Source: http://www.pethealth.com.au/Page/fish-tank-maintenance
Aquariums are not only for the home. Many businesses are now installing aquariums in their waiting rooms. The lazy, unhurried and fluid motions of fish relax waiting clients and are far more absorbing than the dog-eared and coffee stained lifestyle magazines that have been collecting dust for the last decade.
However, a green algae-contaminated tank with shabby plants, slimy gravel and fish performing a realistic mime of the last moments of the Titanic is not an asset to any office or home.
The difference is the attention given to the tank. An aquarium is easy to maintain, with some duties needed daily and others weekly or monthly.
Daily Duties
The first daily duty is to check the temperature of the tank. High and low temperatures can be deadly but, in Queensland, tanks near windows often get too warm, especially on weekends when the office is vacant and the air conditioners are off.
For goldfish, the tank temperature should about 20 to 22 degrees centigrade and for tropical fish, it should range between 24 and 27 degrees centigrade. The ideal temperature depends more on the type of fish kept. Seek further advice from your aquarium supplier.
Examine the tank daily for sick or dead fish and remove them immediately with a soft net. A sick fish should be placed into a small quarantine tank to prevent further transmission of its condition. You can then organise treatment of this fish and the mother tank accordingly.
Check that the pump and air outlets are functioning and that proper air and water flow through the tank is occurring.
Weekly Duties
The condition of the water is vital as fish in tanks have a small volume of water in which to swim when compared with their free-living counterparts.
Therefore, regular cleaning of the tank is a weekly task. You need to remove accumulated sediment from the plants and from the gravel surface. For this, use a siphon tube or an air-operated vacuum cleaner where air bubbles drive the water up a tube and then back to the tank again via a cloth filter.
The pH, ammonia and nitrite levels of the tank should also be checked weekly. Simple test kits are available for this purpose.
The pH of the water should be between 6.5 - 7.5 for most aquaria. Correcting the pH of a tank usually requires expert assistance but regular water changes will help and, sometimes, chemical buffers are needed.
Ammonia and nitrite levels relate to the quantity of waste that is accumulating in the tank. Excess levels will occur with overcrowding, overfeeding, and if a dead fish or two are in the tank. A dirty filter or faulty pump also cause a rapid rise in waste products and conversely, a fully functioning filter is essential if you are trying to remove the waste efficiently. Partial water changes will help to solve this problem. Refer to the next section.
The plants in the aquarium also need weekly attention. Remove dead leaves and clean excess sediment from the leaves. Some healthy surface plants may require thinning-out each week and you may need to prune vigorously growing rooted plants. New plant runners may need imbedding in the gravel and some plants could need replanting if the fish have uprooted them.
Snails are a nuisance. Lure them to a wilting lettuce leaf that you have floated on the surface of the tank. Scooping the assembled greedy mob with a net is then easy. Chemicals are also available to eliminate snails
Monthly Duties
Water changes clean the tank and freshen the water and are usually necessary every three to four weeks. If an ammonia or nitrite problem is present, it may need to be done more often. Replace about 20 - 25% of the water by using a siphon hose. Vacuum the tank at the same time.
Domestic tap water needs to be conditioned to remove chlorine and other heavy metals before being added to the aquarium. You can condition water by aerating it as it comes from the tap, or by leaving it to age for a few days. The ageing process can be hastened by placing an air diffuser, attached to an aquarium pump, in the water. Chemical water conditioners are also available.
Cleaning the filter is usually a monthly task. However, the frequency varies depending on the health of the tank, the type of filter used and the number of fish and plants in the tank. Filters usually contain a healthy handful of bacteria which help to remove nitrite wastes. So, with some filters, you only need to gently rinse the filter under the tap to remove the rubbish and not the bacteria.
Lastly, each month scrape any accumulated algae from the front surface of the aquarium. Use a razor blade scraper or a pair of magnetic scouring pads.
For information on aquarium management, look for the book Community Fishes by Dick Mills. For the knowledge junkies, the book Aquariology - The Science of Fish Health Management is a detailed reference book. These books are available from your local pet shop.
The first daily duty is to check the temperature of the tank. High and low temperatures can be deadly but, in Queensland, tanks near windows often get too warm, especially on weekends when the office is vacant and the air conditioners are off.
For goldfish, the tank temperature should about 20 to 22 degrees centigrade and for tropical fish, it should range between 24 and 27 degrees centigrade. The ideal temperature depends more on the type of fish kept. Seek further advice from your aquarium supplier.
Examine the tank daily for sick or dead fish and remove them immediately with a soft net. A sick fish should be placed into a small quarantine tank to prevent further transmission of its condition. You can then organise treatment of this fish and the mother tank accordingly.
Check that the pump and air outlets are functioning and that proper air and water flow through the tank is occurring.
The condition of the water is vital as fish in tanks have a small volume of water in which to swim when compared with their free-living counterparts.
Therefore, regular cleaning of the tank is a weekly task. You need to remove accumulated sediment from the plants and from the gravel surface. For this, use a siphon tube or an air-operated vacuum cleaner where air bubbles drive the water up a tube and then back to the tank again via a cloth filter.
The pH, ammonia and nitrite levels of the tank should also be checked weekly. Simple test kits are available for this purpose.
The pH of the water should be between 6.5 - 7.5 for most aquaria. Correcting the pH of a tank usually requires expert assistance but regular water changes will help and, sometimes, chemical buffers are needed.
Ammonia and nitrite levels relate to the quantity of waste that is accumulating in the tank. Excess levels will occur with overcrowding, overfeeding, and if a dead fish or two are in the tank. A dirty filter or faulty pump also cause a rapid rise in waste products and conversely, a fully functioning filter is essential if you are trying to remove the waste efficiently. Partial water changes will help to solve this problem. Refer to the next section.
The plants in the aquarium also need weekly attention. Remove dead leaves and clean excess sediment from the leaves. Some healthy surface plants may require thinning-out each week and you may need to prune vigorously growing rooted plants. New plant runners may need imbedding in the gravel and some plants could need replanting if the fish have uprooted them.
Snails are a nuisance. Lure them to a wilting lettuce leaf that you have floated on the surface of the tank. Scooping the assembled greedy mob with a net is then easy. Chemicals are also available to eliminate snails
Water changes clean the tank and freshen the water and are usually necessary every three to four weeks. If an ammonia or nitrite problem is present, it may need to be done more often. Replace about 20 - 25% of the water by using a siphon hose. Vacuum the tank at the same time.
Domestic tap water needs to be conditioned to remove chlorine and other heavy metals before being added to the aquarium. You can condition water by aerating it as it comes from the tap, or by leaving it to age for a few days. The ageing process can be hastened by placing an air diffuser, attached to an aquarium pump, in the water. Chemical water conditioners are also available.
Cleaning the filter is usually a monthly task. However, the frequency varies depending on the health of the tank, the type of filter used and the number of fish and plants in the tank. Filters usually contain a healthy handful of bacteria which help to remove nitrite wastes. So, with some filters, you only need to gently rinse the filter under the tap to remove the rubbish and not the bacteria.
Lastly, each month scrape any accumulated algae from the front surface of the aquarium. Use a razor blade scraper or a pair of magnetic scouring pads.
For information on aquarium management, look for the book Community Fishes by Dick Mills. For the knowledge junkies, the book Aquariology - The Science of Fish Health Management is a detailed reference book. These books are available from your local pet shop.
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