Thursday, February 26, 2015

What One Needs To Know About Aquarium Maintenance

By Earlene McGee


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.

One of the major practices for any aquarium is water change. Water should be changed after every fortnight. During this time, there will be no need to change the entire volume. Approximately 15 percent should be changed. A way to achieve this is extraction of water while vacuuming the gravel. All foods that were not eaten will be eliminated while also getting rid of other residues.

When doing the maintenance, it will be important to check the parameters of not only the water in the tank but also replacement water. In the case where tap water is used, it should be checked for chlorine because such water tends to have high amounts of chlorine. Water that contains chlorine loses air really fast and will risk the lives of fish. This element is neutralized by the use of water conditioners. Nitrifying bacteria are use for the breakdown of ammonia in water.

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.

The chemistry of water cannot be seen with the naked eye. It will thus be important to check water chemistry on a regular basis while checking such parameters as pH, salinity, nitrites and nitrates. A pH of around 6.5 to 7.5 is expected for the majority of the species. If it gets out of range, it should be adjusted.

Proper function of filters is very important. The filter inserts are supposed to be changed a minimum of once every four weeks. For higher fish loads, the change should be done after a shorter period. Particles trapped in the filter will decompose and affect its functionality.

As part of daily maintenance, you should ascertain that all equipment is functioning properly. At the same time, they should be observed as they feed. This enables you to check any abnormal behavior in them. This would indicate potential problems. Dead fish will decompose and bring in ammonia into the tank.




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