Happiness This Way

Fish Tank Maintenance

To keep your fish happy and healthy, maintaining your fish tank is critical. It's easier than you think to maintain a tank healthy you can enjoy your fish hobby for years. Just 30 minutes every two weeks to avoid most problems that can occur in the tank you can end up costing a lot of time and money. Regular maintenance will also ensure the stability of the tank. You'll be amazed how well the fish can withstand minor variations in the water, if the tank is maintained and healthy.

Water changes

If you've read anything about the maintenance your tank, you've probably read about how important it is to change the water. With most of the water, this should be done every two weeks. Before you start to panic and send your tank to the store, no need to change all the water in the tank. Just change the 10 to 15% of the water is fine. A very good time to change when the water is used one of those empty tank. This gets rid of food scraps and waste that sits in the gravel.

In the fish store, you'll find test kits water. They are easy to use. Be sure to use them to check both the water in the tank and tap water to periodically check the pH and what chemicals can be in the water. Tap water often contains chlorine or chloramine. You can easily remove chlorine leaving a bucket of water sit for 24 hours. It can work much better if aerate the water with an air diffuser. Chloramine, however is a combination of chlorine and ammonia. Even using a commercial water conditioner to get rid of chlorine and ammonia leave behind. If the aquarium is well established, the good bacteria that are present will help break down ammonia, although this may take a while. Look at the fish in search of signs that are not happy.

The water can also contain other contaminants such as iron, heavy metals and phosphates. If you call your local water company, that can provide a report on the latest test of the water chemistry.

If you have access to well water is generally free of chlorine and chloramines, but may be more difficult than tap water and may contain other elements of the surrounding soil.

The filtered water in the tank should be tested regular when he carries out regular maintenance routine. Want to check for hydrogen silicates and silica. These compounds may work its way through the membranes filters in a relatively short time.

Test your water

The water changes are not visible, so the test is so important. Testing a normal part of routine maintenance will keep you on top of any chemical change that can occur.

You can get a test kit that will to test for pH and nitrite, nitrate and carbonate hardness. Most fish do best in water that is between 6.5 and 7.5 in pH. This gives them leeway if it changes slightly in both directions. You want to keep the pH level as stable as possible. The carbonate hardness or KH, tells the pH stability. If you approach 4.5 dH (hardness grade) or 80 ppm, it is necessary to take measures to raise it. Fortunately, this is easy to do. What I do is add a half teaspoon of baking soda per 25 gallons water in your tank. This will raise the KH by about 1 dH, or 17.8 ppm.

Do not detect the presence of nitrite unless they are cycling your tank in preparation the addition of fish. If found, check your ammonia levels as well. Your nitrates (other than nitrites) should be kept to less than 10 ppm of fresh water tanks and 5 ppm in tanks of salt water. If you have a reef aquarium should aim at 0 ppm.

Aquarium Filtration

Keep the filter works correctly at all times. Change the filter materials (cartridge, activated charcoal or dental floss) at least every four weeks for optimum filtration. The particles are trapped in the filter and decompose. This brings us back on a bicycle in your tank, unless you change the filter material with sufficient frequency. If you have many fish in the tank, it is possible you want to change more frequently. Thoroughly clean the filter once a month, but do not touch the bio-wheel, if available. Use water to remove the tank during the change of water to clean the filter.

Try this routine for a healthy aquarium:

Every Day

Make sure your computer is working properly (filter, pump air, etc..) When I see the behavior of the fish. The health issues are detected early can be seen by changes in behavior.

Every week

Take a head count. If a fish dies, it can decompose quickly, particularly if it is small in size. This can increase your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. The remains should be removed as soon as possible.

Every two weeks

Run tests for pH, nitrite, nitrate and carbonate hardness. Change in the 10-15% of its water. Use the vacuum in the gravel to remove debris. Clean the aquarium glass. Filter floss works well, or you can buy special cleaning sponges to remove algae. NEVER use a type of store washers, these will kill the fish. If you start from the bottom of the cup and work up, you can minimize the amount of spores of algae into the water. Rinse your cleaning supplies often. Use the water you removed from the tank to clean the filter cartridges.

Every Month

Place new filter cartridge, inserts, carbon or floss. Check all pipes, airstones, fittings, separators and other equipment. Make a clean upper aquarium so that you know the lighting is not compromised. Check for expiration dates on all supplies for your aquarium. Do not use the supplies that are past their date. The tests can give false positives, if they are past their expiration date.

happy fish!

To read more about how to keep an aquarium in your home, visit me at http://www.thefishtankplace.com

About the Author

Rebeca has been interested in animals and Feng Shui for many years and now she wants to share her knowledge of these subjects with people in a very light and personal way. Feng Shui has improved her life in many ways, and her cats and dogs, and the fish that came as a part of her passion for Feng Shui, are now a very important part of her, and she’s very happy to share her experiences with everybody.

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