The most common type of lighting for Aquariums must be the fluorescent tubes that come in a vast range of colour temperatures. The type of tube is a personal choice some like the warm effect that shows the blues and reds off best that comes from the Gro Lux tubes or the more natural light from the Fresh water type of tube.

No matter which tube you like you will need a starter unit for them and the best in the market is Arcadia who have been in the pet care lighting business since the 1960’s. Arcadia’s products have an unparalleled reputation for design, performance and quality and are sold in over 55 countries worldwide.

The Arcadia Ultra Seal Controllers  available from ValueAquatics come in a complete range of waterproof single Fluorescent Controllers that come with the new Ultra Seal  IP67 Tube Holders.

Complete with all fittings, clips, screws & universal mounting bracket
Easy tube changing
Waterproof
GS & CE approved for extra safety

ACU58 is a special order not a stock item.

John

Bio Chem Zorb is a filter medium that is a mix of two organic scavenger resins, two pharmaceutical grade ion-exchange resins and Activated Carbon in an easy to use pouch.
First rinse the pouch under the tap to wash off any dust from the outside, then place the  pouch inside an internal or external filter in the last compartment. Can be used in either freshwater or marine aquariums, in a marine aquarium it can be placed in the sump.
It takes out the brown discolouration in freshwater aquariums caused by the tannins in bogwood almost overnight leaving crystal clear water.

Removes organic waste
Suitable for both fresh and marine aquariums
Removes toxic heavy metals
Removes toxic gases, foul odours, phenols and water discolouration
Does not contain phosphates
Removes light blocking impurities for improved growth of plants and corals in marine aquariums
Removes aquarium medications and treatments.

Using Bio Chem Zorb in a marine Aquarium
It is extremely useful in taking out refractory organics in the water or the “Yellow Water” that occurs when organic pollutants reduce the amount of light that is necessary for the well being of most marine invertebrates.

ValueAquatics sell API Bio Chem Zorb as a 283g pillow (enough to treat up to 208 litres).

We also have the
Bio Chem Zorb Proof through Science Video

Jacqui

Are you tired of the heavy metal AC/DC drummer in your aquarium cupboard then look no further The TetraTec APS air Pumps are what you need. These have been designed especially with noise, vibration and flow rate in mind. The APS range of air pumps is amongst the quietest of diaphragm air pumps on the market.

These pumps are especially effective when used with deeper aquariums where the back pressure often defeats other pumps of the same rating.

The innovative design and advanced sound reducing technology creates a better environment in the aquarium fore your fish, and you don’t have to turn the Television up to maximum to cover the sound of that old pump.

There are 5 sizes of The TetraTec air pumps available from ValueAquatics to suit the vast majority of aquariums.

John

The problem when feeding your aquarium fish is that the fish that live at the bottom get very little food, as those at the top and mid water get the majority of the food. The answer is to feed your catfish, loaches etc., on Hikari Tropical Sinking Wafers for tropical fish. Hikari have formulated the wafers after many years of research into the feeding habits of Corydoras other catfish and Loaches.

 Hikari Sinking wafers contain Fish meal, wheat-germ meal, wheat flour, alpha starch, soybean meal, fish oil, dried seaweed meal, krill meal, dried bakery product, brewer’s dried yeast, spirulina, enzyme, astaxanthin, garlic, DL-methionine, monosodium glutamate, vitamins and minerals including stabilized vitamin C.

All to keep the bottom dwellers healthy and active. Never overfeed the fish feed only once a day one wafer will be enough for most average community aquariums. If any of the wafers is left after hour either siphon it out or net it out with a fine net.

Perfect nutritional food
High levels of vegetable matter
High in vitamin C reduces stress and improves disease resistance
Does not dissolve or cloudy the aquarium water
ValueAquatics offer Hikari Tropical Sinking Wafers in two sizes 25g & 110g

James

Sadly Gravel cleaning is one of those things that most people miss out in the aquarium maintenance and it is the most important task. As with most UK Aquariums there are very few plants in the aquariums so a build up of detritus builds up unseen in the gravel. Due to this phosphate and Nitrate levels increase causing an outbreak of algae and when it gets very high the fish start to mysteriously die off.

So as part of a weekly maintenance regime a quick gravel wash can be incorporated with the weekly water change. One of the best bits of inexpensive kit that you will buy for your Aquarium will be a gravel cleaner. There are quite a few to choose from and they mostly work on the same siphon principal and are very easy to use.

1. Place the gravel cleaner completely submerged into the aquarium including tubing. Have a bucket on the floor under the aquarium.

2. Put your thumb or finger over the siphon tube and lift out over the aquarium, making sure the wide big rigid tube stays under the water.

3. Release your thumb or finger when the siphon tube is over the bucket, and by simply raising or lowering the end of the siphon you can regulate the flow.

4. Clean the gravel by pushing the end of the large bore tube into the gravel and watch the dirt get sucked out agitating and leaving the gravel behind.

Continue this going round the plants try not to go through the roots if possible. A bucket of water is about the correct amount for a 3’ aquariums in one go unless it is extremely dirty. If it is extremely dirty and there are high phosphate and or nitrate levels a lot of small water changes are better than one massive change. If the phosphate or Nitrate is very high then a phosphate/Nitrate remover should be used along with water changes and gravel washes every other day until levels return to normal. The two best removers are a Polyfilter or Cleanwater both are either added to an external filter or an internal filter.

ValueAquatics offer what we think is the best Gravel cleaner on the market  the Interpet Prime Gravel Cleaner comes in five sizes Mini, Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large for those deep aquariums. The interpet Gravel Cleaners come with an integrated one way valve in the head so that the siphon can be started by plunging the gravel cleaning end up and down in the water to start the siphon. I do not like this method as it causes a lot of stress to the fish I prefer the method I described earlier it is quicker and less stressful to the fish.

James

The innovative Smart Heater/Thermostats by the highly respected Rena Company use an electric sensor that accurately checks the water temperature. The thermostat can be set from 20°c to 34°c. The heater has a warning light that will flash if the temperature goes 3° above or bellow the set temperature. This is good news for all those keepers of large robust fish like Oscars or Aquatic reptiles like terrapins/turtles, as they are said to be unbreakable as it is made from composite materials. The Smart Heater is insensitive to mechanical or thermal shocks.

Fish are less likely to get burnt on the smart heater as the water is drawn up through the centre of the heater, thus warming it up and passing the warmed water out of the top. It can be used with an external canister filter with the connection kit (not supplied) allowing it to be connected to the 16mm internal diameter hose inlet tube.

If the inlet tube of your filter is 12mm internal diameter simply use a step down adapter.  Both the heater and the external filter adapter are available from ValueAquatics.

Fully submersible
Works in any position
Unbreakable
Shock resistant
Switches itself off if not fully submerged in water
Available in 50w, 100w, 150w, 200w and 300watt

Jacqui

Do you have problems growing plants in your aquarium? Do they just turn yellow and die? Then the problem is one of two things not enough food in the gravel or not enough light. Usually light is not a problem rather too much, that’s a problem for another day. Most people when setting up an aquarium do not think of the plants but rather more on the fish and just throw in the gravel (washed if it’s lucky) then fill it up with cold water add the plants then the filter, heater, lights etc., and switch on and wonder why the plants die off.

The main reason is that there is no food for the plants to live on; you would not live long without food. An aquarium is an enclosed system and virtually sterile when it is new and both fish and plants struggle for the first month or so until good bacteria and food is being produced. Plants get their food from sunlight and the roots, so at first you should supply the roots with some sort of fertiliser or feed and Valueaquatics have the answer TetraPlant Complete Substrate. This has been formulated to create the perfect natural substrate possible. It has all the elements to release nutrients over a long period of time supporting plants, micro-organisms and the well being of the fish. There is no added Nitrate or phosphate to encourage algae growth.

Setting up you aquarium.

It is very simple to use, simply add a 2cm layer of TetraPlant CompleteSubstrate to the bottom of the Aquarium and then cover this with 2-3cm of washed aquarium gravel. For best results use 1-3mm dia., aquarium gravel. It is important to wash the gravel as it contains a lot of dust, wash in small quantities not by the bucket. The best method is to use an old kitchen sieve and wash a few mugs full at a time under the cold water tap full on until the water runs clear from the bottom of the sieve, then put it into a bucket until you have enough to carry then tip this on top of the TetraPlant CompleteSubstrate. When finished put an old plate into the aquarium and a jug or large jar on the plate. Then fill the aquarium from a (hose not too fast) if you have a mixer tap use it to take the chill off the water not warm or hot, you might crack the glass. Run the water into the jug, the water fills the jug and runs down the sides onto the plate and fills the aquarium without disturbing the substrate. While this is filling add the Aquarium heater, filter(do not turn any electrics on leave them unplugged) and add the plants you will need more than you think, most people will spend £30+ on fish and wince at spending £5 on plants. For a 36” x 12” x 12” reckon on at least £30-£40 on plants for a general community aquarium.

When the Aquarium is filled to the required depth and you have all the Filters heaters, rocks, bogwood etc, set up, put the hood on and plug everything in one at a time checking each one is working. The heater look at it after a few minutes and you should see the convection currents raising from it, otherwise leave it running and check the thermometer every hour or so to see if the temperature is rising, you will get bubbles appearing on the inside glass and ornaments this is good and will disappear in 24 hours or so. There are two ways to go now the old fashioned way or the new. I can recommend the new unless you want to wait a week before adding any fish? Okay your impatient so after 24 hours and the temperature on the thermometer is showing 22-28°f the filter and lights are running correctly you can go to the Aquatics shop and get some fish but first make sure you have some Tetraaqua Tetra Safe Start and add 5ml of Safestart for every 6 litres of aquarium water and at the same time adding the fish, this is very important. ValueAquatics recommends a stocking level of adult fish equivalent to 1cm for every litre of Aquarium water.

Your Aquarium is now up and running enjoy it they will give hours of fun and entertainment. A couple of points: Some plants will float up just keep pushing them into the gravel. Take off and lead weights I find that they crush the stems so they rot rather than root. Any plants that keep floating take a small flattish stone and lay the plant down putting the stone on top of the bottom of the plant stalk. Leave it for a week or so then the stone can be taken off ant the plant will be rooted. The water may not be crystal clear at first, don’t worry the fine particles will soon settle and be taken out by the filter.

TetraPlant Complete Substrate available from ValueAquatics in 2.8kg & 5.8kg buckets Tetraaqua Tetra Safe Start is available from ValueAquatics in 50ml & 100ml.

John

Monarch Aquarium Hoods are made from aluminium making them both light and very robust. The hoods come in two finishes black and silver, they have a flap on the top front that allows easy access for feeding and maintenance. A compartment at the back of the hood takes the lighting ballast unit, make sure it is firmly fixed into place, the hoods have push out holes to take the light tube, fittings and wiring. All the hoods are designed so that they will take the same size fluorescent tube sizes i.e., a 24” x 12” hood takes a standard 24” tube. All the hoods come complete with drip trays. ValueAquatics offer the Monarch Majestic Hoods in the following sizes.

18” x 12″
24” x 12”
30” x 12”
36” x 12”
48” x 12”

It is also possible with these units to add a second tube to increase the light intensity, the hoods are very well designed, and the black Monarch Majestic hood, goes well with any colour cabinet / stand. If your looking for a budget purchase say for a 2ft standard aquarium, to go in a childs bedroom for example, you won’t do better than a black 24inch Monarch Majestic  Hood combined with our budget Black Aquarium Stand, plus if you bought both you would get free next working day delivery.

John G & Mark H

ValueAquatics are pleased to announce that we can now offer melamine Aquarium Cabinets for 24”x12”, 30”x12, 36”x12” and 48”x12” (L.W) aquariums. They are available in the following finishes Beech, Walnut and Oak. All the Cabinets are made of high density fibre board with added strengthening bars for added security and peace of mind. The cabinets come as a flat pack unit with full easy to follow instructions. The Cabinets come as two cupboards with fitted doors allowing plenty of space for filters, pumps, food, medications and access for the plumbing and electrics.

These really are great cabinets and so quick to assemble!

John
www.valueaquatics.co.uk

Tetra SAFESTART

This product is absolutely fantastic, it enables you to put a whole community of fish instantly into a brand new aquarium, and activate the filters instantaneously, by the addition of the correct doseage of SAFESTART, I have just set up a new tank full of Altum Angels and have used this product, I monitored and tested daily for Ammonia and Nitrate, and could only get a trace reading at best!

Tetra SafeStart allows you to rapidly stock a new aquarium with fish. It contains a patented blend of the bacteria responsible for removing harmful ammonia and nitrite from aquarium water. These bacteria are not found in any other product, and work to instantly activate the filter. By removing ammonia and nitrite they create a safe environment for fish, allowing you to enjoy your new aquarium with the minimal amount of maintenance.

SafeStart is the result of years of research into the bacteria responsible for ammonia and nitrite removal in aquarium filters. This has shown that the bacteria traditionally thought to remove ammonia and nitrite, and therefore included in other filter´start products, are not responsible for maintaining a healthy aquarium. By identifying and then culturing those bacteria which truly are involved in ammonia and nitrite removal, SafeStart is able to offer a relaible means of quickly activating new filters. This in turn allows the instant introduction of new fish, and ensures a better environment for them.

When setting up a new aquarium: Set the aquarium up and turn on all equipment. Wait at least 24hrs to ensure that the equipment is working correctly, and to allow the aquarium to reach the correct temperature. Then add 5ml of SafeStart per 6 litres of water, at the same time as adding the fish. We recommend a stocking level of adult fish equivalent to 1cm per litre. This refers to the eventual size of the fish, not the size when they are added (e.g. 10 Neon Tetras at 1.5cm each are equivalent to approximately 25cm when adult).

Following filter maintenance, water quality problems, or water changes: Add 5ml of SafeStart per 6 litres of water, following any aquarium maintenance

http://www.valueaquatics.co.uk/tetraaqua-tetra-safe-start-50ml-p-2726.html