Month: November 2018

Decorating Your Aquarium, Using Roots, Cork, Peat, And Reeds, And The Deep Sea World Of Scotland Aquarium

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Decorating Your Aquarium. The most decorative and important decision you can make in an aquarium is the use of plants. Many people prefer plastic plants for maintenance ease; however, these plants do not aid in gas exchanges (oxygen and carbon dioxide). When used, other means of gas exchange must be used.

Plants are so much more than just decorative features in your aquarium and you should take as much care choosing them as you do choosing your fish. Some aquarists even go so far as to believe that they are more important than the fish. Plants are not appropriate for all aquariums, because some large fish dig so hard in the gravel or sand that plants can’t survive. Other fish are plant eaters. In either of these instances, an aquarium can only be decorated with decorative stones and roots.

If you simply must use live plants in these two instances, use ferns, fish reluctantly eat ferns.

Substrate, the under layer on the bottom of your aquarium is another source of derision among aquarists. One thing is certain that fertilizing with humus or peat is totally wrong! It leads to rotting spots in the substrate, which causes plant roots to die.

Fine gravel, between 1 and 5 mm has proven itself suitable for plant growth. It is better for the grains to be a little too large than too small. Many people feel it is better to cover the finer gravel with a layer of coarser gravel. Whether to add fertilizer to the substrate is a source of debate, and you should make this decision after much study.

Rocks are essential when decorating an aquarium. When used properly, they can act as a disguise for unattractive filters and heaters. When stacked they make wonderful caves and hiding holes for fish that wish to use them. They can be used to build terraces and for shaping the substrate! If they are chosen with care they are quite beautiful. A little tip is to wet the rock before you buy it, this way you can see what it will look like under water!

Using Roots, Cork, Peat, and Reeds
The dead roots of alders, oaks, and beeches are excellent for decorating your aquarium. The more bizarre god pine wood is especially useful because these roots have rested in the peat bog soil for a very long time.

However, before using boil them thoroughly. This not only kills the germs and small living creatures you don’t want in your aquarium; but, it also forces enough air out to cause the roots to sink to the bottom of your aquarium. Dry roots will need to be soaked long enough for them to absorb water. Choose the smaller pieces of wood because it is easy to get too much in the aquarium when selecting the woods.

Directing the air roots of some house plants is another way to decorate your aquarium as they branch beautifully and remove some of the nitrates from the water. Cork bark is chemically neutral and won’t give off any noxious tank chemicals. Cork never loses its buoyancy regardless of how long you soak it; therefore, it needs to be weighted to stay on the bottom. You may also glue it with rubber cement prior to decorating; but, remember it will be impossible to move if you don’t like its location.

Cork boards can be very useful for decorating the back wall or building terraces. Peat should only be put in an aquarium in certain cases. Some peats are woven with wood and create a beautiful rear wall. Be aware that peat disintegrates after a short period of time; gives off tannic acid, which acidifies the water; and also tends to discolor the water.

Reeds are wonderful to replicate a rice paddy by using small pieces of bamboo or pepper reeds to decorate. Use varying sizes and plant them in small groups to simulate the natural growth of reeds. Your imagination is the only thing that limits the ideas you can use in your aquarium.

Remember one thing though, shells from the ocean tend to harden the water, and should not be used in fresh water tanks.

Deep Sea World of Scotland Aquarium

There is always something new at the Deep Sea World of Scotland Aquarium located beneath the world-famous Forth Rail Bridge, North Queensferry in Fife.

Deep Sea World has two seal pools, one to care for injured and rescued seals brought to them by the SPCA, while the other houses the permanent seal residents of Deep Sea World.

The resident seals consist of the two species of seals commonly breed around the UK, the grey seal and the common or harbor seal. The facilities are able to care for up to 10 pups for the time it takes them to gain weight, so they can be released back into the wild. One to two months is the standard time period.

One function of Deep Sea World is to assist the SPCA in rehabilitating and returning seals to their natural habitat, thus giving them the best chance of survival. Deep Sea World also provides a Shark Awareness Course. This course is for qualified divers and aids their knowledge and understanding of how to dive safely around sharks. It is a full day in length and provides lunch and lectures on conservation and shark biology. Each day ends with a dive in the shark tank which includes one of Europe’s largest collections of tiger sharks.

The Underwater Tunnel holds a million gallons of water, and is one of the longest underwater tunnels in the world. The curve of the 2.6-inch (6.5-cm) acrylic causes everything to appear about 30% smaller which sends the imagination of visitors reeling when they look at the sizes of the large sharks on display! How big are they really?

More Information On Frogspawn Coral – With Special Emphasis On Its Housing And Care

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The frogspawn coral is a large polyp stony coral species which is typically characterized by the visibility of its polyps throughout the day and night. This coral species is generally green or brown in color and has a unique appearance – both of which combine to make it one of the most sought after coral species for reef aquariums. If you are one of those people who are contemplating the idea of adding this species to your reef aquarium setup, you will get well versed with all the tips and tricks of frogspawn coral care as you go through this writeup.

Frogspawn Coral Facts

The frogspawn species derives its name from the fact that its polyps resemble a frog or fish eggs to certain extent. Other than the name frogspawn, this species is also referred to as the grape coral or the octopus coral. The habitat of a frogspawn coral spans across the deep waters of Red Sea, Samoa, Indo-Pacific, Solomon Islands and etc. These marine organisms play a crucial role in formation of coral reefs which have an important role to play when it comes to biodiversity of the planet. This is one of the most aggressive species of coral in the world, and thrives best in stable or moderate flow water. In its natural habitat, the frogspawn coral species does not require direct feeding owing to its symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae. The relationship between frogspawn coral and zooxanthellae is the best examples of mutualism; wherein the former gets benefited from photosynthesis carried out by zooxanthellae and the latter gets benefited by nitrogen produced by the coral species. The long tentacles of the frogspawn coral are armed with Nematocysts – a type of venomous cell, which helps it capture food. This food can either be digested on-site itself or brought to the coral’s mouth for feeding.

Frogspawn Coral Care

Experts put the frogspawn coral in the list of species which are moderately difficult to care for, mainly owing to their requirements. The frogspawn coral will only thrive well if the necessary conditions are provided to facilitate its growth. It will grow well in water with pH level ranging between 8.1-8.4 and hardness of 8 to 12 dH. In order to facilitate proper frogspawn coral growth you will have to make sure that the temperature in its habitat ranges between 75F-82F. You will also have to make sure that the aquarium in which you house this species has moderate to high lighting and moderate flow of water.

You need to take note of the fact that the frogspawn species is quite aggressive when it comes to interaction with other coral types. The frogspawn coral species has an amazing ability of extending its lengthy sweeper tentacles as far as six inches beyond its base. In this process, it can also sting other coral species in the reef aquarium which are within its reach. That being said, you have to take special precautions when it comes frogspawn coral placement. Ideally, you should make sure that you leave enough space between the frogspawn and other species of corals in your reef aquarium to make sure that they don’t harm each other.

The diet of frogspawn coral species comprises of small marine animals such as shrimp, krill and etc. If you house a frogspawn in your reef aquarium, you can feed it the same food. Basically, this feeding has a crucial role to play when it comes to frogspawn coral growth and color. Owing to their voracious feeding habit, you will require to give it some calcium and strontium supplements as well. Even though it depends on photosynthesis facilitated by zooxanthellae in the wild, you will have to make sure that you provide it with necessary nutrients in reef aquarium.

That was a significant bit of information on frogspawn coral – with special reference to some facts that you need to know if you intend to add it to your reef aquarium. If you don’t give the frogspawn necessary attention in terms of the basic requirements mentioned above, you will notice that it will start fading – which is a sign of your frogspawn coral dying. A healthy frogspawn has very bright vibrant colors. The simplest way to make sure that it stays healthy is to follow all the measures of frogspawn coral care given above religiously.

Read more related post:
Know About Aquascaping the Reef Aquarium
How to Clean Aquarium Equipment

Cape Town’s Green Season

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Cape Town has become a highly acclaimed international destination and is a desirable South African destination for tourists. The South African summer occurs with winter in the Northern hemisphere; which entices large numbers of tourists o Cape Town during December /January at the same tome as the local people take their annual holiday to enjoy the wonderful beaches , amazing scenery, and wonderful attractions. The results is in difficulty in securing affordable holiday accommodation, high prices; slow traffic laden roads and overloaded facilities.
Most tourists visit South Africa between November to April, which is why the rainy season which is Winter in Cape Town is known as the Green season – stretching from late Autumn (May) to Spring
( October). During the winter months in Cape Town tourist attractions are not very busy and there is little traffic. Restaurant proprietors will accord a warm personal welcome to their establishment. This is the season where one will find the lowest Cape Town accommodation rates, and many restaurants offer winter specials to entice clients. Care hire is usually much cheaper at this time.

Surprisingly it is not always cold in winter in Cape Town; the average daytime temperature ranges from 10 to 20 degrees C, with many warm and windless days where the temperature rises above the 20s. (70 degrees F). During this time there are may lovely, warm sunny days with cool evenings. Cape Town does have winter rainfall but recently rain seems to have become more dispersed throughout the year. It can, however, often rain for successive days on end.

Winter is when the Cape is visited by the annual Whale migration, and many whales are to be seen in False Bay from July to October. In September the self proclaimed Whale capital of South Africa Hermanus, hosts the eagerly anticipated Whales and Wheels festival- being able to see these huge creature close up makes a holiday in the winter worthwhile. False Bay, Cape Town affords great opportunity for watching whales at close proximity where the road follows the coast. It is very exciting to see the great tails (flukes) of these gargantuan creatures as they frolic in the bay.

If one is faced with cold wet, winter days there are many indoor attractions to enjoy , including these
family activities.

Simonstown has the famous Warrior Toy Museum enjoyed by kids of all age, with its exhibition of toys, scale model die cast cars, boats, trains, soldiers, airplanes dolls, and other toys. There is a working train display.

The Scratch Patch, in Simonstown has a ground floor with a huge cave, the floor of which is strewn with polished semi-precious gem stones. For a small cost you can fill a bag or cup with gemstones to take away .

Castle of Good Hope : Cape Towns impressive stone was built around 1666- 1669, by the Dutch settlers. This massive stone fort has tours of the dungeons, and includes military and nautical exhibits and a collection of historic art and artworks..

Cape Town has many museums. The most popular with is the South African Museum. Exhibits include huge skeletons of various species of dinosaur, as well as beautifully recreated dinosaur scenes.
There is a collection of whale and skeletons, which can be viewed from all floors, and includes a 20.5 metre blue whale skeleton, and casts other whales.
The museum also has many natural history exhibits as well as Shark World exhibit with a life-size, 2+ meter high model of the jaws of the Megatooth Shark, probably the largest predator the world has ever known.
The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (V&A Waterfront) is the most popular attraction of Cape Town. On rainy days the highlight for children is surely the Two Oceans Aquarium. There are many fascinating and colourful fish exhibits in tanks, but everyone loves to gaze at the shoals of fish and sharks swimming past the glass sides of the underwater tanks . Penguin feedings are popular with families.

Canal Walk is a just a short drive toward the West Coast highway from Cape Town, and can keep your family busy for a whole day. The MTN Science Centre is an interactive science centre where kids can have fun, while learning about scientific discoveries and technological innovations. Canal Walk is the largest regional shopping mall in Africa, with an impressive range of shops, restaurants, and cinemas. Children will enjoy the Place of Play which is the largest indoor and outdoor play park in South Africa. It has almost every type of fun activity including a huge jungle gym and laser beam room, and even a teddy bear stuffing machine.

Groot Constantia offers an enjoyable family venue. This beautiful wine estate with it 300 year old manor house offers Treasure hunts which gives kids the opportunity to explore and learn more about this historical Estate. Cellar Tours are also offered. The manor house is a magnificent example of Cape Dutch architecture open to the public and houses a collection of period furniture and ceramics.

Coincidentally, this coincides with the prime safari season in Southern Africa, so if you are planning a safari in the Winter or Spring, include Cape Town in your itinerary, and take advantage of low available winter special accommodation rates.