Calculating Aquarium Volume in Litres

Length in cm X Width in cm X Height in cm / 1000

e.g.

Standard 4ft x 1ft x 1ft tank (120cm x 30cm x 30cm = 108000) / 1000 = 108 litres

Finding the right filter for your tank

A filter should turn over the entire contents of the tank 3-5 times per hourif your keeping tropical or coldwater fish, and 10x per hour for a marine tank

e.g.

So for a 108 litre aquarium you should consider getting a filter that has a flow rate of 500 l p/h for tropical or 1000lph for marine.

How long should you cycle a tank for before getting fish?

For a tropical tank we suggest leaving your tank runnig for a week with a small fish in it to start the nitrate cycle. A small fish will start producing ammonia which will in turn start the filter producing the bacteria required to convert the ammonia into Nitrites and then Nitrates. It is possible to accelerate this cycle by adding live bacteria. On a marine system we suggest cycling the tank for 4-6 weeks but this could vary depending on whether your using cured live rock or fresh live rock.