Freshwater Aquarium Maintenance
Keeping Your Aquarium Clean
Freshwater aquarium maintenance is a real hassle when you consider the numerous factors that are needed to be addressed when assessing the cleanliness of your aquariums. Nevertheless, it is very important to know how to do this because your fish’s hygienic life is at stake! Keeping your tank pristine as a regular routine can help your freshwater fish stay bright and jumpy, as well as free from most kinds of unclean materials that may harm them in the long run.
Dirty Water
Dirty water is one of the primary things that you have to inspect and assess, as it can be obviously seen, even at a glance, by just looking at the water’s general color. Modern freshwater aquarium hobbyists usually make use of a power filter; it’s kind of a machine that regulates the particles in the water, filters it and stores the dirt inside the machine.
However, you have to clean the power filter itself, as it is only limited to storing dirt up to a significant degree, and if it goes over range, it won’t be able to clean the excess dirt off the water anymore. Replace the filter every three to four weeks. That’s right: you don’t need to actually clean the filter, you can just buy a new one and install it to the power filter for it to resume its self-cleaning work.
Fishy smell
If you want to get rid of the strong scents that emanate along with the dirty water, you might want to change the filters more often. These strong scents can potentially alter the entire underwater environment and kill your fish, so beware.
Algae
Algae is one heck of a dirt factor that can totally ruin any tank, regardless of size and functionality, not to mention that you eyes just can’t take their gaze off that thing cluttering all over and desecrating the entire tank. You can hire a Plecostomus to do the aquarium maintenance job of cleaning the algae for you. This one superb cleaner fish literally eats the algae off of its face, and thus keeps your aquarium virtually free of any algae whatsoever.
If you can’t buy one, however, you’ll have to clean it by yourself! There are various tools for you to use, but remember to take action as early as possible; you don’t really want this monster growing into a size that even you won’t be able to handle.
As a side note, don’t put more food than the fish can eat, as this will only clutter up and cause a huge mess in the aquarium. Remember, even the food that you give your fish sometimes becomes the dirt in your aquariums!
Change The Water At Least Every Two Weeks!
It can also be done once a week, and it is not as painstaking as it sounds: only about 20% of the water has to be removed. The most common and simple tool used to comply with this aspect of freshwater aquarium maintenance is a siphon.
It is advisable to clean your aquarium’s tank once a month. Changing the water and scrubbing the entire aquarium off of accumulated dirt may be the most tiring task in freshwater aquarium maintenance. The basic step that you have to do is to drain out the water from the aquarium (of course, you have to put the fish in a temporary container before doing this).
Then using a sponge, start gently scrubbing on the insides of the aquarium and get any dirt stuck off. Afterwards, take out the decorations and dip them in hot water mixed with salt for a few minutes, and then scrub them sparkling clean with a sponge. NEVER use soap. The residue left using soap on these articles can literally kill your fish quickly. Alternatively, you can use a gravel vacuum to take off that extra “hard-to-remove-by-sponge” dirt, but you must always read and follow the instructions on the gravel vacuum manual properly and carefully.
Refilling Your Tank
Replace the water with water on the same temperature as the one that was previously in the tank. It is important to note, though, that regular untreated tap water can’t always be a substitute to the original water content of fish’s natural environment. Always remember to boil (pasteurize) the water first and then cool it down to the specified temperature. If you’re still uncertain about using tap water for your fish, you can even opt for distilled water! In fact, distilled water can even be potentially a lot better than tap water! Watch out for a sudden burst in your aquarium expenses though.
Aquarium Freshwater Fish
Choosing Fish for Your Aquarium
Ever dream of having an aquarium to be set up at home? Already making a list of freshwater fish tanks and all the other accessories needed to get you started? Well, let’s stop first for a minute and think… it might be better for you to know exactly what you’ll need and why.
To start off, you must first know exactly what kind of freshwater fish you are planning to raise. Now, this may take some time, depending on your preference, because of the numerous kinds of fish out there, but it’s always helpful to note and take a little research about these fish before you even buy anything: learn about their natural habitat, their necessities and environmental conditions for survival, among other things, because one thing’s for sure: you don’t really want to purchase a freshwater fish that’ll soon end up dead just because you don’t know how to raise that certain fish, do you?
Don’t Worry, It’s Not so Complicated
Check out your local fish supply store and ask the staff members there; they should be able to tell you in good detail what you’ll need for a start.
- Do these fish go well with plenty of plants inside the aquarium?
- Do these fish prefer alkaline or acidic water?
- Do these fish get along with other kinds of fish well?
- How about their feeding routine, and the way they eat their food?
- How about the property of the water? Are the fish freshwater aquarium fish or of something else?
- Also, how about the mean temperature of the aquarium itself, and its compatibility for a certain fish?
These are some of the things that you can ask them for you to learn more about your potential companions.
We All Love Food
Feeding the fish is probably the most frequent of all the maintenance that you have to do when taking care of your pets, and when taking care of multiple fish, knowing the eating habits of each and every one of these fish is very important. Fish commonly eat in two different ways, by eating from the surface of the water, and eating at the bottom.
If you are occasionally feeding your fish by sprinkling food at the water, beware, because not all of the pellets that you feed them go down to the bottom! This is because there are aggressive surface eaters that try and hoard all of the food for themselves, leaving your bottom eaters to starve. Address this problem by knowing which ones are the surface eaters and bottom eaters, then try to group them
Aggression Issues
You must also check for other issues involved mixed fish species, such as open aggression. There are fish that typically like to “bully” their smaller roommates, often biting at their tail, leaving the smaller fish totally defenseless. And beware of the fact that other fish often find themselves unable to resist the urge to take their roommates for their next meal! Again, you have to consider grouping them by proper categories to prevent these unwanted situations.
So, whatever kind of fish you are planning to raise, regardless of whether it’s a regular aquarium freshwater fish or of another kind, it’s important to consider what kind of fish they are exactly, and how they will interact with other fish that you also plan to raise inside the aquarium.
Freshwater Aquarium Lighting
Artificial Biodiversity Luminescence: Freshwater Aquariums
Lighting for an aquarium? Do fish need light as well as humans do?
Well, if you are referring to the need to see things clearly, yes, and as a matter of fact fish do need some form of optical enhancement to be able to see well. You don’t really put fish tanks in dark, uninhabited corners of your house, do you? Lighting for aquariums, as far as the aspect of enjoying the hobby is concerned, is practically used for aesthetic purposes, or should I say, aesthetics enhancement purposes.
Lighting gives a lot more than just a clear view of the fish and the landscape inside. It can also give visual emphasis to whatever you want to put the viewer’s eyes on. Think of the lighting used in art museums: although they do provide a clearer view of the art presented, it also provides certain emphasis on the art by means of manipulating how light spreads throughout the entire artwork.
Additionally, some hobbyists like to put live plants inside their aquariums, so having an artificial light source is a necessity for these plants to grow and stay healthy.
What are these different artificial lighting equipment anyway?
There already exist several commonly used lighting sources that are also used for different purposes other than lighting aquariums, such as fluorescent lights of different types and variations, metal halide lamps, and light emitting diodes (LED). Each of theses light sources differ in the way that they emit light energy (frequencies), and how the light expands and scatters throughout the available range of a specific light source (if they are reflected, refracted or concentrated in a specific direction).
Fluorescent lighting largely varies on the type of light source that you are using. For example, compact fluorescent light bulbs has a power range of about 10 to 100 watts and has an average temperature of 4700°C to 9700°C, which is why they usually come with cooling fans connected to the outer (out of the water) part of the light bulb, as they risk heating the water to undesired temperatures.
Metal halide lamps, unlike conventional fluorescent lighting, are quite expensive and a little hard to maintain, but offer lighting that can almost simulate the overall look and feel of the sun, perfect for reef tanks that require a relatively high level of lighting.
Light emitting diodes or LED’s may perhaps be the next generation of artificial lighting that has the capability to surpass even the already energy efficient fluorescent lighting systems. First, LED’s are relatively small. Yes, even smaller than compact fluorescent light bulbs. Second, the energy needed to light up a LED is very small: much, much smaller than conventional light sources. Also, because of the low energy requirements of a LED, it is relatively cooler and would not risk heating the fish tank higher than the temperature required.
So, what would be the best lighting source to put in an aquarium?
For freshwater aquarium lighting, you must know your limits and capacity first.
Are you busy often?
Do you have lots of spare time to see and check your aquarium?
If you have a fish tank that has no live plants on it, then you can just settle for low watt fluorescent lighting.
If you have live plants, then you have to check the depth of the tank and the population of plant life inside your aquarium.
You also have to ask an expert or do some research about the specific lighting requirements of your aquatic plants, but they usually set a standard of 2-5 watts per aquarium gallon of lighting power, regardless of the light source used.
Freshwater Aquarium Keeping Information
Why should I own an Aquarium?
Nearly everyone has seen an aquarium in their lifetime. At a party, a restaurant, a friend’s house, a local business looking to stand out… many people love to keep aquariums, and you can find them nearly everywhere.
The word ‘aquarium’ comes from the Latin etymologies ‘Aqua’, meaning water (Shocked? Yeah, neither are we) and ‘rium’, meaning place or building. Basically, a freshwater aquarium is a water building!
The History of the Aquarium
The modern form of home freshwater aquariums was developed in the 1850′s, but the concept of keeping fish in a “water building” is actually very old. Even the Sumerians had a way of keeping their fish: they had ponds in which they kept wild fish in until they were made into dinner. Goldfish and Koi fish were bred as far back as 2,000 years ago in China, and during the Song dynasty, goldfish were kept in ceramic bowls. Even in ancient Egyptian art, it is possible to verify the existence of a version of an aquarium: Fish were kept in rectangular temple pools, something unique and interesting.
Freshwater Aquarium Keeping
Keeping fish as a hobby really picked up just before the First World War (during the late 1800′s and in the beginning of the XXth Century). While you could see aquariums at museums, zoos and more spacious public places, modern lighting and filtration finally let people care for fish inside their home.
As fish keeping began to gain popularity, companies rushed to come up with unique and interesting accessories and amenities that could be put into tanks. There was also a surge of research for more efficient ways to keep fish healthy, and their water clean.
This is the main reason why we are presented with so many options when it comes to aquariums. You can choose from thousands of different things – stones, plants, trunks, stars and a great array of tropical fish – to really make your set up unique, interesting, and yes, even fun.
Freshwater aquariums nowadays
One of the most impressive aquariums of our times is located in Japan. The Osaka aquarium holds 5,400 cubic meters of water, and it contains over 580 species of tropical fish!
Aquarium Benefits
Ever wonder if there’s actually a benefit to having an aquarium?
Studies that rely on data from as far back as the 80′s have shown that tropical fish keeping can increase relaxation levels and improve the health of the occupants in a house.
In these kinds of research, seniors who were provided with an aquarium – with freshwater tropical fish, of course – experienced a surprising drop in blood pressure. Just watching fish can help calm hyperactive children.
There are also several other surprising benefits to freshwater aquariums which scientists have observed: Dental patients who watched fish in the office while they waited for their appointments needed less pain medication then patients who just sat in a waiting room, and it’s shown that fish in a tank, verses a nicely decorated tropical fish tank, make a bigger difference. This is why many doctors’ offices, waiting rooms, dental clinics, and even children’s hospital wings have an aquarium filled with colorful tropical fish.
Other studies show that Alzheimer’s patients react extremely well to the presence of an aquarium in the dining area. They eat more, need fewer supplements, and are less aggressive.
Even watching a tape of swimming fish can be relaxing. Amazing, huh?
It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a big aquarium or a little aquarium – you can still reap the benefits of having beautiful tropical fish in your house. Besides, they’re wonderful pets to boot!
