
          choice.  Check the  manufacturers' instructions to see if
          the heater is salt-water compatible if you intend to use
          it in a brackish or salt-water tank. 
-    Check prices. (See Mail Order).  Be cautious about "Starter
     Kits" and "Package Deals"; more often than not, they contain
     equipment that is obsolete, or is woefully inadequate for the
     task, or is simply unnecessary.
-    Re-evaluate everything based on budget.
-    Buy and setup aquarium.
-    Some may choose to "paint" the back of the aquarium (black or
     blue at this point.  Others may want to add commercially
     available aquarium backing (poster-like photos of plants). 
     It's infinitely easier when the aquarium is dry.
-    If you choose UGFs (see filters), set this up first.
-    If you're using gravel, rinse it.
-    Set up the heater where there is water flow so the heat can be
     evenly distributed.  Do not bury it in the gravel.
-    Do not plug in anything electrical while setting up.
-    Let aquarium cycle for one-three weeks.  (This will allow
     chlorine/chloramine in tap water to dissipate, will allow the
     nitrogen cycle to start, and will let you see if there are
     water leaks).  (Cycle = letting the natural cycle of
     beneficial bacterial growth to establish itself).
Other options:
*         If you have a friend with an established tank (running
     over 6 months and healthy), check to see if you can put an
     easily moved filter (like a sponge filter: see Filters) in
     their tank for a week or so.  This will provide a healthy
     colony of nitrogen-removing bacteria for your new tank. Put
     this aged filter in your tank prior to adding fish, don't let
     it dry out or get too hot or cold.
*         If you will be using a UGF or a filter packed with gravel
     (see Filters), ask your friends to give you some gravel from
     their established tanks, especially if they also use UGFs. 
     This will help you start the bio-filtration much more quickly. 
     You can also use this technique when you start a new tank and
     you already have an aquarium.
*         If you wish to get rid of chloramines and/or chlorine
     quickly (instead of letting the water sit for a while),
     consider using commercially available de-chloraminators, like
     Kordon's AmQuell.
-         If you get a used tank, be very careful.  Test for leaks
     by filling the tank either in the bath tub or in the
     drive-way/on the lawn, where the leak will do least harm. 
     Check all seals and re-seal the tank with *aquarium safe*
     silicone cement (Dow Chemicals and others make that stuff; buy
     it from hardware stores where the price is 25% of what you
     will pay for the same item in a pet shop).  Aquarium safe
     means no fungicides or other poisons which will leach into
     your aquarium and kill your fish.  READ THE LABEL.
-    Plant all plants at the same time before you add fish.  Your
     work becomes much easier if the tank is only half full of
     water.  See Plant Books for more info.
-    Add rock work and decorations after washing these.
-    Introduce fish into the aquarium over a length of time. (i.e.
     don't buy all the fish on the same day and dump them into the
     aquarium.  Spread it out over time.)  Start with the hardiest
     fish.
-    Don't introduce the pet store water with the fish.  Pet store
     water can contain all sorts of parasites and nasty beasties
     which may cause problems later.
-    One technique to slowly acclimate your new fish to your tank
     is to put the fish and its accompanying pet store water in a
     small, clean bucket (one that's never had soap or other
     chemicals in it) and establish a siphon with a piece of
     airline tubing with airstones at either end. This slow drip of
     water should fill the bucket in about an hour, when you should
     then carefully net the fish out and put them in the tank. 
-    Change 25% of the water every three weeks and maintain
     filters.  >>This cannot be stressed enough!<<  Regular
     cleaning of your mechanical filter (sponges, whatever) and
     regular partial water changes will allow you to have a
     successful tank with less than *15 minute of maintenance per
     week*.  De-chloraminate water before you put it in your tank.
-    Test water regularly with test kits to ensure water quality is
     acceptable.

MOVING AN AQUARIUM:  Contributor: Timothy Shimeall
-------------------

The best word on moving fish (and in this discussion, fish
includes all aquarium animal life), beyond very short distances, is
DON'T.  Travel is very stressful on fish, and even with the best
precautions you should expect to lose several.  Given this is true,
you may want to seriously consider selling off your stock and
getting new fish at your destination.

If, given the above, you still want to try to move fish, then the
following may help to minimize the pain and loss of fish.

The task of moving fish basically splits into two tasks: moving the
tank, and then (later) moving the fish.  Do not attempt to move the
fish in their tank.

Moving the tank
---------------

The main problem in moving the tank is the filtration system. 
After a very few hours (less than a day) without a flow of
oxygen-laden water, aerobic bacteria start to die.  This means that
if you are moving a short distance (an hours drive or so), it may
be possible to preserve your bacteria colony.  But beyond that,
you'll need to restart the bacteria.  (No, bacteria don't die after
an hour, but you need to account for tear down, packing, unpacking
and setup time, and have the total be only a few hours.)  This
leads to the following process:

1) Put your fish in a holding container (more on that below)

2) Drain your tank.  If the move is going to be short, preserve
some of the water to help preserve the bacteria colony.

3) Disassemble your tank.  Aquarium plants will survive a fair
amount of time if their roots are kept wet, so it should be possible
 to bag them with some water and set them aside for hand-moving. 
If the move is going to be short, put your filter medium in a
sealed container (preferably a never-used pail or other
chemical-free hard-sided container) without cleaning it.  For long
moves, either clean or discard your filter media.  Pumps, heaters,
etc. can be packed as any fragile appliance.

4) Move your tank.  Don't use a moving company or professional
packers, unless you have absolutely no choice AND you can supervise
them packing the tank and loading it in the truck.  It's far better
to move it yourself.

5) Reassemble your tank at your destination.  If you're doing a
short move you should have enough dechlorinated/treated water
available on arrival to fill your tank and get water moving through
your filter.  If you're doing a long move, then set your tank up as
if it was a new tank-- including a week-long delay before putting
fish in the tank.  Initially, put in a few hardy fish to get the
nitrate cycle established.  After the tank is stable, put the fish
from your old home back in.

Moving the fish
---------------

There are three basic problems in moving the fish:
  - where do you put them while you're moving the tank (a week+)
  - how do you pack them
  - how do you support them while they're being moved

Where do you put them?  Two basic options:
+ A friend's tank
+ A pet store tank

Some pet stores will, for a fee, board fish during a move.  A
signed contract, detailing what responsibilities the pet store is
assuming, is a very good idea.   Some pet stores, for a further
fee, will pack and air-ship the fish to you on request.  This isn't
cheap.

Bear in mind that you'll be leaving the fish there for at least a
couple of weeks.

How do you pack them?

For short periods of time (a couple of hours, tops) you can put the
fish in sealed bags, half-filled with air.  This time can be
stretched somewhat by filling with oxygen, rather than air.  Put
the bags in a padded, compartmentalized container, and ship by air. 
(This is basically how pet stores receive their fish).  For larger
fish, or longer trips, one can use a sealed bucket for each fish,
rather than a bag.  

How do you support them on the move?

Fish basically won't eat during the move.  They're too stressed,
and you don't want to degrade the water quality by the food,
anyway.  Fish can survive a week or so without food if they've been
previously well fed.

Try to maintain an even temperature, perhaps by placing the fish in
a sealed cooler, or compartmentalized cooler.

For long trips, particularly by car, a battery-powered airpump and
airstone is a good idea (if not a must). 

After the move, slowly condition the fish to the new tank location,
as you would in adding new fish to a tank.

GOOD BEGINNER BOOKS:
--------------------
     Most aquarium books are reasonable in their advice.  Do be
careful of older books which were written before some of the more
recent advances in the science of aquaria were made.  Issues such
as the nitrogen cycle will probably not be covered well.  Libraries
are an excellent source of books, and one should go the library
first before spending any money.

Titles:

Baensh's Aquarium Atlas                 ~$22-28
Marine Aquarium Handbook by Martin Moe  ~$10
Vierke's Aquarium Book                  $10-15
Marine Aquarium Reference:
Systems and Invertebrates by Moe        ~$22-25
The Concise Encyclopedia of Aq. Fish    ~$10
     (Dick Mills)

Many of the "Fishkeeper's Guide" Books by Tetra press are quite
good, and are available for around $6-$10.  For plant books,
Barron's and Tetra's (~$5-6) are suggested.

FRESHWATER books:
A decent aquarium reference book need not be expensive or very
detailed.  What it must have is:
	- enough common species to make it usable 
	  (200-300 species is sufficient for most purposes) 
	- recognizable pictures of fish to use as the identification 
	  guide descriptions of the species including:
		+ length the fish will attain 
		+ typical behaviour (and community tank compatibility)
		+ spawning requirements 
		+ dietary needs 
		+ minimal tank size 
		+ water quality and temperature
	- some basic suggestions on how to set up an aquarium 
	- some minimal info on fish diseases

There are many books that satisfy these requirements.  They are very
inexpensive and there is no excuse for someone to spend $20+ on the fish
that will die in 3-4 weeks instead of buying a book that would prevent
these losses for a lot less money.

For under $10:

Simon&Schuster's "Pocket Guide to Aquarium Fishes" which lists for $7
and can be found for $4 in discount book shops.  Not an "end-all"
reference volume but at least it does not lie too much.  I probably
like it because it has an excellent photo of Aphyosemion filamentosum
that looks just about like the A. filamentosum I have. (ISBN 0-671-25451-0)

At Crown Books and other "remaindered" book sellers, you will find a
book edited by Dick Mills that is called "The Concise Encyclopedia of
Tropical Aquarium Fishes" if it's published by Crescent (and Tetra's
Junior Atlas of Tropica Aquarium Fishes" if it's publisehd by Tetra).
It covers all the basic ideas about setting up an aquarium and has
descriptions and fair quality photos of over 300 species of fish (the
book is not in front of me so can't give you more detail).  It's
published by Salamander Press in Europe and Tetra (Crescent) in US.
(Crescent edition ISBN 0-517-66776-2)

At Tower Books and other "mainstream" bookseller chains and larger book
stores, you will find Barron's series of translation of German aquarium
books, all between $5 and $8, concentrating on specific categories of
fish (Killifishes (ISBN 0-8120-4475-4), Cichlids (ISBN 0-8120-4597-1)),
or breeding (Ines Scheurman's "Aquarium Fish Breeding" (ISBN
0-8120-4474-6)), or general aquarium maintenance, or plants.  All of
these books give a beginner a solid introduction to what and why of the
the filtration, water chemistry and so on.  Any of these books make an
excellent starting point.  They don't have very many colour photos,
which probably contributed to the low price, but have a lot of
drawings.

Also near the $10 mark (and a lot less through mail-order), are the
Tetra/Salamander series of "Fishkeeper's Guide To..." books.  They are
available at a number of "normal" book stores and I recommend "...
Healthy Aquarium" and "...Community Fishes" as the better beginner
books.  The rest of the series is quite good as well and any one of
these books should be a great start.

"The Innes Book" -- it is a thick volume that has gone through a dozen
publishers and something like 50 editions.  The newer ones will
probably be a bit more up to date, but the older ones are not bad,
either.  They range from $2 to $15 and my preference is for the oldest
editions.  I am personally looking for a leather bound printing from
early 30's.  Don't expect the fish names to match the current nomenclature
or in some case even the real species -- for the last 40 years "The Innes
Book" has had a picture of A. filamentosum for their Aphyosemion gardneri.	

These are the cheapest books.  If you are willing to spend $15-20 (and
you better be willing to spend that much on the books if you are go
to spend that much on the fish!), the number of books is larger and the
amount of information increases.

Between $15 and $20 the books get larger, more colourful and complete:

van Ramshorst's Aquarium Encyclopedia published by HPBooks and sold by
Waldenbooks is a translation from Dutch and at $17.95 is among the
better "shopping list" aquarium books.  It is full of very good quality
colour photos, covers over 570 species of fish, 80 species of plants,
all aspects of aquarium design, building, set-up, decor, etc.  Not much
on filtration, but that's all in FAQ, so not a big flaw for a USENET
reader.

Crown Books used to sell "The Living Aquarium", a translation from
Swedish published by Crescent Books.  It's close to $20 and does not
have descriptions of too many species, but has a lot of detailed
diagrams, goes into the black arts of filtration and lighting and
attempts to cover cold water and tropical fresh water, cold water and
tropical marine and brackish aquaria, suggesting the species and decor
for them.  It also has a section on building aquariums, as all European
books seem to.

MORE EXPENSIVE AND/OR SPECIALTY BOOKS:

There are many other books that are not cheap even when you buy them
mail-order (a sure way to save 50% on the price).  Many of these books
cost so much because of the large number of colour photos in them and
because of the production values that went in.  You will have to decide
for yourself if it's worth your money to buy these and if you will find
something really worth while in them (I have spent several hundred $$$
on such books over the last few years and do not regret buying any of
them).  If nothing else, these books make great coffee table books that
are bound to get all sorts of comments from house guests.

WHERE TO FIND THE CHEAPEST BOOKS:

Look through the used book stores.  Books from 20-30 years ago may have
wrong Latin names for some of the fish, claim that certain species of
now-common fish are hard to breed, and may have less than adequate
coverage of filtration, but those books are still excellent general
references and (should) cost very little.

WHAT NOT TO BUY:

AVOID any books by TFH that are less than 100 pages or have a word
"Beginner" in the title.  Leaf through the book: if you see lots of
photos of products placed so that brand names are obvious and easy to
read, or you find a bunch of photos of grinning gap-toothed kids
holding up various pieces of equipment or poking their hands into an
aquarium -- put this book away and never look at it again.  These books
are (in my opinion) utter garbage.

There are a few exceptions to that rule in the TFH line: Dr. Jubb's
"Nothobranchius", 2 volumes of Jocher's "Spawning Problem Fishes" and
Windelow's "Aquatic Plants", but they fall into the "specialty"
category).

USEFUL DATA:   Contributor: jj@alice.att.com 
------------
Useful numbers for fresh water:

One foot of fresh water depth == .445 psi.

231 cu inches (in ^ 3) = 1 gallon

1 cu foot (ft ^ 3) = 7.48 gallons  =  1728 in^3

1 gallon H2O at 4C weighs 8.57 lbs /* this is derived from the
                          atmospheres/ft number, somebody
                          with a CRC can go get the right number,
                          but this is within a few % */

Example:

44x16x16 tank = 11264 in^3 = 48.76 gallons.

Tank will weigh 418 lbs (roughly) (+ rocks which have an SG much
higher than 1, so you can *roughly* say " + rocks ")

The pressure at the bottom of the tank will be .59 psi, or 85 psf,
roughly  13% more than the standard loading for code
construction,so catch an extra joist or three with the stand!! 

Along the bottom strip of the tank, you will have a total
(uniformly spread side to side) force of ( 15.5/12*.445*44 = 25lbs)
pushing outwards against your joints.

The total force on the long side will be ( 8/12*.445*44*16 = 208
pounds).

/* Note:  In general, this is NOT half of the water weight.  This
is a coincidence due to the same bottom and side shape. */

Other useful points...

     Weight = psi at bottom * bottom area
          ( (44x16=704 in^2)  * .445*16/12 = 418 lbs)
Note: If this doesn't give you the same answer as the volume
calculation SOMETHING IS WRONG!

     Standard (new) wood joist floor loading is 75 psf.  This
corresponds to one 14" high tank of any other dimensions.  Before
you build that 30" high tank, think about where it goes!  For odd
houses and houses not to code, this may be worse (or better, who
knows?).

Disclaimer:
-----------
Some answers listed above may reflect personal biases of the author
and the FAQ's contributors.  In cases where the answers name
specific products and their respective manufacturers, these are not
to be taken as endorsements, nor commercials for the manufacturer. 
Where cost information is stated (magazine subscription rates),
this is based on "street" information, and are in no way binding on
the publisher.  The answers contained in this series pertain to
discussions on the rec. and alt.aquaria newsgroups, and are by no means
exhaustive.  This series is not intended to take the place of good
aquarium books on the subject matter.

Copyright:
----------
The FAQ owes its existence to the contributors of the net, and as
such it belongs to the readers of rec.aquaria and alt.aquaria. 
Copies can be made freely, as long as it is distributed at no
charge, and the disclaimers and the copyright notice are included.

Newsgroups: alt.aquaria