Category Archives: Aquariums Maintenance
Maintenance Of Fish Tank Filters
This fish tank filters article is a follow up from a previous post entitled “Getting Rid Of Algae On Sponge Filters“.
You can find fish tank filters is a huge variety of models, shapes and sizes. But they don’t just differ in shape, they can also greatly differ in function as well as how effective they are. But in general we can classify a filter by three main filtration function, which are mechanical, chemical and biological fish tank filters.
Types Of Fish Tank Filters
Quick Links
Mechanical Fish Tank Filters provide the most basic form of filtration. They allow water to pass through a porous filter media which traps large debris and waste while allowing cleaner water to flow through.
Chemical Fish Tank Filters either absorb chemical pollutants in the water or breaks them down into less deadly components. These type of filtration is general used along with mechanical fish tank filters to provide a more complete filtration process. An example of this type of filter media is activated carbon.
Biological Fish Tank Filters use live colonies of beneficial bacteria to maintain a perfect balance of chemical levels in the water. In general, these beneficial bacterias control the ammonium cycle in your fish tank and assist in eliminating nitrite and nitrate impurities.
Choosing Fish Tank Filters
Whether your fish tank filters use all three of these filtration methods or just one really depends on the type of fish tank filters that you are currently using. In general, the more expensive variety of fish tank filters tend to provide all three filtration types while the cheapest fish tank filters tend to focus more on mechanical filtration. But if you have a large fish tank, you should get fish tank filters that provide all three filtration methods.
Maintaining Fish Tank Filters
While these three filtration types differ in the type of filtration they provide, they also require different maintenance and cleaning methods. Here is a general idea on how you should maintain and clean each of the filter types:
The main component in mechanical fish tank filters is the filter media which is a porous material such as a pad or sponge that traps debris. This means that it will require washing to prevent the filter media from getting clogged. General what you would need to do is wash them properly at least once every week. When washing the filter media, never use direct tap water because the filter media is almost always home to colonies of beneficial bacteria which also provide biological filtration and the chlorine in tap water would kill off these important organisms.
Chemical fish tank filters never need cleaning, what they do need is replacement. The activated carbon used for filtering out chemicals in the water will eventually lose its potency and will need to be replaced at least once every two months.
Biological fish tank filters incorporate a passive filtration method, they do not trap any debris. But over time, the filter would be caked with a layer of grime and might need to be washed. When washing them, never ever use chlorinated water such as direct tap water. And never ever dry them out in sunlight because the UV rays will kills them. Be gently in your washing and just focus on removing the physical dirt.
Samples Of Fish Tank Filters (Click for details)
If you have not bought your fish tank filters, take into consideration the size of your fish tank to base your decision on what type of filtration you need. Also make sure you enquire from the sales person on the cleaning and maintenance methods to do your the fish tank filters that you have selected.
How To Control Hair Algae In Fish Tanks
This article is a follow up from a previous post entitled “Get Rid Of Snails In Fish Tank Naturally“.
Who can deny what a nuisance is hair algae in fish tanks. If environmental conditions are right to it, hair algae can grow extremely fast to a point that it will overrun the aquarium. And to make matters worst, no matter how hard you scrub them off, it will grow back. So the most important aspect of controlling hair algae in fish tanks is not to fight the effect but to try as much as you can to eliminate the cause.
Control Hair Algae In Fish Tanks
Quick Links
Hair algae is tough, tough enough to grow on virtually any surface. But although it is unsightly, hair algae like any other plant does provide some benefits to the aquatic life. It does oxygenate the water and there are fish that feed on the algae. So if you want to get rid of hair algae, do it as a gradual process or it might affect the fish. On the other end of the scale, having too much algae is bad to the fish too.
So how do you properly control hair algae in fish tanks? Here are some of the main factors for you to work on.
Hair Algae In Fish Tanks: Proper Water Management
Controlling the level of nitrates in your aquarium is very important in controlling hair algae on fish tanks. Hair algae thrives on high levels of nitrates and suddenly changes in the level will cause algae blooms. As long as these levels remain high, they will keep growing back no matter how much you remove them. The key here is to not overfeed your fish and remove any excess food. Another thing you might want to try is using live food. As long as the feed is not dead and rotting, it would not raise nitrate levels.
Hair Algae In Fish Tanks: Increase The Algae’s Competition
As long as hair algae is the sole consumer of all that yummy nitrate, it will thrive. Add in some plants and they will compete with the algae for food and eventually starve it out of your aquarium.
Hair Algae In Fish Tanks: Animals That Eat Algae
There are a number of aquatic animals that love eating algae. These include Scarlet Hermits and Tangs to name a few. But don’t just go out and buy some immediately. Speak to the specialist at the fish shop and explain about your situation and your aquarium specifications, especially its size and what fish tank filters you are using. He would be able to provide a better suggestion on the most suitable creature that you should get for your situation.
Hair Algae In Fish Tanks: The Amount Of Light
Algae is a plant and like all plants, it thrives in places that gets a lot of sunlight. Moving your aquarium to a less bright area of your home will hinder the growth of hair algae in fish tanks.
Tools To Kill Hair Algae In Fish Tanks (Click for details)
These are some of the main ways to control hair algae in fish tanks.
Get Rid Of Snails In Fish Tank Naturally
This article is a follow up to a previous post entitled “Clearing Cloudy Water In A Marine Aquarium“.
While snails in fish tank don’t really harm the fish, they do tend to nibble on the aquatic plants in your aquarium. Having too many snails in fish tank will definitely cause your plants to look tattered and unsightly. The problem with snails in fish tank is that they tend to breed really fast if left uncontrolled. There are numerous ways to get rid of them from chemical treatments to gadgets but as a personal preference, I’ve always preferred a more natural way in combating any of my aquarium problems.
Before we get into the method that I favor, let’s look at the various other ways.
Snails In Fish Tank
Quick Links
There are numerous chemical treatments sold in the marketplace today that such as Snail-Rid and Aquari-Sol that do kill snails in fish tank. But when choosing any chemical treatment, ensure that it does not contain Copper Sulfate which can be fatal to your fish. I’ve always had a thing against pouring chemicals into my aquarium.
Snails In Fish Tank: Salt
You could also try Aquarium Salt or Sodium Chloride. Everyone knows salt kills garden snails and it works the same for snails in fish tank. However, the smaller variation of aquarium snails have a higher tolerance to salt and might not have a reaction to aquarium salt.
Snails In Fish Tank: Natural Methods
My favorite method to get rid of snails is to use Loaches. There are two breeds of Loaches that you could keep; Clown Loaches and Lohachata Loaches.
Clown Loaches are better suited for larger aquariums between 40 to 50 gallons. They tend to grow a little big and survive better in schools of six or more. But Clown Loaches are notorious for troubling tiny fish like Neon Tetra.
.
.
Lohachata Loaches also known as Yoyo Loaches are smaller and can live comfortably in groups of three, so they are suited for smaller aquariums. But Yoyo Loaches can be a little hard to find in smaller fish shops.
These two fishes will go immediately to work devouring all the snails they can find.
Snails In Fish Tank: A Cool Trick
This is one cool trick that I read online somewhere before and put it to the test with surprisingly excellent results.
Get a small jar, the size of a pepper shaker. You could even use a pepper shaker without the cap. Wash it properly with plain water, do not use detergent to wash anything you plan to put into an aquarium. Place a piece of lettuce in the jar and sink it to the bottom of the tank and that’s it. When you come back to it tomorrow, there will be lots of tiny snails inside it. Just remove the jar, get rid of the snails and repeat the process again. In a couple of days, your tank will be snail free.
These are some of the best natural ways to get rid of snails in fish tank.
Clearing Cloudy Water In A Marine Aquarium
This article is a follow up from the previous post entitled “Love Your Pets – Feed Them Best”
When it comes to maintaining a saltwater fish tank, one of the commonest problems that many enthusiasts face is clearing cloudy water. Nothing beats admiring the beautiful, colorful fish swimming in a well decorated marine aquarium but how can you do that if the water is cloudy? What I hope to do in this article is to guide you on what turns your saltwater fish tank cloudy in the first place and tips on clearing cloudy water that you could use instantly.
Clearing Cloudy Water
Quick Links
When clearing cloudy water, it is first best to understand how the water got cloudy in the first place. There are three main causes of cloudy water; bacterial blooms, algae growth and debris from decorations. Knowing which type of cloudy water you are facing will making clearing cloudy water so much easier.
Why Clearing Cloudy Water Is Important
Bacterial blooms make the water a whitish tint. This is usually the result of over feeding your fish or allowing plants or dead fish to rot in the tank.
Algae growth makes the water a greenish tint. This is usually the result of placing the tank in excessive sunlight and too much nitrates in the tank.
Debris from decorations usually make the tank water a brownish or yellowish tint. This is the result of not properly washing new decoration before putting it into the aquarium.
Tips On Clearing Cloudy Water
Check the population of fish in your aquarium. The ideal population in a saltwater aquarium is one medium size fish for every 8 to 10 gallons of water. Maintaining the ideal level of fish in a tank will allow the fish tank filters to properly function in filtering the tank water.
If your filter causes too much water circulation, turn it off for a while each time you feed the fish to allow them to eat the food completely. And always feed a little at a time. Over feeding will cause the food to rot in the aquarium water, promoting excessive bacterial growth.
Ensure that the fish tank filters that you use is suitable for the size of the tank that you have. Too small and it would not be able to filter the water properly. Too large and it will cause too much water movement and affect the fish.
Clean the filter media weekly or bi-weekly. This ensures that the filter media is not clogged and function to the maximum capability.
Do proper water changes each week. This will control the amount of bacteria and algae in your tank.
If you are affect by algae growth, ensure that you do not have the tank placed in a location that experiences too much sunlight. Remember, algae is a plant and it thrives on sunlight.
Finally, before placing any decoration into your aquarium, wash it thoroughly first. This is especially important for driftwood. These usually shed a brownish or yellowish dust when the are dry which can cause cloudy water.
Tools You Need For Clearing Cloudy Water (Click for details)
These are some of the simplest tips that you can use immediately when clearing cloudy water.
Safely Move Fish To A New Fish Tank
This article on how to move fish is a follow up of an earlier post titled “Setting Up A Fish Tank | How To Prepare A Brand New Fish Tank“.
It will eventually happen one day. Like most people, you might have began the hobby with a smaller fish tank but as time went by, you would have introduced new fish, new decoration and new plants to a point where that old aquarium is just too crowded. It is then that you decide to buy a bigger fish tank and move fish into the new one. But you can’t just set up the new tank, move fish and expect them to live. They’ll probably last a couple of days before floating upside down on the surface of the water.
There are measures that need to be taken to safely move fish into a new fish tank. These measures involve preparing the fish for the transfer and ensuring that the environment of the new aquarium is as similar as possible to the old one. The main idea is to transfer the beneficial bacteria colonies to the new tank when you move fish.
Step #1: Before You Move Fish
Quick Links
You will be transferring the gravel, tank decoration, plants and move fish. So the first step is to vacuum large debris from the gravel and tank decoration. Then, test the pH and temperature of the water to have a record of the levels that you want to achieve in the new tank.
Step #2: Prepare Before You Move Fish
Since your new fish tank will probably be bigger, we’ll assume that you will be getting a new fish tank filter. Fill the tank to three quarters of its volume with water and run the new filter and heater for twenty four hours. Don’t put in the gravel and tank decoration yet because there might be chlorine in the water that will kill of the bacterial colonies on them.
If your existing filter is large enough and you plan to use it in the new fish tank, leave it running in your old fish tank first and if possible connect an air stone to it and run the air stone in the new fish tank.
Don’t think about reusing the old fish tank heater. You have to stabilize the temperature of your new aquarium by running the heater for a day so get a new one. Anyway, you could always keep the old heater as a spare in case the new one breaks down.
Step #3: Testing Before You Move Fish
After twenty four hours has gone by, test the fish tank pH and temperature of the new fish tank and ensure that it is similar to those of the old aquarium. It should not deviate more than two tenths of a pH level and a few degrees in temperature from the old fish tank. If it is, then leave it for another twelve hours or more until it has stabilized. Do not move fish until you have achieved the fish tank pH and temperature that you need to.
Step #4: Transfer The Gravel and Decoration
Use a clean scoop and move the gravel from the old tank to the new tank first. You could even use one of those disposable plastic cups to do this as long as it is clean. Once you have moved all the gravel, start arranging the decoration. Though you had vacuumed them yesterday, there might be debris on them so allow the debris to settle down before adding the fish.
Step #5: Transfer The Filter
It doesn’t matter if you’re using a new filter for the new tank or not, you will need to run the old filter in the new tank for a couple of weeks. This is because the existing filter media has had time to be populated by beneficial bacteria colonies and by running the old filter in the new tank, you will aide in the growth of bacteria colonies in the new filter media as well.
Step #6: Move Fish To The New Fish Tank
It’s time for the all important step. You should only move fish when you’re sure that the fish tank pH and temperature of the new tank matches that of the old tank. A good, stress free way to move fish is by using a net and a cup. Immerse the cup in the tank water and use the net to usher the fish into the cup. The gently pour the fish into the new tank.
By following all these steps to move fish you will not only give the fish the best possible opportunity to survive and live well in its new environment, but you will also prevent other unwanted occurrences such as cloudy water which new fish tanks are generally prone to.
Aquariums Maintenance Tools You Need (Click for details)
From learning how to move fish, let’s take another look at undergravel fish tank filters.
Change Aquarium Water The Right Way
This post is a follow up from my previous post “How Often Should You Change Fish Tank Filter Media?“.
There are pros and cons to when you change aquarium water but when done right, it is the one thing that can drastically increase the quality of life that you are maintaining for your aquarium life. No matter how efficient your fish tank filters may be, you will still need to change aquarium water from time to time if you expect to have vibrant and healthy fish.
Change Aquarium Water
Quick Links
Other than ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels which is usually eliminated by our beneficial bacteria, each time you change aquarium water, it will help remove debris and other chemicals that tend to build up in a fish tank. What we will discuss here is some of the tips and recommendations to make it easy for you to change aquarium water and some of the things that you need to be careful about when changing the water.
How Often To Change Aquarium Water
Once, fish enthusiasts had recommended that the change be changed once a month but it now commonly believed that once a month is just not often enough. If you change aquarium water infrequently, it will place a strain on your fish tank filters to work harder and also cause your fish to have to live in unclean water for extended periods of time.
What is commonly practice now is a system to change aquarium water a little at a time and more frequently. You can schedule your change in two ways. You can plan a water change every two weeks, changing only half the water in the tank or once a week changing about 20% of the volume.
Tips To Change Aquarium Water Easily
- Use a siphon rather than a bucket or scoop to remove the water from the tank. You can either purchase a battery operated siphon or simply use a rubber tube. To do this, first fill the tube entirely with water. Place your thumbs over the ends of the tube to prevent the water from escaping. Place one end in the fish tank water and the other outside where you want to dump the water and release your thumbs. You need to ensure the opening of the tube in the tank is always higher than the opening on the other end.
- When siphoning, suck up the water from the bottom of the tank to remove as much muck as possible. This muck will gradually build up, forming from excess food and fish waste and can be really bad for the health of your fish. It would be a good idea to rake through the gravel before siphoning to release as much muck as possible. However, if you have planted your fish tank plants in substrate at the base of the tank, then just siphon the water from the middle to avoid sucking up the substrate.
Cautionary Measures
- Remember to condition the water before you change aquarium water to remove chlorine and cloramines. Do not use direct tap water. Let the water sit in a bucket for a day first and treat it with a water conditioner.
- Test the pH levels of the water before adding it in. It would be ideal to get the pH level of the new water to be the same as that of the aquarium water.
- For salt water fish tanks, try to get the water at the same temperature and salinity as the fish tank water before adding it in.
- Never change the entire tank of water at one go unless it is an emergency. Doing that will put the fish in a stressful condition and can kill it. As mentioned earlier, if you change aquarium water twice a month, then change not more than half the tank and if once a week, 20% at a time.
- Sanitize your hands first, especially if you might need to get them into the water.
Some Tools You Need To Change Aquarium Water
Now that you know about how to change aquarium water properly, let’s read up about salt water fish tank filters.
