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The Citizen, 1987-02-25, Page 19THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1987. PAGE 19. Aquariums add beauty, relaxation to home Bring a little of the outdoors, indoors with a colorful, lively aquarium. A great way to add to the enjoyment of indoor living is by adding a touch of outdoors. And a home aquarium is the perfect way tobring live outdoor enjoyment and added decor to any indoor living area. There are many positives to owning a home aquarium. First, it is always a “conversation piece'' because of its attractiveness and the beauty of the fish and decorative accessories such as plants and ornaments. Second, it is a family hobby, great for educating yougsters both in maintaining “life’’ and in assuming responsibility. Third, Save money: clean sand paper Sanding is part of a large percentage of do-it-yourself home projects, not the least of which is the refinishing of furniture. Whatever the reason for the sanding, most do-it-yourselfers are unaware thatsanding belts, drums, discs and sheets can be cleaned, which means you don’t have to discard your sandpaper when it becomes clogged, any more than you would throw away a wood chisel when it becomes dull. Cleaning abrasives extends their life many times over, depend­ ing on the material being sanded and how frequently the grit is cleaned. Abrasive cleaning tools come in many sizes and shapes to fit almost any application. Handheld, stick­ type cleaners work on both port- ableandbenchpowertools, but there are many other models for mounting on a bench. There’s no big deal about the cleaning procedure. You hold the abrasive cleaner against the runn­ ing belt, disc or drum until the friction causes the surface of the cleaner to heat up and become sticky, which takes from 8 to 12 seconds. The sticky substance pulls the new aquarium life support equip­ ment is noiseless and easy to maintain, making a home aquar­ ium even more appealing. And last, a recent study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania proved that watch­ ing fish in an aquarium is a definite benefit to relieving stress. How do you get started? First, you will want to locate a good dealer in your area. If you have a friend who has an aquarium, ask for a reference; otherwise the telephone book lists most tropical fish retailers. During your visit to a tropical fish store, you will want to get some material from between the abra­ sive grains. You can do this over and over again without harm to either the abrasive or the power tool. What about hand-sanding blocks and orbital sanders? You simply stroke the cleaner across the paper in one direction repeat­ edly. Of course, be sure to unplug the orbital tool before you do any cleaning. Files and rasps can be cleaned the same way; be certain to push the cleaner across the cutting teeth. The abrasive cleaner itself is safe, but when using it with a power tool, wear safety goggles to protect your eyes and keep loose clothing and your fingers away from moving parts on the power tool. Do-it-yourself woodworkers are also often unaware of the many kinds of abrasive cords and tapes on the market. They are excellent for hard-to- reach areas. How many times, when doing wood-finishing jobs, have you come across narrow slots and grooves, small holes and curved surfaces that are difficult to sand? ideas on aquarium sizes, on the equipment you will need, and look over the selection of the fish so that you can choose the ones you will want to keep. It is advisable to purchase a book that provides complete instructions on setting up and maintaining an aquarium. However, one important rule is to buy the largest aquarium practical since the greater the water envir­ onment, the less chance of water problems. When determining where to put your aquarium, several factors should be considered. You will not want to put it in the direct sunlight since this will cause algae to grow on the glass and plastic accessor­ ies. You also may not want to put on your best carpeting since during water changes it is possible for some water to splash on the floor. You also should be sure to put your aquarium on a firm stand since water is heavy. Afteryou have decided on the aquarium, your first accessory will be a tightly fitting canopy cover equipped with a fluorescent fix­ ture. Fluorescent fixtures throw off a cool light and will not cause fluctuations in the water tempera­ ture. While we are on the subject of the water temperature, tropical fish require an environment main­ tained at around 75°F (25°C). You While you can often improvise to get a fairly good result, the use of cords and tapes makes the job a lot easier and gives you a professional result. Flexible, small-diameter abra­ sivecords can replace rigid saw blades and hard files in many applications. The tapes and cords can be used on metal and plastic as well as wood. They are especially useful when old hardened paint and varnish must be removed from the groove areas of chair legs, spindles and things of that sort. Abrasive cleaners and abrasive cords and tapes are not always available in places that carry only the more usual sanding materials. But ask about them even if you don’t see them on display. The dealer may have them in stock or can get them quickly. All specialty woodworking houses have them on hand, including the mail-order houses that sell wood-finishing materials. So-called abrasive grease sticks are sometimes used by profession­ als on new sanding belts to provide a non-stick surface to make cleaning much easier. will therefore need a good heater and an aquarium thermometer. A recent development in this technology is the liquid crystal digital thermometer which affixes to the outside of the aquarium yet measures most accurately the water temperature. You will also need a quality filter. 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 waht a separate air pump to add oxygen to the water. Decorating an aquarium is great fun. There are multi-colored grav­ els, highly decorative backgrounds and hundreds of ornaments, as well as plastic plants so real in reproduction it’s almost impossi­ ble 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 chlorine neutralizer to the water and add only a few fish initially. These few fish will help develop the proper biological conditions ne­ cessary to maintain a fully stocked aquarium. After three to four weeks, assuming everything is functioning properly, you can then go ahead and add the rest of the fish. Aquarium maintenance is a lot simpler than people think. Every two weeks a partial water change (not greater than 20 percent) by siphoning the water from the bottomoftheaquarium is all that is required. A device called the Hydro-Clean allows an efficient siphoning by separating the debris in the gravel and removing it with the water from the aquarium. On a monthly basis, your filter will require minimal maintenance. That’s all there is. INTERIOR & EXTERIOR DECORATING •painting •wall papering •drywall & plaster repair •textured ceilings “Quality Work at Reasonable Rates99 •FREE ESTIMATES* DAVE MARSHALL Phone 523-9220 Blyth, Ont. NOM 1H0 Box 336 Following this simple routine, chances of fish disease or any other aquarium problems are remote. In fact, one of the biggest problems people have is spending too much time maintaining their aquarium. On a daily basis, of course, fish should be fed and a good quality flake food will provide a complete dietforalmostallfish. Tropical fish are beautiful; they are easy to maintain and provide a lifetime hobby. rKITCHEN CABINET^ FRONT REPLACEMENT AND REPLACEMENT WINDOWS •Many Designs & Colours •Counter Tops •Additional Cabinet Add-ons Changeonly the Fronts- By doing it my way you can save 40 to 60% over all new cabinets. ‘EUROPEAN, RAISED PANEL OR FLAT DESIGNS FREE ESTIMATES AND HOME DEMOS Kitchens-Dan 271-8287 Windows - Steve 273-3323 DON CARTER RENOVATIONS^ D. Marshall Decorating