Aquarium Care

Many people hear the word bacteria, and they automatically think of sickness, gross, dirty, and disease. The truth is, most bacteria are actually not harmful. In fact, in all environments, bacteria make the very base of every cycle of life. Without bacteria, the base wouldn’t be there, creating an unstable and unhealthy environment. This is especially true in an aquarium. An aquarium needs to have a healthy balance of beneficial bacteria in order for fish to live long and healthy lives, and to cut down on maintenance work keeping your aquarium clean.

Beneficial bacteria neutralize toxins from aquarium waste, such as animal excretions and extra food.  Without the good bacteria, these wastes build up and release poisonous toxins that are harmful to fish and other aquarium inhabitants. Without these bacteria, your fish and other animals will get sick and eventually die.

The best time to create a good healthy base of beneficial bacteria is when you first set up a new aquarium. The key component when cycling a new aquarium is exercising extreme patience. The bacteria need time to grow and colonize your filter and the surfaces in the aquarium itself. If you add your animals to the aquarium before a sufficient amount of bacteria have grown, you’re going to be putting your fish at risk.

Newly cycled aquarium

There are several ways to cycle an aquarium. One way is to set up your aquarium completely, without adding your fish or animals and letting it run for two to three weeks. Adding very tiny amounts of fish food to the water as the aquarium runs will help expedite this process. Another way is to add fish very slowly- fish that are hardy and can take a small amount of toxins. Guppies are a good choice of fish. Many experienced fish keepers use feeder guppies for this task, as they’re cheap yet tend to be very healthy and good at dealing with steep swings in water quality, which is normal as a tank first cycles.  Goldfish are NOT good fish to cycle aquariums with. They excrete more waste than a growing colony of bacteria can handle, and you’ll have a difficult time cycling your tank with them. The last and fastest way to cycle a new tank is to add beneficial bacteria that are commercially ready to simply pour or toss into the water. If you use the EcoBio-Block Products, your tank will remain cleaner much longer with less effort.  Once you put in the product, EcoBio-Stone does the rest. These additives will take weeks away from the cycling process, allowing you to add your animals faster to your waiting aquarium.

There are a few signs that will let you know when your aquarium has finished cycling and is ready for inhabitants. You should test the water for ammonia and nitrites with simple to use testing kits that you can find at any pet store that sells aquarium supplies. During the time the tank is still cycling, if you test every day, you’ll notice at first a very fast spike in ammonia then in nitrites. When these go down and your nitrate levels go up, then it is safe to put in your fish. Aerobic beneficial bacteria in your tank feed on organic waste breaking them down into ammonia, then into nitrites and then the nitrites get broken down into nitrates. As the days go by, with more food for the bacteria in the tank, the bacteria will grow and multiply. Sometimes you’ll see cloudy water in the tank- this is normal. This is just a bloom of bacteria floating in the aquarium water column. Anaerobic bacteria in your tank will cause the nitrate levels to decrease. When your tank has finished cycling and your aquarium environment is balanced, your water should be clear. EcoBio-Stone keeps levels of beneficial bacteria high in your tank, which keeps your aquarium water clear, clean and healthy.

Conventional aquarium cleaning techniques remove these bacteria from the environment. Completely changing filter material, constantly vacuuming aquarium gravel and continuous sterilization of aquarium furniture and other decorations kills and removes these good bacteria. To keep the bacteria in your tank and keep your tank looking clean, simply remove bits of extra uneaten food daily, and wipe down the glass of your tank with a clean cloth or sponge. Once a month, clean out your filter material by gently rinsing out the filter with aged and tepid water, which will keep the bacteria in your filter but remove debris. Try to not over feed your fish, as this is the usual main reason for fish deaths and unhealthy aquariums, even after you allow your tank to cycle.

Cycling your tank is a natural process when starting your new aquarium. Given some time in the beginning, your fish tank will reward you with long lived and healthy inhabitants for years to come.

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Fishkeeping can be an interesting hobby, and knowing how to clean your aquarium can help keep it looking great. It can also keep your fish and other tank inhabitants healthy.

Many inexperienced fish keepers make the mistake of thinking that cleaning the tank involves removing all of the water and inhabitants, cleaning it, and then replacing everything. This is completely wrong and can result in problems like fish loss and a cloudy tank. The cloudiness is usually from overfeeding. It is often seen as a reason to clean the tank again, or add chemicals, but it is a natural part of any tank and will disappear once the proper balance has been reached.

If you have made this mistake with your tank, or even if your aquarium is well established, you can ensure there are always sufficient bacteria by adding an EcoBio-Block. This volcanic rock is filled with bacteria, and when positioned in the tank near the filter output or by an air stone, the bacteria will begin to reproduce and populate your tank keeping your tank clear and healthy.

The first cleaning step is to unplug the filter and any air pumps you have running. Next, remove algae that may have accumulated on the sides. This can be accomplished by using an algae scraper, available in pet stores, or by using a new, clean sponge that has never been used for any other purpose. Once this is done, the water will appear cloudy, but that is okay, this will disappear in a short while.

If plants and tank decorations are very dirty, they can be removed and cleaned with a tooth brush, but this is not necessary if they do not have a build up.

Using a tank siphon, insert one end in the gravel, and run the other end into a bucket that is clean, chemical free, and preferably only for tank cleaning. Gently probe the gravel, and you will notice debris flowing through the tubing and into the bucket. Remember to move quickly as you do not want to remove too much water. Also ensure that no fish end up in the bucket as you clean. This dirty water can be discarded or it is wonderful fertilizer for your plants.

Next, take the lid off the external filter if this is the type of filtration system used, and lightly rinse away any accumulated debris. You can use a toothbrush to clean the tubes that protrude into the water, as they may have collected a film. Never clean the filter entirely, and don’t replace all of the filter media at the same time. Many of the beneficial bacteria in your tank live in the filter and will be removed if you clean it too thoroughly. Always follow the instructions on carbon packs, sponges and other filter components when replacing them as some may need to be rinsed before use, others may not.

You will now need to replace the water you have removed. Ensure that you treat tap water with a product that can remove chlorine and chloramine in the water, as these will kill your tank inhabitants. Mix the chemical with water that is the same temperature as the tank water, and gently pour it into the tank. Do not pour too quickly as it may disturb decorations and plants, or harm fish.

Ensure that your tank stays clean by performing this whenever necessary, and reduce your cleaning tasks by adding an EcoBio-Block to help keep beneficial bacteria at optimum levels. Cleaning your fish tank is easy, once you know what you are doing.

Get the exclusive inside scoop on how to clean your aquarium quickly and effectively now in our aquarium care and clear water review.

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Whether it’s your first aquarium or you are an expert aquarist, bringing fish home from the store can be a tricky task for everyone. Getting your fish home safely can be easy or very difficult. With a few steps your fish can arrive home and be happy and healthy. The distance to get your fish is a big factor in getting your pets home safely. Longer distance can cause hardships for the fish and yourself.

If at all possible the best thing to do, for the fish is to take them home ASAP. The fish can survive for only awhile in the bags they come it. The bags are filled with air and the fish can live only for a while without airflow.

If you live far away you should either plan to bring the fish home or bring a small aquarium to put fish in. If you need to do other things plan and get the fish last on your trip. If this is not possible, bring a small plastic tank and make sure you leave the fish in a cool place.

The fish can overheat and freeze, but if someone is with the fish they will be fine. Leaving the fish in the bags is fine, for a short period of time. The fish cannot survive long without airflow. If it is possible the fish should be put in a plastic tank.

When the fish are home there is one step left to insure their security to the tank. If the fish were in the small tank, put them back in the bags. Float the bags in the tank for at lest twenty minutes to get the fish used to the water. When the fish are acclimated net out he fish and put them in the tank. Do not dump the water into your tank; you can avoid diseases and bad water by not pouring out the water into your tank.

Float the fish the fish in the tank for around thirty minutes. After they have been exposed to the temperature of the tank, release them into the tank. A good tip is to not pour the water from the bags into the tank. Putting water that is from other tanks could be contaminated. Net out the fish and put them in the tank the tank. Putting the fish in the tank without the bag water can also prevent diseases.

Roshan Goodman gives tips on aquarium advice and on starting a fish tank.

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