A beautiful aquarium with clear water and colorful fish is always pleasing to the eye. It calms down after a hard day's work, makes the room more comfortable. However, any aquarium requires regular and proper maintenance.
It is necessary
- - plastic container for partial replacement of water;
- - wall scraper;
- - siphon for an aquarium;
- - compressor with filter.
Instructions
Step 1
Buy some snails. An aquarium is an isolated ecosystem that is periodically polluted. Uneaten food residues and fish waste products lie on the ground, glass walls are covered with bloom, water can bloom and acquire an unpleasant odor. To avoid all this, get some snails. The most popular are ampullia, fiza, melania. Snails are beautiful in their own way, but more importantly, they are water orderlies. More than two to four snails (depending on the volume of the aquarium) are not worth buying. They multiply quickly enough. Large species of snails, such as ampullia, are able to crawl out of the aquarium, so remember to cover it with a lid.
Step 2
A similar in purpose, but much more active in action, is performed by aquarium catfish. They are shy and know how to hide so that it is not easy to notice them in the water. However, these fish are purchased not so much for aesthetic as for a sanitary function. Catfish, such as ancistrus or ototsinklus, eat algae (mainly diatomaceous brown algae) and thus cleanse the aquarium.
Step 3
If some time after feeding the fish, dry food is still floating on the surface, it must be collected with a net. Uneaten leftovers will start to rot and litter the aquarium, and fish will never come close to spoiled food.
Step 4
Do not use dyed food or buy substandard colored aquarium decorations. Both can change the color of the water so much that you have to completely pour it out and replace it with a new one, and this is associated with a lot of time and effort.
Step 5
Every week you need to partially change the water in the aquarium. Experienced aquarists recommend once a week to scoop out about 10-15 percent of the water with a special glass or ladle and replace it with fresh one. It is important that new water is poured into a container in advance and settled for at least a day.
Step 6
It is also necessary to regularly siphon the soil. One such cleaning per month is enough. The mouth of the siphon should be lowered into the aquarium and gently moved between stones in the ground. The siphon is like a vacuum cleaner. It will get rid of fish excrement, dead plant roots and other contaminants.
Step 7
The walls of the aquarium are easy to clean with a special scraper. It can be purchased at any pet store. The device has a long handle and a plastic (and sometimes metal) attachment. The scraper is partially lowered into the water, the blade is firmly pressed against the wall. Further actions are reminiscent of removing frost from the windshield of a car.
Step 8
If your tank is overgrowing too quickly, the water smells bad, and the fish population is declining, then the balance is out of balance. Any maintenance of the aquarium should be aimed at restoring or maintaining biological balance.
Step 9
Don't forget about the water aeration system. The compressor will not only saturate the aquatic environment with oxygen necessary for the normal functioning of the fish, but will also prevent the aquarium from clogging up too quickly. Flush the compressor filter from time to time and replace it with a new one if necessary.
