How often do you clean a saltwater
/ freshwater aquarium?
Aquariums are small ecosystems that mimic the
environment around us, and as in the environment, it is
normal to have some algae in any aquarium.
Since many people find algae to be unsightly, it is
necessary to wipe it off the glass once or twice a week.
Keeping algae off the glass by wiping it regularly makes
cleaning easier because the algae does not have as much
time to harden. Use a Mag Float from NorthSide
Aquatics for this task. It only takes a minute or
two to do.
Depending on the age of your tank, you may find periods
of heavier or lighter algae growth. If you have
algae on your rocks, it is easiest to remove it when you
do a water change.
How often do you change the
water in a saltwater / freshwater aquarium?
All aquariums require
regular monthly water changes whether they are
freshwater or saltwater. There are no shortcuts
here. Beware of products that claim you will never
need to change your water again if you use them.
Water must be changed to
remove pollutants, such as Nitrate, that the filters cannot
remove. NorthSide Aquatics suggests that
you change 30% of the water once a month for the vast majority
of saltwater and freshwater aquariums. Some
aquariums that are stocked very heavily or that house
certain types of fish, such as Discus, may require more
frequent water changes.
I've heard that I can just
change a small amount of water every week instead of
doing a big water change once a month. Is this OK?
While doing regular water changes is never a bad idea,
water changes that are too small do not have the desired
effect of reducing pollutants in the long-term.
NorthSide advises that people who opt to change smaller
amounts of water weekly keep a very close eye on their
Nitrate levels and schedule at least one large water
change on a regular basis.
Imagine that you have a concentration of 30 ppm Nitrate
and you change 10 percent of the water. You only
reduce the Nitrate levels by 3 ppm. That leaves
you with 27 ppm of Nitrate. You have not done much
good for your fish. By doing a 50% water change,
you have reduced your Nitrates by 15 ppm.
But if I change 10 percent
of my water every week, haven't I actually diluted the
Nitrates by 40%?
This is a commonly misunderstood
concept. One would think that
10%+10%+10%+10% (or 4 weeks worth of 10% water changes)
would equal 40%, but it does not. Here's why...
Let's take a tank that has a 30 ppm Nitrate level that
is fed at a moderate level, equaling about 20 ppm
Nitrates being added over the month, or 5 ppm being
added per week.
Week 1 Starting Level of 30 ppm
- 10% water change (-3 ppm)
+ feeding / fish poop (+5 ppm)
_______________________
Net change = +2ppm = 32 ppm
Week 2
Starting Level of 32 ppm
- 10% water change (-3.2 ppm)
+ feeding / fish poop (+5 ppm)
_______________________
Net change = +1.8 ppm = 33.8 ppm
Week 3 Starting Level of 33.8 ppm
- 10% water change (-3.38 ppm)
+ feeding / fish poop (+5 ppm)
_______________________
Net change = +1.44 ppm = 35.42 ppm
Week 4
Starting Level of 35.2 ppm
- 10% water change (-3.52 ppm)
+ feeding / fish poop (+5 ppm)
_______________________
Net change = +1.48 ppm = 36.68 ppm
After one month and all of that
work, you have actually accumulated Nitrate! The
reason this happens is that you are constantly adding
more food and never doing a significant enough water
change to dilute the nitrates.
One 30% water change on that same 30 ppm aquarium
would have dropped it by 9 ppm,
leaving you with 21 ppm. Still not ideal, but it's a lot
better than where you started.
OK, but isn't
there some benefit to changing the water every week?
Yes, you do get some benefit by
changing the water every week. If you have a plant
tank or a reef tank, you are adding in good things in
that small water change that are beneficial to plants
and corals. Fresh tap water for a plant tank
brings in nutrients like iron, phosphate, etc.
Likewise, for a reef tank, fresh RO/DI water mixed with
a quality reef salt (not just any salt) will
provide some trace elements like magnesium, strontium,
iodide, etc. that make corals happy.
In both cases, the additional elements that come in the
water typically are not enough to forego adding these
supplements via a bottle.
What kind of water should I use
to do a water change?
This depends on the type of aquarium you have set up,
and it is important to understand the differences.
If you have a freshwater fish only
or planted aquarium, you may use dechlorinated tap
water. Plants actually do best with tap water
because of the high mineral content found in tap water.
Saltwater aquariums, especially reef aquariums, have
more restrictive requirements regarding the water one
may use. Ordinary tap water can often contain
excessive chlorine, chloramines, copper, nitrogen,
phosphates, silicates, or many other chemicals that are
harmful to the sensitive organisms in a reef
environment. Contaminants such as nitrogen compounds and
phosphates can lead to excessive, and unwanted, algae
growth.
The best water to use for saltwater aquariums is Reverse
Osmosis/De-Ionized water, more commonly known as RO/DI
water. RO/DI water is extremely pure and contains
virtually no trace elements.
RO/DI water is NOT the same thing as RO water or
Distilled Water that you can buy at the local grocery
store.
I live outside of the city.
Can I use well water in my aquarium?
NorthSide Aquatics
strongly recommends against using well water in any
aquarium, but most especially not in a reef aquarium.
Well water is typically high in mineral content which is
not good for critters found in a reef.Well
water is also typically high in dissolved CO2, which can
lower pH values and cause fish to go into shock.
While an argument could be made for using well water in
a planted aquarium because of the high mineral content
upon which plants
thrive, there are many factors that make it generally
unfavorable as a recommended water source for freshwater
aquaria. The most obvious factors are pollution
and/or contamination from near-by agriculture and septic
systems. This pollution can cause wells to be high
in Nitrate which makes the reduction of high Nitrates
through water changes virtually impossible.
How often should I replace
my heater?
Heaters do fail and you could lose all the inhabitants of your tank when
they do. Typically, the thermostat fails and the heater can no
longer regulate itself. As a result, the tank continues to heat
until your critters are crispy.
Heaters are worked hardest in the winter, so we see many of them fail at
this time.
Be proactive and replace your heater today!
Come by NorthSide Aquatics on any Trick Your Tank Thursday and save 15% on your new heater.
So, I really don't have
the time to do the maintenance myself. Can you
do it for me?
Absolutely!
NorthSide Aquatics offers aquarium
maintenance service
to the greater Little Rock area. We provide
service to business and residential customers.
Contact us directly for a quote.
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