Maintaining an aquarium is an important part of the duty of people that own them. Whereas it is not such a tough task, one may have a few problems in the initial stages. Some of the steps included for the maintenance include primary preparation, taking the fish out and washing the tank. The fish will then be put back safely into the water. Aquarium maintenance is done while considering various factors.
The tank stability should be the most important consideration at any given time. All aspects should be running properly and the fish safe. As long as this is the case, no major changes will be needed even in a case whereby pH and hardness get out of range. When conducting maintenance of the tank, only the major changes will need to be considered. These are the ones that will negatively affect fish and should thus be attended to immediately.
Changing tank water is one of the main practices. It is done after every two weeks or so. During this process, it is not a must that all the water in the aquarium be changed. A change of ten to fifteen percent of the water will suffice. This is done by extraction of the water as you vacuum the gravel. This eliminates food substances that are not eaten and also gets rid of residues which settled on the substrate.
It will be important to scrutinize the parameters of water in the tank and also the replacement water. In instances when tap water from the municipality is used, it should be noted that the water has a lot of chlorine. Water that has chlorine will lose air fast. The chlorine can be neutralized using water conditioners. For water that contains ammonia, this will need to be gotten rid of. This can be done by nitrifying bacteria.
Municipal water will also have other elements like iron, phosphates and a host of other heavy metals. The local water company should be contacted to find out the composition of the water that they distribute. The information will be important because the lives of fish should not be put at risk. If well water is to be used, it should be noted that it is harder than that from taps. However, it has no chlorine.
Water chemistry is not visible to the naked eye and therefore it is important to regularly check the chemistry as the water is changed. The pH, salinity, nitrates and nitrites are the most important parameters to check out for. The pH should range between 6.5 and 7.5. Adjustments are made if it is out of range.
Functioning of the filter is an important consideration as well. The inserts of the filter are supposed to get changed every four weeks. If the fish load is higher, the change is done after a shorter while. Particles that are trapped within the filter will decompose and thus affect its functioning.
You should check daily that all components are running just fine. The fish need to be keenly observed as they feed. Potential problems are indicated if there are changes in behavior. As a weekly routine, fish need to be counted. Dead fish will decompose and increase ammonia composition.
The tank stability should be the most important consideration at any given time. All aspects should be running properly and the fish safe. As long as this is the case, no major changes will be needed even in a case whereby pH and hardness get out of range. When conducting maintenance of the tank, only the major changes will need to be considered. These are the ones that will negatively affect fish and should thus be attended to immediately.
Changing tank water is one of the main practices. It is done after every two weeks or so. During this process, it is not a must that all the water in the aquarium be changed. A change of ten to fifteen percent of the water will suffice. This is done by extraction of the water as you vacuum the gravel. This eliminates food substances that are not eaten and also gets rid of residues which settled on the substrate.
It will be important to scrutinize the parameters of water in the tank and also the replacement water. In instances when tap water from the municipality is used, it should be noted that the water has a lot of chlorine. Water that has chlorine will lose air fast. The chlorine can be neutralized using water conditioners. For water that contains ammonia, this will need to be gotten rid of. This can be done by nitrifying bacteria.
Municipal water will also have other elements like iron, phosphates and a host of other heavy metals. The local water company should be contacted to find out the composition of the water that they distribute. The information will be important because the lives of fish should not be put at risk. If well water is to be used, it should be noted that it is harder than that from taps. However, it has no chlorine.
Water chemistry is not visible to the naked eye and therefore it is important to regularly check the chemistry as the water is changed. The pH, salinity, nitrates and nitrites are the most important parameters to check out for. The pH should range between 6.5 and 7.5. Adjustments are made if it is out of range.
Functioning of the filter is an important consideration as well. The inserts of the filter are supposed to get changed every four weeks. If the fish load is higher, the change is done after a shorter while. Particles that are trapped within the filter will decompose and thus affect its functioning.
You should check daily that all components are running just fine. The fish need to be keenly observed as they feed. Potential problems are indicated if there are changes in behavior. As a weekly routine, fish need to be counted. Dead fish will decompose and increase ammonia composition.
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