The Aquarium Source

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     Many people who have aquariums are faced with the issue of what will happen to the fish when they go on vacation. Who will feed them? Some aquarium owners have friends come over while they are gone and feed the fish and while this is a good way to make sure your fish receive the food they need there are a few problems with this method. Is that person reliable? Can you count on them to take good care of the fish? Do they know how much food your fish need and how many times a day? What will happen if your friend can not make it to take care of the fish?  And the most basic question, Does that person know what the fish eat?

     Assuming you have prepared the person in the care of your aquarium then most of these questions need not be asked. However if there is any doubt in your mind then you might seek other options.

     The Rena Lg100 Automatic Feeder is one of these options. Basically, an automatic feeder does just what it’s name implies.   This is a machanical feeder that can be programmed to feed your fish up to 8 times a day, if you desire, while you are away. The great thing about an automatic feeder is that it will feed your fish even when you are home so there is no need to feed all the time. Lets face it, with life in general anyone can forget to feed their fish once in a while. Usually what happens in that situation is we over feed for the next meal to make up for the one that was missed. While our intentions are good in overfeeding we can actually do more damage to the aquarium instead of “treating” the fish to a little extra.

      Extra food that is not eaten will sit on the floor of the aquarium and start to decay, changing the chemical levels in the aquarium. Also by over feeding your fish will eat a little more causing them to deficate more and that changes the chemical levels as well. Rotting food can cause more issues than people realize. So instead of giving the fish an extra pinch of food as a way to say your sorry, it is better to avoid the situation entirely.

     The Rena Lg100 Auto Feeder has a capacity to hold approximately 4 ounces of food and is uesd for many types of dry fish food. With this type of storage, you will only need to refill your food canister and not wory about constantly feeding the fish. A great detail that has been added to the Rena Auto Feeder is the addition of an air nozzel that leads into the food storage chamber. This air nozzel makes it possible to hook a air line up from the air pump to constantly circulate air in the chamber preventing the food from getting moist and clumping together.

     The amount of food that is to be dispensed can be easily programmed and adjusted to accomidate the number and size of fish that you have in your aquarium. So there is no need to worry about dispensing food for many fish when you only have a few. Again that would take us back to overfeeding. The auto feeder can also be attached to the tank for permanent or temporary use. Making this auto feeder great for switching tanks if you need to. Measuring 3-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ x 4″ high and including light sensors to activate or deactivate when needed this Rena Lg100 Automatic Feeder makes for the perfect aquarium companion.

This product along with other great items can be found by clicking here.

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What is a UV Sterilizer?
An Ultra Violet Sterilizer is a water filtration device that uses an ultraviolet light bulb to kill microscopic organisms that are free floating in the water. Parasites, viruses, algae and bacteria (good and bad) are the type of things that are “killed” after passing through the ultraviolet sterilizing unit. These sterilizer units are also sometimes used in outdoor ponds to help control algae growth and they seem to do a decent job.

When using one in a home aquarium, the UV unit should be placed last in the filtration line. You want to first filter the aquarium water through your mechanical filter and then run the water through the UV device before returning the water to your fish tank. By first removing the solids in the aquarium water with your mechanical filter (canister filter, etc), you are helping your UV unit to attain maximum operational efficiency.

The effectiveness of any UV sterilizer is determined by the UV bulb wattage, the age of the UV bulb, how clean the quartz sleeve is and the flow rate of the unit.

UV Light Bulb
The effectiveness of the bulb will diminish with time and use. Manufacturers usually recommend replacing the bulb after 6 months. You can find units with bulbs anywhere from 8 watts up to as high as 130 watts. The higher the wattage of the light, generally the more effective it is. If you have a unit with a lower wattage then you will want to have a lower flow rate to get the most out of the unit.

UV Flow Rate
The flow rate of the unit is an important consideration. Flow rate is measured in gallons per hour (gph) or liters per hour (lph). While higher flow rates may be acceptable for killing algae and some bacteria, you will usually need a much slower flow rate to kill parasites. For example, a 15 watt bulb will usually kill algae and bacteria with a 120 gph flow, but you will need to lower the flow rate to around 75 gph for it to effectively kill parasites. Read the manufacturers recommendations for your particular unit for effective bulb wattage and flow rates.

Keep the Quartz Sleeve Clean
One thing that some hobbyists forget about is the quartz sleeve that the UV bulb slips into. You must clean this quartz sleeve periodically to remove any buildup in order to keep your sterilizer operating at peak efficiency. The better sterilizer units have a wiper with a handle outside the unit that allows you to quickly and easily clean the sleeve without taking the sterilizer apart.

Do I really need an Ultra Violet Sterilizer for my aquarium?
For indoor freshwater fish tanks that are well filtered and properly maintained, you really don’t need one. Saltwater hobbyists may have a good excuse for getting one because of the high price tags for many of the saltwater species. However, most hobbyists really don’t need one if they are doing things properly. Doing things properly would mean using a quarantine fish tank for new arrivals and performing frequent fish tank maintenance.

Outdoor pond keepers may want to invest in a UV sterilizer to help control algae problems in their outdoor ponds. To view several UV Sterilizers please go to Gredens link on UV Sterilizers and look around for other great items.

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 The Prizm Protein Skimmer made by Red Sea is a competitively priced skimmer that is designed to hang on the back of the tank. There are a few different models available.

Prizm Basic

• For marine and reef aquariums up to 100 gallons
• Reactor Type – Convergent-Divergent
• Installation Type – Hang On

Prizm Pro Deluxe

• For up to 1200 liter/300 gal tanks
• Hang on tank or in sump use
• Includes a surface skimmer and refillable media basket for biological and chemical media

It comes with an external water pump that attaches to the bottom of the unit. The neat part about this skimmer is the two stage reaction compartments where the water is first forced upward through the first compartment and then downward in the second compartment. This cross current allows the tiny air bubbles to have longer contact time and therefore more protein rich foam when it arrives at the top of the skimmer collection basket.

Setting up this skimmer was rather easy and it took about 15 minutes to have it fully operational (it helps to read the directions first). The only thing you need to regulate or adjust with this skimmer is the water flow. This is done by turning a valve located on the top of the skimmer’s water intake pipe. The more you open up this valve the faster the water will flow through the skimmer. With the increased water flow will come an increase in the noise level put out by this unit. The amount of noise produced by this skimmer could be compared to the amount of noise produced by an aquarium air pump. It wasn’t too noisy, but you could definitely hear it running.

After running the skimmer for 10-12 hours we noticed a nice amount of dark brown skimmate in the collection chamber located at the top of the unit. Removing this chamber for cleaning is very easy to do. You simply have to twist it off, rinse out the collection chamber and twist or push it back on.

The Prizm Pro model comes with a surface skimmer which should provide even better skimming results than the regular model.

Positives

• Nice price (regular model is under $100)
• Slim profile and designed to hank on the back of the tank
• You can regulate the amount of water flow
• Easy access to the collection cup for cleaning
• Efficiently removes proteins from the tank water

Negatives

• The first negative that we could think of would be the noise factor. It is not very noisy at all, but it may bother some people.
• They should provide the surface skimmer on all of the models and not make you buy the pro version or upgrade kit.