Aquarium Maintainence
In addition to the continuous cleaning action of filters, a certain amount of other routine cleaning-up is required in both freshwater and marine aquarium. Some debris may be too large for the filters to cope with, so manual cleaning will be required. The simplest method of clearing debris too large for the filters is to use a syphon. Take a length of plastic hose long enough to touch the bottom of the tank on the inside and to hang down well below the level of the bottom on the outside. If you suck the dangling end of the tube so that water is drawn up the tube (and take your mouth away before the column of water reaches it!), a jet of water will be siphoned out, and continue to flow as long as the end of the tubes held below the level of the tank bottom. Use the part of the tube inside the tank like a vacuum cleaner to suck up all visible debris, and direct the jet of water leaving the siphon into a bucket for disposal. Don’t hold the end of the tube too close to the gravel, plants or fish: the suction is quite powerful and could cause damage.
Also available are automatic siphons in which, by an ingenious system of small reservoirs, water starts to flow as soon as the end of the tube is submerged.
A further, more sophisticated type works from the aerator supply. This device is a bubble airlift in which the flow of water sucked up is directed into a nylon bag which catches the suspended debris. This type of cleaner operates completely sub-merged, and returns cleaned water straight into the tank. It is useful for marine aquarium, where one does not wish to discard the carefully made-up artificial ’seawater’ — but be very careful that no metal is used in the apparatus.
Overfeeding is the primary cause for the build-up of mum in the aquarium, and can be very dangerous. Bacteria proliferate at tremendous rate on the uneaten food, depleting the oxygen in theater and frequently producing poisonous toxins as well as a foul-smelling and poisonous gas, hydrogen supplied. Very few fish deiform starvation; underfeeding normally only slows their growth. Overfeeding, by contrast, causes ill-health and bloating, while the decay of excess food can cause a sudden and catastrophic collapse of the aquarium ecology, killing all the fish in a few hours. Give only enough food that the fish can consume it all within five minutes. If necessary, feed twice a day, using small amounts each time. This rule obviously applies mainly to dried or artificial foods but, even if you are using live foods which can survive for a time in the aquarium, never give them to excess. All living foods use oxygen, and so could rob the fish of their oxygen supplies.
It will be necessary to clean the glass inside the tank occasion-ally, due to overgrowth of micro-organisms. If lighting levels are too high algal overgrowth may also occur. In a freshwater tank, a razorblade fixed in a plastic holder can bemused as a scraper, and the material removed can be siphoned outfox the tank. Keep the blade well clear of the fillet of silicone rubber along the edge of the tank, or you could create leaks.
In the marine tank, razorblades must not be used, nor any other metal object. A nylon pot-scourer works well, but the metal staple holding it together must be removed. Coarse fibrous plastic scour-in pads from hardware shops can be used, and if so should be reserved exclusively for the job of tank-cleaning.
Once in a while you may need to clean out the tank completely. Catch the fish and transfer them to your prepared quarantine or hospital tank. Siphon out all the water, and make apace in the gravel so that the siphon tube can get to the bottom land remove the last drops. Never attempt to move the tank until all the water and gravel have been removed.
Shovel out the gravel and, if it is to be reused, place it in bucket and run a hose in it, stirring constantly until the water runs clear. If the gravel is discolored, add a small amount of hydrogen peroxide or bleach, and allow it to stand for 12 hours. Then rinse thoroughly, and allow the gravel to soak in fresh water for at least a week, with frequent changes of water. It’s much easier to discard and replace the gravel!
The tank can be washed and cleaned with a plastic or nylon scourer, and rinsed well; take great care not to scratch the glass while cleaning it. Although the scratches will be invisible when the tank is refilled with water, they provide weak spots from which crack could begin.