4/06/2012

Keeping your Aquarium Clean: When and How to do It

By Kent Henry


A healthy aquarium reflects how far you are willing to go in keeping your aquarium clean. The adorable creatures inside your freshwater aquarium will exude its natural exquisiteness when they are living blissfully inside the artificial aquatic environment that you have created. A regular maintenance system should keep your tank healthy. Freshwater aquarium maintenance is simply having a regular schedule of keeping your freshwater aquarium clean.

Proper equipments are needed when you endeavor to keep your aquarium clean. Your little friends are very sensitive even to the minute change in their environment therefore you need to know how to do things properly.

Never use household cleaners to clean your fish tank. These are deadly to your fish. No matter how well you rinse, these chemicals leave a residue that is toxic to aquatic life.

One major advice for keeping your aquarium clean is to insure that the water supply is clean. A dirty pump is not going to fill your aquarium with clean water. A good, clean filter is vital to the life of your aquarium's ecosystem. However, a clean filter does not mean a spotless filter. Your filter media contains good bacteria that helps break down toxins and waste in your aquarium. Removing all of the bacteria can allow harmful levels of things like ammonia to develop in your water. Gently rinsing your filter media on a regular basis should be all it needs. Your filter manufacturer will provide a suggested maintenance schedule for you to follow. This will prevent you from cleaning it too often and harming the bacteria balance, or too seldom, allowing too great a buildup of waste in the media, which will prevent it from cycling the water as frequently as it should.

You can also clean the accessories you put inside your tank every two weeks. This would prevent the algae from mounting on them. However if what you have is an acrylic aquarium you need to clean it on a weekly basis.

Whenever you are cleaning your aquarium, check your mechanical items and make sure they are functioning properly. Your air pump is important to ensure the water of your aquarium is adequately oxygenated. Your filter needs to be circulating the water through it in order to keep the water clear and the toxins out.

For the most part, you do need to set a schedule for a fractional water change for your tank. This is extremely important in maintaining a healthy ecosystem inside your freshwater aquarium. Your little friends? haven is a closed environment what has been put inside will stay unless you get rid of it. Even if you have kept an eye on your masterpiece ammonia, algae, and other eye sore can grow right before your eyes. The ultimatum is to replace the water and vacuum the substrates to remove the accumulated excess waste.

When you replace the water in your tanks, whether during partial water changes, or just adding new water to replace what has evaporated, always use a water conditioner. Water conditioners not only remove chlorine from tap water, but they will also help remove other impurities such as excess ammonia. Remember to read the instructions on every product you use.

Have a regular maintenance check for your tank. Your pets badly need you. Give time for them and by keeping your aquarium clean your little friends will thank you in a way that you never have imagined.




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