Do You Know What Makes A Natural Aquarium Different From An Artificial One?

By Tayo Solagbade

This article is based on adapted excerpts from an ebook I wrote back in 2003 as a marketing tool for my custom self-cleaning aquariums systems (described on this site - see navigation links on the left) which I have sold as teaching and learning aids to educational institutions. I decided to re-title it as above in order to draw attention to the powerful advantages inherent in adopting Natural Aquariums by interested person. If you like what you learn, please refer it to others.

Preamble

My study of the aquarium hobby/business in developed societies,(as compared to ours) has consistently shown most people involved in it to be well “educated”(and continually seeking to know more!) about the finest details of what is required to successfully practice it. In Nigeria, as is often the case with most trends we adopt, we jumped into aquarium hobby/business without getting to grips with the fundamentals needed to intelligently interact on it, and even contribute to its improvement.

I’ll start by giving you my personal description of what an aquarium is. This derives from my personal experience from active involvement in both the hobby and the business. An aquarium is a miniature version of a real-life aquatic ecosystem (often) created in a glass enclosure for the purpose of holding live aquatic organisms (like fish) as pets. A REAL aquarium must be able to sustain aquatic life. If it cannot, then it cannot fulfil its basic purpose!

Nigerians’ Misconceptions About Aquariums

Many times I have heard people who had spent part of their youth trying their hands on the hobby say, “Ah, this aquarium thing is nice, but takes too much work to keep it going. It’s just not meant for us here in Nigeria. We need to get food to eat first before trying to keep decorative fish”. Others say “I used to build aquariums when I was in school, and I would sell it to people, but it soon went out of fashion”.

A great majority of Nigerians appear to have these kinds of misconceptions about aquariums generally. Yes, that’s what they are: gross misconceptions deriving from a lack of sound and proper “education” on how aquariums work, the types and ranges of aquariums available, and their peculiar features. This article aims to provide some “education” needed by those guilty of the above-mentioned “sins”!

Who Says Aquariums Need “Too” Much Attention?

Some Nigerians complain about the need to periodically open up and clean aquariums. Like I earlier mentioned, we have a penchant for jumping into new areas without doing much preliminary self-education about what is required to succeed (Just like we’ve now taken to the Internet). I have found that many Nigerians – regardless of educational background or social status - do not know that there are generally 2 basic types of aquariums: Artificial & Natural.

And for those who claim they do, many cannot competently explain (or demonstrate) the difference between the two! Aquariums most frequently built, sold and kept by Nigerians in Nigeria are often the artificial type. Why? It could be that was the first type introduced into the country. And true to our legendary unwillingness to explore, we’ve simply continued with it without improving on it, or seeking better alternatives.

How Artificial And Natural Aquariums Differ

Let me illustrate this with a short story. Some months back, I visited the Principal of a leading group of schools in Lagos to market my Self-Cleaning Aquarium Systems – as teaching/learning aids. When I told the secretary my reason for coming, she quickly replied that they had just bought an aquarium for the school, and that if I had come earlier, they might have ordered from me.

But knowing that many people did not know the difference between the different types, I asked her if what they bought was natural or artificial, and explained to her what the differences were. She looked at me with a confused expression on her face and said, “Ah, I don’t know O. It was bought by one of our science teachers. You’ll probably need to speak with the principal to ascertain that”.

Later I was ushered in to speak with the principal who expressed interest in the unique differences I pointed out (as I suspected, they had purchased an artificial one), and the obvious advantages the natural type had over the artificial type.

When it came to pricing, she wanted me to lower my fees saying it was too expensive compared to the artificial one. So I asked her “How many times have you had to open and clean the one you bought since you’ve had it”? She said about 3 times in 3 months. I then told her that the natural aquarium made it unnecessary to open up and clean it.

All that would periodically be needed to keep it looking beautiful, with good management, is well spaced siphoning of debris from the gravel bi-monthly. (I do mine monthly, or even later, yet my aquarium stays beautiful, and is now over 11 months old. Others that I have seen are over 3 years old). Also, you are not dependent on an aerator/filter which if not kept running in an artificial aquarium could result in fish deaths (when NEPA strikes). These, and other features explained the pricing adopted.

How Do Natural Aquariums Work?

As I earlier mentioned, natural aquariums by their very nature are basically self-cleaning (i.e. their water is kept clean/clear via biological means, making opening up unnecessary). This is due to the presence of deliberately cultivated “friendly bacterial colonies” which break down fish wastes/other particles into clear non-toxic by-products.

That, coupled with live aquatic plants (which supply pure dissolved oxygen via photosynthesis, and utilise nutrients from broken down fish wastes) in the natural aquarium make it easier to keep fish alive/healthy with minimal work required on the part of the owner.

With artificial aquariums you are doomed to regular (often monthly or more frequent) cleaning to avoid build up of ugly green algae, accumulation of toxic fish wastes etc. So, anyone who wishes to complain about aquariums requiring much work must specify WHAT KIND he/she is referring to.

My 13-gallon aquarium/fish hardly demand 2 minutes of my time daily (for feeding). And as I earlier mentioned, only every other month or so, do I really bother to do gravel cleaning using a 1 inch hose to siphon out accumulated debris from between the gravel/top the water in the aquarium (takes 10 minutes at the worst!).

Poor Science Education Is The Problem

It is the predominantly theoretical basic science education that most Nigerians receive in school that makes them unable to understand how science-based concepts like aquarium systems work - causing them to conclude it’s too difficult a hobby.

In school we learn about the Nitrogen cycle for instance, but never get to apply that learning to real-life. Some of us never see a live butterfly pupa till (if we’re lucky) after we leave school! Yet we successfully reproduce textbook sketches of it in passing our final exams!

There are numerous books/articles on Internet sites which if read, would quickly educate you on virtually everything you need to know about aquariums. The problem is most Nigerians dislike READING & THINKING, including anything or anyone that seeks to make them do those things!

A Glass Tank Is Not An Aquarium - PLEASE!

A set of glass sheets cut to specific sizes and glued together to make a tank using silicone sealant, will NOT become an aquarium. That would simply be an enclosure in which an aquarium system can be established. When many Nigerians boast that they “build” aquariums, this is what they refer to! Now that is quite silly really, because if you do not know how to successfully achieve something close to a truly balanced ecosystem in that tank, fish will not be able to LIVE in it(LIVE here connotes permanence – not a few months, after which they die!).

And if fish cannot live in the tank, it cannot be called an aquarium! In Nigeria many “wrong” people are operating aquarium businesses. To tell them apart from true practitioners, just invite them to resolve problems like “cloudiness” in your aquarium (which could be caused by bacteria or algae etc – each one requiring different investigation techniques/questioning to verify and correct), for instance, and you’ll begin to appreciate my point.

You Need To Learn About The Fish To Keep

The type of fish or mix of fishes you decide to keep should be arrived at, based on an understanding of various factors – such as physical attributes (beauty etc), tolerance to other fish, reproductive tendencies, hardiness etc. How do you learn all this? Well, you either meet a true/experienced hobbyist or professional (not exactly in large numbers in Nigeria) or you read up/study, investigate and experiment (again, something most Nigerians don’t like doing).

Still Think It’s “Work”? Then It’s Just NOT For You!

Lastly, if after reading all I’ve so far said, you still feel it’s too much work to keep aquariums, or believe “it can’t work in Nigeria” then it is unlikely that you can become a true hobbyist or professional. That would be okay, but you might want to stop saying it won’t work, since you are most likely to end up embarrassing yourself when others (like me) actively engaged in it, prove otherwise!

To be a successful hobbyist, in any area of life, you must truly LOVE the objects of your hobby. In other words, you will ALWAYS look forward to the time you spend tending to/caring for them. In effect, what is “too much” time to you, will, for a hobbyist be just right or even too little to spend caring for fish in his/her aquarium. In developed societies, they have aquarists’ associations; explore breeding of various species of fishes for better attributes, share ideas and even hold competitions.

Whether or not we are hungry in Nigeria, and need food fish, there will always be people who enjoy keeping ornamental fishes in aquariums. Ironically, most Nigerians seem to find nothing wrong with sending representatives to annual beauty pageants, even though other Nigerians can barely get three square meals to eat!

Truth is, it’s all about choices, and the fact that life has to go on. For those who are nature lovers, and have curious minds, aquariums provide an excellent medium to explore. I invite you to join us in exploring the world of aquariums as is unique to us here in Nigeria!

Click here to go to the direct downloads page on my main site, and download the Acrobat PDF version of this article with the title : Think You Know Everything About Aquariums? Read This And.…Decide If You Should Still Be Making Such A Claim.