Maintaining Your Fish Tank

To keep your fish happy and healthy, maintainingchanges slightly either way. You want to keep the
your fish tank is crucial. It's easier than you thinkpH level as stable as possible. Carbonate hardness,
to keep a healthy tank that will let you enjoyor kH, tells you the stability of the pH. If it gets
your fish hobby for years. Just 30 minutes everyclose to 4.5 dH (degree hardness) or 80 ppm, you
other week will prevent most problems that canneed to take steps to raise it. Luckily, this is easy
occur in your tank that can end up costing you ato do. What I do is add half a teaspoon of baking
whole lot of time and money. Regularsoda for every 25 gallons of water in your tank.
maintenance will also provide tank stability. It willThis will raise the kH by approximately 1 dH, or
amaze you how well your fish will withstand minor17.8 ppm.
variances in the water as long as the tank isYou should not detect the presence of nitrites
maintained and they are healthy.unless you are cycling your tank in preparation to
Water Changesadding your fish. If you do find some, check your
If you've read anything about maintaining yourammonia levels too. Your nitrates (different from
fish tank, you've probably read about hownitrites) should be kept to less than 10 ppm in
important it is to change the water. With mostfreshwater tanks and 5 ppm in saltwater tanks. If
aquariums, this should be done every two weeks.you have a reef tank, you should aim for 0 ppm.
Before you start to panic and send your aquariumAquarium Filtration
back to the store, you don't need to change allKeep your filter running properly at all times.
the water in the tank. Just changing 10-15% ofChange your filter materials (cartridge, activated
the water is fine. A really good time to changecarbon or floss) at least every four weeks for
the water is when you use one of thoseoptimal filtration. Particles become trapped in your
aquarium vacuums. This gets rid of leftover foodfilter and decompose. This gets cycled back into
and waste that settles into the gravel.your tank if you don't change the filter material
At the fish store, you'll find water testing kits.often enough. If you have many fish in your tank,
They are easy to use. Be sure and use them toyou may want to change them more frequently.
check both the water in your tank and your tapClean your filter thoroughly once a month, but
water periodically to check the pH and whatdon't touch the bio-wheels if you have them. Use
chemicals may be in the water. Tap water usuallythe water you remove from the tank during your
contains chlorine or chloramine. You can dissipatewater changes to clean the filter.
the chlorine easily by letting a bucket of water sitTry this routine for a healthy aquarium:
for 24 hours. It will work even better if you canEvery Day
aerate the water with an air stone. Chloramine,Check that your equipment works properly (filter,
however is a combination of chlorine andair pump, etc). When you feed, watch the fish
ammonia. Even using a commercial waterbehavior. Health issues can be caught early by
conditioner will get rid of the chlorine and leaveseeing behavior changes.
the ammonia behind. If your aquarium isEvery Week
well-established, the good bacteria that areTake a head count. If a fish dies, it can
present will help break down ammonia, though itdecompose very fast, especially if it was small in
may take awhile. Watch your fish for signs thatsize. This can raise your ammonia, nitrites and
they are unhappy.nitrates. Remains should be removed as soon as
The water can also contain other contaminantspossible.
like iron, heavy metals and phosphates. If you callEvery Other Week
your local water company, they can provide youRun water tests for pH, nitrites, nitrates and
with a report on the most current testing ofcarbonate hardness. Change around 10-15% of
water chemistry.your water. Use your vacuum on the gravel to
If you have access to well water, it is usually freeremove wastes. Clean the aquarium glass. Filter
of chlorine and chloramines, but it may be harderfloss works well, or you can buy special scrubbing
than tap water and may contain other elementssponges to remove algae. NEVER use a grocery
from the surrounding soil.store kind of scrubber, these will kill your fish. If
The filtered water in your tank should be testedyou start from the bottom of the glass and work
regularly when you do your regular maintenanceupwards, you can minimize the amount of algae
routine. You want to check for silicate and silicidspores that enter the water. Rinse your cleaning
acid. These compounds can work their waymaterial often. Use the water you removed from
through the membranes of the filter in a relativelythe tank to rinse your filter cartridges.
short time.Every Month
Testing Your WaterPut in new filter cartridges, inserts, carbon or
Changes in your water are not visible, which isfloss. Check all your tubing, airstones, connections,
why testing is so important. Making testing askimmers and other equipment. Do a clean up on
normal part of your maintenance routine will keepthe aquarium top so you know your lighting is not
you on top of any chemical changes that maycompromised. Check for expiration dates on all of
occur.your aquarium supplies. Don't use supplies that are
You can get a testing kit that will test for pH aspast their dates. Tests can give false readings if
well as nitrites, nitrates and carbonate hardness.they are past their expiration.
Most fish do best in water that lies between 6.5Happy fishes!
and 7.5 pH. This gives them a little leeway if it