Search Results for: blog moving your aquarium

Hotels Helping You Stretch Your Dollar

With many hotels pushing back check-in time until 4 p.m. and moving up check-out time to 11 a.m., many travelers wonder if they are really getting their money’s worth. After all, if you are spending $250 per night on a room, you’d like to be able to use it for at least 20 hours. Some hotels are cognizant of this complaint, so while they cut back in one area, they try to compensate in others. Competition to snag travelers is heating up, especially with the busy holiday season approaching. Consequently, select properties around the world are offering free amenities to … Continue reading →

Easy Aquarium Plants for Beginners

Ready to add live plants to your aquarium? Here are a few plants that are hardy and easy to grow — perfect for beginners! Hornwort — a stem plant with spiraling forked leaves. It looks more delicate than it actually is! This plant is difficult to kill and grows very quickly — this helps slow algae growth in your tank. Amazon sword — a tall plant with very large leaves! This plant needs more sunlight than some of the others on the list, but the plant’s height helps it get the sun it needs. Because these plants are larger than … Continue reading →

Aquarium Airstone Cleaning

If you’re using an airstone to keep the water moving in your aquarium, you may want to clean it — rather than spend money on a new one when it gets clogged. Cleaning your airstone is relatively easy! What is an airstone? It is any porous material (ceramic, stone, wood, plastic) that is used to diffuse air in your aquarium. Running your air pump through an airstone creates lots of tiny bubbles, rather than a few big bubbles. This can make your filter run more efficiently. Using an airstone also helps improve water circulation through your tank. But fish (as … Continue reading →

DIY Aquarium Leak Fixes

Has your glass aquarium sprung a leak? All is not lost yet… here’s a relatively easy way to fix a small leak in your tank. Most leaks happen at the joints — where two panes of glass meet. If your glass aquarium is leaking from a crack in the glass itself, you might have an easier time just getting a new aquarium! Here’s what you’ll need: A felt tip marker, like a Sharpie. Razor blades (the kind without a handle). Paper towels or a soft cloth. A residue remover like acetone. A tube of 100 silicone sealant. Conditioned/prepared water to … Continue reading →

DIY Aquarium Backgrounds

Feeling artistic? Think about painting your own aquarium background. Why use an aquarium background? It adds color to your home and aquarium — there are many different backgrounds available at your local pet store or online retailer. Find one to coordinate with your room. It helps hide wires. It helps hide aquarium equipment. Already have fish in your tank? No problem — you’re not painting on the inside of the tank. Paint on the inside surface of the tank can be very harmful to your fish. Here’s what you’ll need: Glass or acrylic cleaners (plain old water and vinegar works … Continue reading →

Cloudy Aquarium Water

If the water in your aquarium doesn’t look quite right, you may have something wrong! Your tank water isn’t supposed to be cloudy, white, green, or yellow. White or gray cloudy aquarium water could be caused by dust from gravel or sand. Always rinse your substrate thoroughly before adding it to your aquarium. With sand, this can be tricky! Give your tank a day or two for dust particles to settle. White or gray cloudy aquarium water could be caused by a bacterial bloom or by adding too many fish too soon (before the nitrogen cycle has finished). Give the … Continue reading →

What Is In Your Tank Water?

The water in your tropical aquarium is more than just hydrogen and oxygen — there is a lot of other stuff going on in your tank. Understanding some basics will help you provide a safe and healthy environment for your fish. There are two types of bacteria that may live in your tank: aerobic and anaerobic. The aerobic kind of bacteria needs oxygen to live. The anaerobic kind of bacteria can live without (or just does not need) oxygen. You will want to invest in an aquarium testing kit (or separate kits to test for separate things) that checks for … Continue reading →

The Pets Blog Week in Review for Sep 24-30

Happy first day of October! Does that make you think the same thing I’m thinking? “When the heck did that happen? Where’s the year going? It’ll be Christmas before I know it!” Well, I don’t know where the year is going, and, yes, Christmas will be here before we know it. However, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s pause. Catch our breath. Slow down. There, that’s better. Now, in case time was moving so fast that you missed anything Aimee or myself happened to write about last week in the Pets Blog, here’s your chance to catch … Continue reading →

What to Consider When Getting a Potbelly Pig

Over a year ago I looked at the teacup pig as a rare pet. But what if you want to adopt a potbellied pig as a pet? What do you need to know before bringing one into your home? First: check your zoning laws. For some reason potbelly pigs are sometimes not allowed in certain areas, so be absolutely sure that your local zoning laws allow you to keep a potbellied pig as a pet. Potbellies live for 10-15 years, so be sure you can make that commitment. Be careful from whom you buy or adopt your pig. You want … Continue reading →

Travel Tips for Parents with Preschoolers

Traveling with your preschooler this summer? Then, consider the following tips to help ensure your trip is void of major roadblocks: CARSEAT RULES It doesn’t matter if you are visiting Chicago and want to travel via taxi with your kids from your hotel on Wacker Street to the Shedd Aquarium a few miles away or if you are in Honolulu and need to get from Ala Moana Beach Park to the zoo in Waikiki, your little ones need to be strapped in a child safety seat to do so. No matter how inconvenient. While child restraint laws vary according to … Continue reading →