How Big is too Big and How Small is too Small?

The most common conversation I have daily is about tank size.  Honestly, it boils down to a few key things when considering the right aquarium size.  I am a firm believer that “graduating” from tank size to tank size is expensive and should be avoided at all cost. If you started with a 10 gallon, your next move should be to 40 or 55, not a 20-gallon. Moving up in increments will result in an attic full of increased sizes of aquariums. If you were in the market for a 10-gallon I would immediately recommend a 20 or 30 gallon, as it is common for me to hear within the first year “I wish I would’ve gone bigger”.   This is simply because people run out of room to house all the species they would like to keep.  Going bigger also avoids error.  In smaller aquariums, mistakes cannot dilute down.  You guys may remember the old saying “The solution to pollution is dilution”.  Smaller aquariums do not have the forgiveness like larger tanks do and so when a mistake is made it is amplified.  Larger fish tanks are much heavier than smaller ones, and so placement will be extremely important.  The larger the aquarium the more restrictions we will have when placing it in your home.  Our goal is to go as big as budget and house will allow while making sure you do not encounter all the problems associated an ecosystem that is too small.

 

Bigger is better but does not always mean a massive in-wall aquarium purchase when you only wanted a 10-gallon.  We like bigger because we know the average hobbyist is never satisfied with what they have.  Most people want more--more room to play, more fish, just more!  If you have entered our store you have heard “ Hello, what size tank do you have?”  I always smile when I get the reply “Which one?” I also immediately wonder why do they have multiples? Is it because they did the incremental move up through the hobby or are they just that enthusiastic about the hobby?  Sadly, many people have multiple tanks because they inched their way up through the tank sizes.  This often leads to congesting a room with tanks of similar sizes. We believe in allotting room to grow through aquarium volume. By giving yourself space in the beginning it saves you time and money in the long run and allows you to consolidate more species.

I have never met a hobbyist that found a stopping point. Just one more fish! Just one more plant/coral! It’s a hobby.  You begin a hobby so that you may continue to work on it.  What happens when you over crowd the aquarium and run out of room though? It is fairly common to hear me in the store giving the “red food coloring “ speech.  It goes a little like this:” If I take 6 drops of red food coloring and put them into a coffee mug what happens?”  This is where the person I am asking hopefully says, “ It will turn the water red”. And then I ask “ and if I take 6 drops of red food coloring and put it into a 10-gallon aquarium what would happen?”  And again I’m hoping the person will reply with “it will turn the water pink-ish”.  To which I end with “and if I put 6 drops into a 540-gallon tank what happens?”  To which they should reply “nothing”.  If these drops represent mistakes or poor water quality, then it illustrates how smaller bodies of water cannot dilute down the toxins. In the largest body of water, it was as if the mistake or toxins never even existed.

In the end, we want you to be happy. The aquarium should, first and foremost, fit your budget and lifestyle.  We, as hobbyist, start an aquarium because we are fascinated by them for whatever reason. The whole point is to enjoy what you have created.  We, as humans, are trained to think smaller is cheaper when in reality it can be a much more expensive hobby when you go little. 

How to Acclimate Fish

The "cut and dump" method as we call it seems to be the common way to acclimate. This method works until it doesn't work anymore.

We have another way to acclimate your fish and critters---Drip Acclimation! You need drip line or an acclimation line and a bucket/large container/pitcher. One end of the drip line will go into your tank (anchored or clipped down) and then you are going to create a siphon on the opposite side that will hang in your bucket. You will create a knot in the drip line, a few inches from where the water is coming out, the tighter the knot--the slower the drip. You are looking for a consistent drip not a stream. Make sure the drip is actually making its way into the bucket and not the floor! After you have started your drip line, cut open your new critters and place them and their water into the bucket.

........Continue reading for Freshwater and Saltwater Instructions

 

For Freshwater:

We want to make sure your new freshwater fish do not go into shock when adding them to your tank. Ph is what we are looking to match while acclimating.  While your new fish are acclimating in the bucket with your tank water being dripped in, check the pH of your tank and the pH of the bucket. Once they match, the fish can be netted out and go in!!! This process should take no less than 30mins. We treat our freshwater main fish system with Prazipro and Paraguard from Seachem. DO NOT USE COMMERCIAL MAIN FISH SYSTEM WATER IN YOUR AQUARIUM. 

For Saltwater:

Southern Aquatics personally DOES NOT use copper in our fish system. However, we do keep the fish system between 1.018-1.020 salinity and treat with Paraguard from Seachem. After trial and error over the past year, this method works for us to provide you with the healthiest fish. Which is why we stress the long acclimation period. Acclimating fish from 1.018 up to 1.025 should take no less than 3 hours. When drip acclimating saltwater fish we are concerned about the salinity. Once the salinity in the bucket matches the salinity in your tank they are good to be netted out and put into your tank!

 

We are here to help! Call us, email us, Facebook us---no question is a dumb question. This hobby is filled with many opinions and different ways of doing the same thing. 

When some one asks to put one more fish in their tank---this is what we think of! 

When some one asks to put one more fish in their tank---this is what we think of! 

Whats the deal with water changes?

Whats the deal with water changes?

All about water changes! 

Back to the Basics!

Back to the Basics!

Back to the Basics--How to cycle your new aquarium!

Great Start to the New Year!

We have loved seeing both new and familiar faces the past few months being open! We are overwhelmed with the love and support from each of you. We plan on making this year awesome---with cool fish of course!

Some upcoming news for the coming months: In March we will be attending Global Expo in Orlando FL which means we will be closed from March 16-18. We will get to see all the cool new products your favorite brands are coming out with and (hopefully!) bring some back. 

We do plan on designing a custom tank for along the back wall of the store that will be interactive for our customers along with bringing in some live rock and gorgeous driftwood so that you may add to or start the design of your aquarium. We have a lot of ideas brewing! 

This week we did receive a freshwater fish and invert shipment also a ton of corals! We look forward to seeing you soon! 

For anyone who has been in, we would love to hear what you thought---Leave us a Review!

Wonderful New Additions!

We have some awesome freshwater and saltwater fish in! We also have a great selection of plants along with some corals. Come see us! We open at 11am and Close at 7pm

Booking up!

Our service schedule is booking up for the next few weeks! If you would like a complementary consult or ready to book a maintenance appointment email or call us! 

We are also taking applications for full and part-time employees! Please email your resume to info@southernaquaticslfs and specify what you are interested in and your availability. 

The end of November our doors should be open! look out for updates =]

Almost Done!

We are almost done plumbing the store! Our wonderful friend has done a fantastic job plumbing and will be done this weekend! We are hoping to start cycling the tanks next week. The amount of help and support we have received through this entire process is unbelievable. Again, we want to thank every single person who has traveled to help us, stopped by or called us! It means the world to us. We will be announcing our grand opening in a few weeks....hopefully =] 

We are coming to Roswell GA!!

We are very excited to announce that we will be opening our store, Southern Aquatics lfs in Roswell GA this Fall 2015!!! Southern Aquatics lfs has been a work in progress for 5 years. The dream of providing quality fresh and saltwater fish to the community is becoming a reality and we are so grateful for the love and support of our friends and family. We cannot wait to become YOUR local fish store!!

"Art creates an ecosystem, science keeps it alive"