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Fundamental to the success of a thriving aquarium is a stable environment made possible with a regular maintenance program. This includes regular removal of particulate matter (faeces, uneaten food, detritus, etc.). The removal of algae from tank walls, removal of particulate matter from the filter, and regular water changes.
There are numerous test kits available in the aquarium hobby for testing water parameters. Those primarily concerned with fish keeping are dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, alkalinity, hardness, and carbon dioxide. However, many dissolved substances, which cannot be measured by the average hobbyist, rapidly accumulate in an aquarium especially if the water is not changed on a regular schedule. These dissolved substances remain largely unidentified but include organic acids, sugars, microbes, phenolics, proteins, hormones and fine particles of detritus. The toxicity of these dissolved substances to fish is not completely known, however research has indicated that certain components will inhibit the growth and development of fish and increases the susceptibility of the fish to disease. Some researchers believe that there is a direct relationship between high levels of these substances and high populations of disease organisms in aquaria.
A variable proportion of these accumulated substances is readily degradable and consumes significant amounts of oxygen, increasing carbon dioxide levels, lowering the pH, and contributing towards the deterioration of water quality. Therefore the reduction of these compounds ultimately leads to improved water quality and healthier specimens. Only regular waterchanges will lower the concentration of these substances and restore a stable environment. The more frequently the water is changed, the lower the stresses on the system and its inhabitants. Most rainbowfishes enjoy waterchanges; they seem stimulated by them, so long as they do not involve so great a change in water parameters that they induce stress.
Waterchanges are one of the easiest things you can do for your fish, and will do more to support their health and longevity than the most high-tech filtration and control systems can do without waterchanges. No systems exist, despite misleading claims to the contrary, that can replace waterchanges. Weekly changes of between 25-35% should be employed to avoid any major changes in water quality and chemistry. Weekly changes of at least 50% will be required for rainbowfishes maintained at high population densities.
Substratum in heavily fed, overstocked or neglected aquariums can rapidly accumulate organic wastes, especially if the water is not changed on a regular schedule. These wastes will stimulate bacterial growth that uses up oxygen. As the dissolved oxygen in the water is depleted the water becomes polluted and the fish can die. The best way to avoid this problem is to 'vacuum' the gravel each time you do a waterchange. This process removes organic wastes, which otherwise might clog the gravel bed. However, should the gravel becomes contaminated, the aquarium should be drained, cleaned and the gravel thoroughly washed before re-establishing the aquarium.
The most common apparatus for vacuuming the gravel is a siphon with a large cylinder on one end attached to a long, narrow tube. These devices are generally available from aquarium suppliers. The large end is placed in the tank, the small end in a bucket that is below the level of the tank. Move the large end up and down in the tank to start a water flow into the bucket. Then insert the large end of the siphon into the gravel and slowly move it up and down. If used correctly, it will remove the accumulated wastes from the gravel without removing any gravel. Repeat this over the entire bottom of the tank, until the bucket is full. Then pull the siphon end out of the tank to stop the water flow. If more water is to be changed, this can be repeated. Replace the removed water with new, conditioned water that has been adjusted to the same chemical parameters as the aquarium.
Although I have detailed a number of routine jobs in the maintenance of an aquarium, the work is not quite so laborious as a reading of it may imply. The less an aquarium is fussed with the better, and, as a rule, if it has been set up in the correct manner in the first place it requires very little further attention. It does not mean that a great deal of time has to be spent every day in looking after the fish and plants. A few minutes each day, to feed the fish, to remove uneaten food, to see that all the fish are in good health is ample. Once a week the aquarist will have to spend half an hour, perhaps a little longer, overhauling the plants, removing excess sediment, water changing, cleaning the filter, and cleaning the front glass. It is important to note that such attention as is necessary must be given regularly, because once you neglect an aquarium the whole thing becomes a nuisance rather than the attraction that it could be with a little care.
© Copyright Adrian R. Tappin
Updated December, 2008.
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