Aquarium care & advice from Water Garden Ltd.
Aquariums make a great decoration in any home and there is a wide variety of aquatic life which can be homed inside them. To ensure the water is kept in top quality to support this life there are some essentials to consider.
The importance of pumping and circulation.
Firstly, circulation is extremely important to ensure the water doesn’t become stagnant and remains well oxygenated. Stagnant water becomes a breeding ground for algae, bacteria and parasites which will quickly take over the tank and kill any plants and animals housed within it. The ideal rate of circulation is to turn over 4 times the tank capacity each hour. An aquarium filter with an integrated pump is the most effective way to do this but in larger tanks extra pumps may be required to achieve the correct turnover rate.
Principles of Aquarium Filtration.
Secondly, filtration is essential to remove any build-up of toxic waste produced by decaying plant matter and animal waste. The filter selected must be adequate for the tank in which it is to be installed. Each filter is specified to suit a maximum tank capacity in which it can handle, however this is not always correct and depends mainly on the amount and type of life inside your aquarium. Certain species can produce far higher levels of waste compared to others. Generally as a rule of thumb, try to select a filter which can handle an extra 50% of the aquarium volume, thus ensuring a great water conditions and the added capacity should you wish to heavily stock your tank. There are a lot of different varieties of filter on the market and each has its own suitability and purpose. For simplicity, the two main categories of Internal and External filters are explained below.
Internal filters are the easiest to install as they simply adhere to the inside wall of the tank or can be laid on the bottom. They are best suited to community tanks with small fish which do not produce significant amounts of waste. Internal aquarium filters normally range from 5 – 200 litre tank volume capability. The downside to internal filtration is they can be tricky to disguise and can also be unsightly in some decorative aquariums.
External filters are usually housed inside an aquarium cabinet to remain out of sight and offer the most effective filtration. The filter works by syphoning water from the tank into the filter chamber and then pumping this back to the fishtank. External filters usually feature several layers of filter foam varying in density and layers of biological medium to house beneficial bacteria. External filters generally range from 100 – 600 litre filtration capacity and are essential for high waste producing fish such as Malawi cichlids.
Water Temperature and control.
Maintaining water temperature can be an issue in fish tanks where the surrounding environment has large fluctuations in temperature. Aquarium heaters will allow the water to be heated to a suitable level but the surrounding environment will dictate the overall aquarium temperature, for example a room with an average temperature of 16⁰C will need the heater turned up to 30⁰C to achieve an acceptable range of 24-28⁰C for tropical fish (This can vary in each individual installation). A precise digital thermometer is the best way to monitor the ambient temperature of the tank.
Aquarium Lighting & Plant Health.
Lighting is essential to keep live plants and to boost fish health and colouration. Picking the right type of light is quite difficult with the market having so many different types and options. The main types are LED and fluorescent tube, however not every light is made to suit the same purpose. When choosing an aquarium light, you should consider what you are keeping or hope to keep as different types of fish and plants require different light intensities and spectrum coverage. Live plants require a strong full spectrum light to replicate natural sunlight in order to photosynthesise but some fish prefer shady/dark conditions.
Maintaining your aquarium.
Maintaining the fish tank can become a difficult task if left too long. This is a task which should be undertaken ‘little and often’. Try to design the layout of the tank to make cleaning as easy as possible as the last thing you want to have to do is move rocks and plants around to make room to clean. There are several tools which can help to keep the tank clean such as a magnetic glass cleaner which allows you to clean the glass without getting your hands and arms wet. For more stubborn areas, an aquarium scraper may be required. Long handled scissors and aquarium tweezers allow you to trim plants and move them around the tank. Try to remove any debris and excess food as soon as possible as this will start to decay and release harmful ammonia, potentially causing your fish ill health. A capture net can help with removing free floating debris and food.