How to Maintain an Aquarium
It’s said that keeping fish as pets is a good way to test if you’re made out for keeping pets, but don’t think it’s that easy. Maintaining an aquarium is essential if you want your pet fish looking nice and healthy 24/7. Here’s how you can maintain your aquarium.
Tools
Water conditioner
Hydro-vacuum or siphon hose
Aquarium brush
Procedure
Know your fish, and know what they need. Obviously, you can’t keep freshwater fish with saltwater fish, but that’s not the end of it. You need to know what environment is best suited for them, such as the water temperature, water chemistry, the right food for them, among other things. Doing your research before you even get your fish is half the battle.
aquarium
A good rule of thumb when doing aquarium maintenance is to do it every other week when your aquarium is lightly stocked, more often if it’s more heavily stocked.
Replace 10% to 15% of your aquarium’s water every two weeks. If you have well-stocked aquarium, you may have to replace as much as 50%. Remember, the water you replace must exactly match the chemistry of the remaining water in the tank. If you’re using tap water, make sure that you take out the chlorine by letting it sit uncovered overnight or use a water conditioner.
Check the water chemistry that’s currently in your tank. Check the levels of nitrate, hardness, nitrite and pH. Correct these levels if they turn out too high or too low for your fish.
While you’re changing the water, use a hydro-vacuum or siphon hose to clean out the aquarium gravel.
Check your aquarium equipment like filter, lights and heater and ensure that they are all working properly.
Observe your fish every time you feed them. Look for odd behavior.
Count your fish at least once every week. If there’s one missing, look for it immediately. A dead fish left in the tank can seriously cause harm to the other fish.
Clean the inside and outside walls once every two weeks. Don’t use soap when cleaning the interior walls, as this is very toxic to fish. Use a special aquarium brush for that.
Replace your filter cartridge once every two months, unless the instructions say otherwise.
If all of these sound a bit intense, don’t worry: You’ll just have to do it once every two weeks, at the very least. You’ll be able to enjoy your pet fish the rest of the time. Good luck!