Saltwater Aquarium Maintenance Made Easy

ByCameron Porter

Saltwater Aquarium Maintenance

Whilst a saltwater aquarium can provide for hours of relaxation and enjoyment they also require steady ongoing upkeep to maintain optimum conditions. Some saltwater aquarium maintenance must be conducted daily whilst other saltwater aquarium maintenance tasks are required weekly or monthly. Keeping a saltwater aquarium isn't necessarily a hobby intended for everyone but instead something better suited to the enthusiast. Proper maintenance will reward you with a healthy aquarium and years of enjoyment. It is recommended you keep a calendar of the required maintenance items to make the task easier. There is also numerous software packages available on the market to assist with saltwater aquarium maintenance allowing you to log all of your sea life, water tests, maintenance tasks etc.

Health of Fish and Inhabitants

One of the most important tasks of saltwater aquarium maintenance is the process of checking each day for the wellness of the fish and invertebrates. This should consist of a visual inspection of the scales and fins of the fish in addition to the coloring and vibrancy of the fish and invertebrates. If any of the fish are dead or appear to be dying, they ought to be removed at once and any creatures which appear to be unhealthy should be transferred to a quarantine saltwater aquarium and treated accordingly.

Aquarium maintenance also requires you to familiarize yourself with the behavior of the fish in order for you to better ascertain if one is becoming unhealthy. Should a fish or other creature die and be overlooked the deterioration and decomposing of their body will rapidly diminish the quality of the water due to the increase of ammonia to toxic levels.

Majority of all species of fish will bear similar symptoms as they're falling ill. Major symptoms include fins held tight to the body, sluggishness, swelling of the eyes, unsettled swimming patterns, erratic change in behavior, drifting to the bottom or gasping for air at the surface, decrease in appetite, patches on the fins or body, or fish that are normally active staying motionless. Keeping a saltwater aquarium maintenance log will allow you to see trends in water conditions that may contribute to such illness.

Aquarium Equipment

A major element of saltwater aquarium maintenance comes down to your equipment. Correct maintenance of your equipment is essential to the well being of your reef and fish. The protein skimmer cup should be cleaned daily. It will not hurt the aquarium greatly if this skipped one day every now and then, however skipping any more could jeopardize the health of the aquarium. Whilst monitoring the health of the fish and cleaning the skimmer, the water temperature should also be checked and any required adjustments should also be made.

On a monthly basis it is recommended that the whole protein skimmer be completely cleaned, including the cleaning of the cup in addition to all hoses and tubes. If any air stones are present in the tank they should either be substituted with a new one or alternatively cleaned and any carbon from carbon filtration systems should also be changed.

It is recommended when conducting maintenance that every three months, all filter canisters and hoses should be comprehensively cleaned inside and out in addition to switching air pads within the air pump. Care should also be taken to inspect for any signs of damage to impellers, interchange air valves and replace UV tubes if a UV filter is being utilized.

On a daily basis as part of your regular maintenance the equipment and accessories should be inspected and care should be taken to ensure that everything is functioning suitably. Check that there are no leaks on the floor surrounding the aquarium and that the pump sounds like it is running properly. As you become more acquainted with the saltwater aquarium equipment it becomes easier to detect any peculiar sounds from the equipment which may suggest that it is on the way out.

Water Changes

Water changes are an essential part of your saltwater aquarium maintenance schedule. Each week any evaporated water should be replaced with prepared saltwater and any algae growing on the glass removed appropriately. Partial water changes can be performed either weekly or fortnightly depending on how well the system is maintained overall in addition to the species of fish and other creatures within the tank. Siphoning of any excess debris or waste matter should be undertaken with fortnightly water changes.

An important tip when undertaking water changes is to have the saltwater pre-mixed a day early as the mixture is less caustic and this will ensure your fish are not harmed or shocked with the sudden addition of new water.

Salt Build Up

Salt build up is one area of saltwater aquarium maintenance that is often overlooked. It is crucial that any build up of salt around or on the saltwater aquarium be cleaned on a weekly basis. If this isn't done regularly the salt will build up into large chunks that risk falling back into the tank which will dramatically alter the salinity of the water. Salt is highly corrosive to various types of metal so ensuring the equipment is cleaned regularly will assist in proper functioning.

PH, Conditioners & Vitamins

A priority of Saltwater aquarium maintenance is ongoing water testing. On a weekly basis you should be testing the salinity and pH balance, in addition to adding any required trace elements, conditioners, and vitamins for the fish and coral. Ph kits, conditioners and required vitamins are all available at your local aquarium specialist.

You can improve your saltwater aquarium maintenance by undertaking some research of individual livestock and coral that inhabit your saltwater aquarium. This will allow you to identify the required vitamins and foods necessary in the upkeep of the various livestock and this should be incorporated into the daily, weekly and monthly saltwater aquarium maintenance schedule.

Light Globes

Regardless of whether they are blown or not it is important to replace all lighting bulbs around every six months. This is because that even if the bulbs are not blown they suffer loss of intensity and quality over time which is particularly crucial in a reef saltwater aquarium.

Not all of your saltwater aquarium is inside the tank, after all your aquarium is most likely the center piece of your home and it should be in pristine viewing condition. Once every two weeks the outside of the tank and its equipment should be dusted. Special saltwater aquarium cleaners are available for this task; alternatively a water and vinegar mix will suffice. Under no circumstances should any harsh chemicals, including Windex, be used near the aquarium as these can easily kill the fish, remember these are very sensitive creatures.

In summary, saltwater aquarium maintenance may appear to require a sizeable level of work, however by spreading out the required saltwater aquarium maintenance into small doses it can become relatively controllable and results in an aquarium that gives ongoing pleasure to you and anyone else in its presence, for years to come. Just like anything, you get out what you put in.

A complete guide to Saltwater Aquarium Setup all in the one place at http://www.mysaltwateraquarium.com. Join our community and learn from real life experiences!

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Koi Pond Maintenance

Is getting you down? Do you spend more time and money just trying to keep your pond clean and healthy? As a Koi pond owner, I understand what it is like to constantly clean your pond with little or no success. Just the amount of chemicals I have tried that promise a clear pond and don't work could fill a swimming pool. I often wonder what all these chemicals are doing to my fish and the surrounding environment.

Before building our pond I did extensive research into what kind of pump, filter and chemicals to use. The most widely recommended filtration system to use is Biological Filtration (Bio Bead). I would like to discuss my personal findings on this type of filtration system.

Biological filtration works on the theory that waste is trapped by the bio beads themselves and then flushed out when you backwash the filter. It also gives beneficial bacteria a place to grow. This beneficial bacteria is supposed to help eliminate algae and promote healthy levels of ph, nitrogen and phosphorus.

I have found that I never seem to be able to completely backwash all the waste from the filter. I think I get it clean and then start the system again and notice a cloud of debris being pumped back into my pond. This is after flushing tons of water onto the ground trying to clean the filter. Where I live we don't have well water and must pay for every drop we use leaving me with a hefty water bill and my pond still dirty.

Even though I have cleaned the filter as instructed, apparently the beneficial bacteria doesn't want to work for a place to stay because I still had algae. And of course the tons of chemicals I tried, failed to live up to my expectations. I thought that changing my bio beads (maybe they had worn out) would be the answer. It definitely answered one question about this type of filtration system, and that was that the lime and calcium in our water created a nasty cement like mixture in the filter, bonding the bio beads and the waste together. This prevented the system from working as it should.

Now what should I do? I couldn't change the water I use and I didn't want to install a filter on my filter. This left me floundering for a while. I finally decided to try a cartridge type filter like the ones used on swimming pools. This was the answer to my problems!

When it was time to clean the filters I took them out and blasted them with a hose. I was surprised not only by how much waste was trapped by the cartridge filter, but also how easy it was to clean them. I only used a fraction of the amount of water needed for back washing. Every once in a while I would soak the filters in a water and bleach solution in a trash can and rinse them out completely and they were as good as new.

I have found some new information about the bio bead filtration and why it's not as good as promised. Besides never getting all the debris out and the large amounts of water used to backwash, the beneficial bacteria which is supposed to eliminate algae is extremely fragile. If you shut off the system or have a power failure your beneficial bacteria dies. If the water flow is too fast or to slow it may die. If you are replacing water or doing a water change and your clean water contains any chlorine the bacteria will die. It takes approximately 6 - 7 weeks to grow a colony of bacteria large enough to do any good. You can purchase beneficial bacteria to add to the pond until your colony is large enough to do the work itself, but how do you know the bacteria you have purchased in the bottle is still alive. Needless to say I would much rather use a cartridge type filter that is effective, easy to maintain and I don't have to worry about it dying.

If you would like to find out more information about how to keep your Koi pond or aquarium clean and healthy then I would suggest you go to http://www.green-out.net. They have a lot of information to help make your pond experience fun instead of a nightmare. You can also find out about their new patented water clarifier that is safe for fish, pets and the environment by clicking here http://www.green-out.net/products.html

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An Aquarium Vacuum Cleaner Helps With Aquarium Maintenance

ByZach Winsett

There are a huge number of aquarium vacuum cleaners on the market today. Many do a fine job when it comes to performance, but ultimately what makes the difference is how well it handles gravel. You want to be sure that you are using a product that can handle the work load and deal with gravel without shortening its lifespan or cleaning capabilities.

An aquarium vacuum cleaner can range anywhere from ten to fifty dollars in cost. Like most products, when it comes right down to it, cost does not equal quality in all cases. It is best to know about the product you are planning to buy and to also be aware of the kind of job you will need it to perform before you make any kind of investment.

One key feature that you may want to be aware of when shopping for an aquarium vacuum is how well it cleans without removing aquarium water. Many battery operated vacuum and siphons are not designed to clean objects without removing the water. In fact, many siphons meant for changing water are used as vacuums themselves! The battery operated Mr. Clean by TOM Aquarium Maintenance is a product that vacuums without removing valuable water. The product is inexpensive and has grown to be fairly popular among aquarium enthusiasts. This product uses an external filter and a gravel brush as well. This brush is reported by many to simply be a hindrance to the actual vacuuming action.

In the high range vacuums, judging strictly by cost is the EHEIM Quick Vac. In this case, the money really does make a difference when it comes to the actual product. While still battery operated, this model of aquarium vacuum requires no buckets or hoses to function and works seamlessly in up to three feet of submersion. The product is ideal for complete cleaning of any aquarium but is also not much of hassle when it comes to spot maintenance. This vacuum does a thorough job of cleaning without removing excessive amounts of water or completely redistributing the gravel. It is designed to capture both minor and large debris as well. While prices hover around the sixty dollar mark, the investment is worth the expense.

Having a quality vacuum for your aquarium not only helps with the transparency of the water in your aquarium, it also helps to keep your fish or plants healthy to enjoy a longer and fuller life. A quality vacuum also extends the period of time in which you must change the water in your tank, minimizing the effort on the part of the aquarium owner. Invest in a quality aquarium vacuum today and enjoy watching your aquarium thrive with ease.

If you are having trouble keeping your aquarium clean then an aquarium vacuum cleaner might do the trick. These devices make it easy to perform water changes and clean your gravel with ease.

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Proper Aquarium Maintenance Is Vital for Healthy Fish

ByJeff Sebern

When purchasing an aquarium one must take into consideration aquarium maintenance. It is a major part of owning fish and something that frustrates many fish owners. Aquarium maintenance is important to keeping fish healthy and free of disease. Providing a proper environment for the fish to live in is very important. Fish require care on a daily basis just like cats and dogs do.

The first step in proper aquarium maintenance is keeping the water clean. Having a proper water filtration system is vital to keeping the water clean. Changing the water on a regular basis is also important. The frequency depends on several factors such as the type of filtration system in use, the size of the aquarium, as well as the type and number of fish in the aquarium. Some fish owners mistakenly change all the water in the aquarium which is not healthy for the fish. Only about 15% of the water should be changed out because the remaining water has important bacteria that are beneficial to the fish and vital to their survival.

Removing algae from the aquarium is another important task that should be done on a regular basis. Aquariums that get direct sunlight for all or even part of the day will have a much quicker buildup of algae than aquariums that do not get direct sun light. It is best for aquariums to be kept out of direct sunlight if possible. Whenever algae is visible it should be removed with an algae magnet or scraper.

The water temperature should be checked daily. Because the water temperature fluctuates throughout the day it is best to check the temperature at the same time of day to get consistent readings. Some prefer to check the water temperature once in the morning and once in the evening. One should ensure that the water temperature is roughly the same temperature each day. The water temperature can drop in the winter so a heater may be required to keep the temperature consistent.

An equipment check should be performed on a daily basis. Check to make sure the filter, lights and heater are all working properly. Also check the water to make sure it is not cloudy. Examine the fish each day. Watch them swim for a few minutes and look at their skin for signs of disease. Performing proper aquarium maintenance on a regular basis will ensure healthy and happy fish for many years.

Jeff Sebern provides complete custom aquarium service and installation in and around the San Antonio TX area.
Aquarium Maintenance San Antonio TX

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