After a 200 gallon aquarium has been installed, it will need to be furnished. When you set up a 200 gallon aquarium, furnishing it correctly will ensure that not only does it look attractive to those viewing it, but also it will create the perfect environment for the fish and other marine life to live in.
How a person goes about furnishing a 200 gallon aquarium will depend greatly upon the kinds of marine life (corals and fish) which are placed into it. Below, we offer some advice on things you should do in order to create the ideal environment in a 200 gallon aquarium, for all forms of marine life, not just for fish.
Furnishing A 200 Gallon Aquarium – Steps To Take
Step 1 – It is important that for a 200 gallon aquarium, you use the best quality aquarium gravel, especially if you intend to put any type of natural plants into it.. This not only provides a good foundation into which natural plants can grow, but will help to keep an under gravel biological filtration system in place.
There are numerous types of gravel to select from, and it all comes in different shapes and sizes, but for a 200 gallon aquarium, it is best to go for that which is made from either granite or quartzite, and measures between four and six millimeters. This will then allow the easy flow of water over an under gravel filtration system, if you have one in such an aquarium.
Step 2 – Adding live or man made rocks to a 200 gallon aquarium, can provide shelter to some species of fish which are considered to be territorial. You however, need to be aware that when including such items into an aquarium, rocks can actually cause an imbalance in the ecosystem, which the fish and marine life are enjoying. So be prepared to take the right measures to deal with any problems that may arise.
It is crucial that before you actually place any rocks (live or otherwise) in a 200 gallon aquarium, that they are washed thoroughly. This helps to remove any contaminants that could in fact be detrimental to the health of marine life, such as corals and fish in the tank.
Step 3 – Introduction of Bogwood to a 200 gallon aquarium is crucial, as it not only creates another feature that people can enjoy looking at, but this is ideal for providing shelter to the aquatic life that is residing in it as well.
Bogwood just like the rocks you put into a 200 gallon aquarium, need to be thoroughly cleaned before they are placed into the tank. This way you will hopefully be able to get rid of most or all of the contaminants and diseases that this plant may be carrying, and which can be very detrimental to the aquatic life in the tank. The best process to cleanse Bogwood of such diseases and contaminants, is by using the poly-varnish cleaning method.
Introducing Plants To A 200 Gallon Aquarium
As you will soon discover, there are a wide variety of different plants you can add to a 200 gallon aquarium along with Bogwood, to create the ideal environment for the marine life and fish in it. The choice is whether you go for natural plants, or plastic ones which are much easier to maintain.
The big advantage of having plastic plants in a 200 gallon aquarium, is that they don’t require very much maintenance if any at all. However, you will need to wash them thoroughly, as you would if you were putting natural real plants into the aquarium. One advantage that the natural live plants have over the plastic ones, is that they are better for the tank’s eco-system and help a 200 gallon aquarium to stay cleaner, and provide a healthy environment for the aquatic life residing in it.