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Useful Tips About Ohio Aquarium Care And Maintenance

By Sarah Thomas


The practice of maintaining aquariums ensures the fish are in an environment that is healthy for their survival. Most time consuming and costly problems can be prevented by spending some time every week doing maintenance of the tank. Stability of the tank is perhaps the most important aspect of maintaining it. So long as everything is running smoothly and the fish are doing well, you will not need major changes. For those who reside in Ohio aquarium care and maintenance is done in various ways.

Water change is a key part of maintenance and should be performed every two weeks. In majority of cases, just 10 to 15 percent of water volume will be changed. Water can be changed by replacing extracted water while vacuuming gravel. This will also eliminate uneaten foods and other residues which settle on the substrate. This is the easiest to do water change.

It will be important to check parameters of both water in the tank and that which is to be added afresh. In majority of cases, tap water has chloramine and chlorine. The latter tends to lose air really fast while chloramine will not. Chloramine is a compound with chlorine and ammonia. In either case, water conditioner is used to neutralize effects of chlorine. However, ammonia will still be present. The only way to break down ammonia is through the use of nitrifying bacteria. However, it is a process that might take more time than fish can tolerate.

Other elements that you may find in tap water are iron, phosphates and various other heavy metals. The local water company can give details about what their water contains. Well water is harder than tap water but is free of chlorine. Filtered water need to also be checked regularly and needs to be part of maintenance. Filter membranes might be damaged or may need to get replaced before they expire.

Filters should function in the best way. Their inserts which are algone, activated carbon and floss should get changed monthly. In case the fish load is high however, the change is done more frequently. The trapped particles will start to decompose in filters just as they would in the aquarium. Filters need to be cleaned monthly using water extracted during replacement and cleaning.

Eating pattern of fish needs to be closely checked. This is so that daily routine is observed to determine frequency of feeding. There are fish which require food on a regular basis while there are those that are fed just once daily. If the fish get overfed, there will be left overs within the tank.

You will need to strive to get rid of debris such as gravel within the tank before water change is done. It is important that one checks for impurities such as ammonia. This is done using a tester kit and buffer system that are easily gotten from various stores. The tester is used to check chemical levels in the tank. They can also check pH level.

Patience with fish will be critical. You should proceed slowly. Water parameters should be adjusted by changing the variables slowly. Protecting good bacteria will also be important so that water quality is maintained. Without the good bacteria, water quality will be adversely affected.




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