Wednesday, March 23, 1994 - North Shore News - 51 VEMENT Adding an aquarium adds life to your home IT BRIGHTENS a dark corner beautifully, adds life to an empty wall and adds a unique decoritive touch to any room, It also makes 4a great pet. as well as a wonderful conversation piece. In fact, a recent study concluded that it is even beneficial in reliev- ing stress. What is it? It is an aquarium filled with tropical fish. Owning a home aquariuin obvi- ously has many positive benefits. “Many aquariums are being enjoyed across the country in homes, Offices, restaurants and hotels. Undoubtedly you have seen at Jeast one and ray have wondered, “How do I or my youngsters get started?” Kids love tropical {1 and easily get involved in the sim- ple maintenance. First, you will want to locate a good dealer in vour area. 17 you have a friend who has an aquarium, ask for a reference, The phone book also lists most fish retailers. During your visit to a pet store. you will want to get some ideas on aquarium sizes and on the equip- ment you will need, and tock over the selection of the fish so that you can choose the ones you will want to keep. lv is advisable to purchase a -book that provides complete instructions on setting up and maintaining an aquarium. One basic rule to follow, how- ever is to buy the largest aquarium possible since, the greater the _ water environment, the less chance of water problems. The best place to put it When determining where to put your aquarium, several factors should be considered. You will not want to pul it in,direct sunlight since this will cause algae to grow on the glass and plastic acces- sorics. You also wiil not want to put it on your best carpeting since, dur- ing water changes, it is possible for some water to splash on the floor. You will be sure to want to put it on a firm stand since water is heavy. After you have decided on the aquarium, your first accessory will be a tightly fitting canopy cover equipped with a fluorescent fixture. Fluorescent fixtures throw off a cool light and will not cause Muctu- ations in the water temperature. While on the subject of water temperature, tropical fish require an environment maintained at around 75°F (25°C). You therefore will need a good heater and an aquarium thermometer. A recent development in this technology is the liquid crystal dig- ital thermometer which affixes to the outside of the aquarium yet measures most accurately the water temperature. You will also need a quality fil- ter, Your dealer can give you proper advice since there are several types of filters and your needs will vary with the size of your aquarium. If you are going to keep a lot of fish, you will also want a separate air pump to add oxygen to the water. Aquarium interior design Decorating an aquarivza is great fun. There are multi-colored gray- els, highly decorative backgrounds and hundreds of ornaments, as well as plastic plants so real in repro- duction it’s almost impossible to distinguish them from live plants. _Most good retailers will have a complete assortment and your * selection should be based on the size of your aquarium and the amount of money you decide to spend. Once you have set up your aquarium, you should add a chio-’ rine neutralizer to the water and add only a few fish initially. After Choose paint colors that accent the house Frontpage 47 light as a decorative element. For example, instead of simply replac- ing your windows with the same style, install a bay. bow or picture window. Add a circle top to an ordinary window, or turn a wall into a win- dow wall. For true design flexibili- ty, your best bet is thermally effi- cient custom-made windows. Coordinating colors Like texture, color can have ¢ dramatic impact on your home’s exterior look. The colors and tex- tures you choose should compie- ment each other. : Consider the two largest exteri- or elements. roofing and siding, together —~ and keep a few basic color rules in mind. For example, light colors can help make a home look farger while darker colors tend to make a home appear smaller. ff your home has an exterior feature you want to accent, it is best to use a warm, bright color. Additionally, studies have shown that warmer colors appear to advance, while bolder. cooler col- ors tend to recede. Of course, waking up your home's sleeping beauty will only a be worthwhile if you do so with products thar do an outstanding job of satisfying their primary purpose — that of protecting your home from the elements and reducing maintenance time and costs. Ideally youl! want to choose products that offer the right combi- nation of qualify durability, perfor- mance and aesthetics. ONLY REGENCY three to four Weeks you can go ahead and add the rest of the fish. Aquarium maintenance is a fot simpler than people think. Every two weeks a partial water change (not greater than 20%) by siphon- ing the water fram the bottom of the aquarium is all that is required. “VALANCES * BEDSPREADS s foe [ | ‘KNOWS FOR SURE You won't believe its not a woodstove when you see the lively yellow flarne and beautiful hand crafted logs. Enjoy the luxury of controllable, constant gas heat: able to keep you warm during the long winter nights. And Regency operates during power outages! BEAT THE PRICE INCREASE Ona monthly basis, your filter will require minimal maintenance. That's all there is. Following this simple routine, chances of lish disease or any other aquarium problems are remote. In fact, one of the bigeest problems people have is spending too much i | i , JOE’S FIREPLACE PRODUCTS LTD GAS & WOODSTOVES 1394 Main Street, N. Van. 251-7 654, 984-4059 time maintaining their aquarium, On a daily basis, of course. fish should be fed and a good quality flake food will provide a complete diet for almost all fish. Tropical fish are beautiful — they are cusy to maintain and pro- vide a lifetime hobby. '* BURNABY 5432-1197 ALDERGROVE - 856-6660 CLEARBROOK - 852-4900 -CHILLIWACK - 858-5116 | COQUITLAM - 464-2136 COURTENAY:-COMOX « 338-4944 KAMLOOPS - 374-6737 KELOWNA - 840-6699 KERRISDALE/GCAKRIDGE 261-9592 LADNER/TSAWWASSEN - 948-0417 LADYSMITH/CHEMAINUS - 735-7759 LANGLEY /CLOVERDALE - 533-5288 MAPLE RIDGE - 463-1283 NANAIMO - 753-7877 NEW WESTMINSTER - 540-8055 NORTH DELTA - 5490-1677 NORTH VANCOUVER - 984-4407 PORT ALBERNI - 732-5777 PARKSVILLEQUALICUM - 248-2231 RICHMOND - 273-4417 SUnREY/GUILDFORD - 584-7121 VANCOUVERWESISIDE - 736-8541 * MICTORIA:- 475-3221 WEST VANCOUVER - 925-3655 WHITE ROCK/SOUTH SURREY - 536-5598 CALGARY, ALBERTA Crowchild - 286-3295 | Westhitls - 240-0111 Willow Park - 271-3770 EDMONTON, ALBERTA Mayfield Common - 444-0422 South Park - 436-6370 CON [4 Create a wood fire atmosphere [ Operates without electricity [9 Modulating thermostat {1 Gold Door 2 Economical Cleanburning Heat. [1 Optional Fan egency~ " FIREPLACE PRODUCTS