Aquarium Science – The Science of Aquariums

Picture of an aquarium fish Symphysodon aequifasciatus, discus — Symphysodon aequifasciatus, discus

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Author: David Bogert

Index: 1 Basics, 2 Cycling, 3 Food, 4 Water, 5 Toxins, 6 Filtration, 7 Media, 8 Filters, 9 Aeration, 10 Diseases, 11 Symptoms, 12 Treatment, 13 Stocking, 14 Equipment, 15 Plants, 16 Algae, 17 Fish, 18 Maintenance

This is a website dedicated to freshwater aquariums. It is based on SCIENCE AND LOGIC, not on parroted internet “advice”, anecdotal “It worked great for me“, or the marketing hype of some profit-driven marketer.

What needs to be emphasized is that this research has pointed out that there are a huge number of ways to be successful with freshwater aquariums. The aquarium is a natural system and Mother Nature is very flexible. One does not need to invest huge amounts of money and time in fish-keeping to have beautiful tanks. Nor does one need to do a ton of research before getting into the hobby. And above all, there is simply no “right way” to do things in this hobby.

So if one is a newcomer to the hobby just relax and enjoy it. If you obsess over every detail and believe all the negativity on social media along the lines of “don’t do this or you will kill your fish” you will not enjoy the hobby and you will leave in relatively short order.

There are 18 chapters leading to over 400 articles on almost all aspects of keeping a freshwater aquarium. These articles have NO links to profit-making sites and thus have no “questionable motivations” in their recommendations, unlike all the for-profit sites you will find with Google. Note I do admit a bias against several companies which blatantly use huge amounts of egregious “pseudoscientific bedazzlement” to sell worthless aquarium products. I can’t help it.

Bookmark and browse! Note that a search bar at the bottom of each page allows one to search the entire site for any particular subject. Note that the entire website is “open” in that any written material can be freely quoted and used without regard to copyrights.

Picture of an aquarium fish Astronotus ocellatus, Oscars — Astronotus ocellatus, Oscars

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Multilevel Information

This website is designed in descending levels of difficulty, the first level on any given subject which is very simple, a second more complicated level, in some cases going all the way down to sixth and seventh levels which can be very wordy, convoluted and difficult. Note that because each article has to stand on it own in this hierarchy, we often repeat ourselves as we go from simple to complex explanations.

First Level: Keeping it Simple

We start out with a very simple fifteen-point list of what to do with a new aquarium, This simple list can be found in the article:

Aquarium Basics

Second Level

Then we add a second level of complexity when we discuss three very important topics: chlorine, cycling, and the amount of food in this link:

1.1. Guidelines for Beginners

Third Level: Guidelines for Beginners

Then we add a third level of complexity when we give condensed versions of various topics in articles 1.1.1. to 1.1.14.

1.1.1. What to do with Your First Aquarium

1.1.2. A Simple Way to Cycle an Aquarium

1.1.3. Fish Food Simplified

1.1.4. Water Parameters

1.1.5. Filters for the Newbie

1.1.6. Filter Media

1.1.7. Aeration

1.1.8. Stocking a Tank

1.1.9. Brown Algae in a New Tank

1.1.10. Plants and the New Hobbyist

1.1.11. The Most Common Fish Disease – Ich

1.1.12. How to Make Fish Thrive

1.1.12.1. Guideline Example

1.1.13. Fish for the Beginner

1.1.14. Aquarium Maintenance

Image of aquarium fish Central American Cichlids — Central American Cichlids

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Fourth Level: Basic Fishkeeping

Then there are the rather verbose general interest articles in the “Basics of Fishkeeping” section 1.2. though 1.7., the fourth level of difficulty.

1.2. 150 Myths

1.3. Marketing Hype

1.4. Sources of Data

1.5. Aquarium Options

1.6. Causes of Rapid Fish Deaths

1.7. Causes of Slow Fish Deaths

Fifth and Sixth Levels: Fishkeeping in Depth

Then there is the fifth level of difficulty in the 18 chapters seen at the top of this article in maroon (also seen either below this section [mobile use] or on the right side [computer screen]). These 18 “chapters” then lead to the sixth level of over 400 “articles” on various aquarium subjects.

Seventh and Eighth Levels: The Scientific Research Papers

Some of these articles have a seventh and even an eighth level of difficulty which delve into the basic science underlying the hobby with many scientific journal articles, book excerpts, and other references. These are long and tedious dissertations only for real aquarium nerds like the author.

Hierarchy

The articles are arranged in a hierarchy. Take the three articles on nitrate for instance. The main article “5. Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and Chlorine” is a general overview. This article links at the bottom of its 5. article to the hyperlink “5.4. Safe Nitrate Levels”. The article, “5.4. Safe Nitrate Levels”, talks only about nitrate. At the bottom of the 5.4. article, there is a link to the article “5.4.1. Nitrate in Depth”. This final 5.4.1. article is a very boring, verbose, and lengthy look at the scientific papers on nitrate. This is a very typical “hierarchy”.

The Author

The author’s credentials are in the following article

97. Author of Aquariumscience.org

Image of an aquarium fish Lake Malawi Peacock Hybrids

The listing of some eighteen chapters in maroon either below or to the right side leads to over four hundred articles on all aspects of keeping tropical fish. These articles have NO links to profit-making sites and are thus unbiased in their recommendations, unlike all the for-profit sites one will find with Google. Bookmark and browse.