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What is the best website you have found explaining the care and maintenance of a 55 gallon freshwater aquarium

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:51:10 +0000

Question by riverrat15666: What is the best website you have found explaining the care and maintenance of a 55 gallon freshwater aquarium

Best answer:

Answer by EEZEE BONEZ
http://www.squidoo.com/TropicalAquariumCareThe proper nutrition and feeding of tropical fish is one of the most important factors in keeping your pet fish healthy. Choosing the right food for your tropical fish is very important, a high quality flake food made specifically for the species you own is the best choice.A properly balanced diet will ensure optimum health, hardiness and brilliant colors. Feeding the correct amount of food is also important to the health of your fish, one of the most common errors new aquarium owners make is overfeeding.Maintaining water quality is one of the most vital tasks for the long term health of your tropical fish. Regular water changes will ensure that the tank stays clean and clear. Water should be changed at least every 2 weeks, once a week is even better and will make cleanings an easier job.It’s not necessary to change all off the water in the tank, usually about 20 to 25 percent of the aquariums total water volume will suffice. This is also a good time to vacuum the gravel and clean off any algae that has accumulated on the glass.Most aquarium disease can be avoided by making sure your aquarium water is healthy, fish are just as vulnerable to disease as any other organism. If you suspect that one of your fish is diseased it’s imperative to properly diagnose the illness before you use any medication on your tank.A couple of the most common tropical fish diseases are:Ich: Ich can be identified by the small white spots on the fins and body of the fish that look like the fish has salt all over it. Ich often comes about due to poor water conditions, fortunately most pet stores carry the medication needed to treat this disease.Ammonia Poisoning: Ammonia poisoning can happen when a filter fails, if too many fish are introduced at one time, or due to the loss of beneficial bacteria colonies. Symptoms include red or inflamed looking gills, and the fish will likely be near the surface gasping for air.Chemical neutralization of the ammonia and a 50% water change should be the first steps in treating ammonia poisoning. Constant testing and stepped up water changes will bring the tank back to normal conditions.Getting your self familiar with the proper environments for tropical fish is the first step in creating a long lasting aquarium. Finding a specialty aquarium store in your area, with a knowledgeable staff and professional advice can be a valuable resource.

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Freshwater Aquarium Filter Care: A Cleaning Guide

Thu, 26 May 2011 18:51:11 +0000

by armigeress

Freshwater Aquarium Filter Care: A Cleaning Guide

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Freshwater Aquarium Filter Care: A Cleaning Guide

By: Robert Hedley
Posted: Apr 15, 2011

You can rightly say that your freshwater aquarium filter is the most important part of your fish tank; it’s the one that will maintain a clean and balanced environment so that fish can live. When cleaning out your tank, it’s most important to clean out the filter, but it’s usually not clear, especially to beginners how to go about this. This article is a guide on what you should do and why, so that you can get your filters clean without harming your fish.

There are different kinds of freshwater aquarium filters and they are usually designed to do different jobs in the fish tank, and according to the kind of fish tank in question. Many filters will do all 3 steps of filtration – mechanical, biological and chemical so you’ll not have to install 3 separate ones.

For beginners, especially with smaller tanks, an under-gravel filter is a good one to start with. It sits under the gravel in the tank and requires little maintenance. You will only need an under-gravel filter vacuum to siphon off bits and pieces that are floating around the gravel, but other than that, there isn’t much to be done. You must ensure though that you do a thorough job; any bits left behind will eventually cause your tank environment to go out of balance.

In larger aquariums though, especially those that are heavily planted, you need more than an under-gravel filter. An under-gravel filter will cause the gravel to be raised and there will be too much water movement meaning that plants never get to root properly. It will also cause air bubbles to trap and these could be toxic when they eventually pop.

Even in a small aquarium, if you have live plants, it’s a good idea to install an internal freshwater aquarium filter to avoid these 2 problems. They are not very expensive and they will save you the trouble of having to worry about your plants or trapped gases.

An internal (even external) freshwater aquarium filter needs to be cleaned once every 4 weeks, or sooner if you notice that they are clogging. This is where most beginners will have a problem, but without any ill intention. They will use hot water and then get surprised when their fish die after all that hard work!

Hot water will make a filter useless, or even dangerous for your fish. To understand why, refer back to your knowledge of the 3 filtration steps, mechanical, biological and chemical. Biological filtration is the most important because it’s the one that’s responsible for putting friendly bacteria that create a favourable environment for your fish. The bacteria are usually caught in the sponge and will be released once again into the tank when the sponge is replaced after cleaning.

What happens when you use hot water on your freshwater aquarium filter? You kill off all the bacteria, and then replace the sponge and your water is flat. There are no micro-organisms in it to provide a balanced environment and soon, you notice that your fish are sluggish and they eventually die. It’s because breakdown of compounds is not happening – there are no bacteria to aid in this. Ammonia (especially toxic) is one of the toxins that won’t break down without these friendly bacteria. Nitrites as well will not convert to nitrates and the eventual high doses will start to affect the fish. The tank will repopulate with the necessary bacteria after some time, but it may be too late by then.

So how should you clean a freshwater aquarium filter? Use cold water every 3-4 weeks. Never use soap – if you have to use anything, salt or bicarbonate of soda will do, and only in small amounts. You must not use soap on any part of your fish tank – it contains acids that will kill of your fish.

If you have many fish, clean a bit more frequently because waste accumulates faster. Disconnect the filter from the socket and take it out of the tank. Remove the cabinet that holds the filter to expose its inside and put it in a bucket. Rinse the inside in room temperature water. You’ll know its clean when the water running off it becomes clear. Don’t get it too clear though – you want to leave some “dirt” behind to repopulate the tank. Wash the rest of the filter (cabinet, piping); put everything back together and freshwater aquarium filter is good to go into the tank again.

Robert Hedley – About the Author:

Robert is an experienced aquarist, who owns and maintains his and other people’s aquariums. For loads of great tips on freshwater aquarium filter, visit http://www.freshwater-aquariumsecrets.com

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/freshwater-aquarium-filter-care-a-cleaning-guide-4608781.html

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Article Tags:
freshwater aquarium filter, aquarium filter, filter care, aquarium filter care

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All About Care for an Acrylic Aquarium Kit

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:50:42 +0000

by UggBoy♥UggGirl [ PHOTO : WORLD : SENSE ]

The practice of keeping aquariums came about in the late 1800′s. They were fairly crude. Usually these ancient aquariums only had one side that was made of glass, with the other three sides being made of metal or wood. Most aquariums consisted of fish that were native to the region of its owner simply because of availability. Also most old school fish tanks contained lone fresh water fish. The reason being that salt water would corrode the metal frame that held the aquarium together.

Aquariums drastically changed in the 1960′s with the invention of silicone adhesive. Metal frames became obsolete and more people started to keep salt water fish and invertebrates. More recently glass tanks have become less frequently used due to the flexibility of acrylic. Literally flexibility! Acrylic aquariums are far more for forgiving than there glass counterparts. If a heavy object strikes a glass tank, it will almost certainly break. The flexibility of an acrylic tank will prevent this catastrophe from happening. In addition, acrylic offers more flexibility in design than glass. Acrylic aquariums have been made into everything from coffee tables to gum ball machines.

That being said, there is a short downfall to owning an acrylic aquarium. They do scratch more easily than glazing. When cleaning your aquarium, be careful not to use paper towels, and harsh or abrasive chemicals, as they can scratch the acrylic surface of the aquarium. Always use a cleaner specifically labeled safe for acrylic. Use plastic or rubber scrubbers, rather than metallic to clean the sides of an acrylic tank. Be careful not to circumstantially pick up a piece of substrate or bothering while cleaning the inside of the tank. However, if you do happen to scratch an acrylic aquarium, all is not lost. The tank tinned be repaired, unlike glass. There are acrylic repair kits available at specialty pet stores, your local hardware store and of course online.

When purchasing an acrylic aquarium kit, there will be many different options to choose from, at many different price points. Aquarium kits can be purchased at places such as specialty aquatic pet stores, from huge retail chains, or again online. A fish lover can choose from small cylinder shaped tanks that can double as a coffee table lamp to wall huge wall sized aquariums. While, there are some basic things that will be included in most kits, such as, a filter, some substrate or coral and sometimes lighting, the kits themselves can vary greatly. It really doesn’t matter where you buy your starter kit, but keep in mind that it is extremely important to buy your fish from a reputable dealer. Don’t buy fish that are hovering near the surface, or that are located in a tank with other dead fish. Fish diseases are extremely communicable. Be weary of a fish dealer that refuses to catch a specific fish out of the tank for you. After all this is going to be your fish and you have a right to choose.

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It was in the 1800’s that the habit of collecting and keeping fish started. It was selfsame basic. They were mostly made from glass on one side and surrounded by some other material like wood or metal for the other sides. These aquariums mostly kept fishes that were locally available and were native to the region. The other thing that used to prevail was that the fishes were mostly fresh water fishes and not salt water as the salt content could erode the metal frame which kept the tank in one piece.

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