Aquarium Maintenance: What You Need To Know.

The fear of aquarium maintenance can stop people back from starting up a fish aquarium. However it does not need the constant upkeep and attention that people fear. A major help is to set up your fish tank so that your tasks are made easier. After that the upkeep is work but you don't have to be a contortionist and it won't take as long as you think.

Aquarium maintenance needs to be done to keep your aquarium running well and your tank fish alive. From experience it is important to set up a schedule and stick to it. So what needs to be done? How often and how long will they take?

Before you get to the tank there are several things you should do:

You must test the water in the fish tank. This is the ounce of prevention. It can stop a small problem escalating. The key is the pH take care of that and you should be fine but you need to test to find that out.

Look closely at your fish - The best way is to do this while you are feeding them. Look for anything out of the ordinary. Spots, tattered fins, erratic swimming, or anything that looks odd. Spotting these early can save the life of your fish.

Once you get to the tank the biggest and most important task is to change the water. As a rule of thumb, you should do a partial water change - say 25% to 30% every four weeks. There is flexibility on this but it depends on the size of tank and the number of fish you have. A smaller tank with a lot of fish may need to be cleaned more often. Get advice if you are not sure. You must de-chlorinate the water if you have chlorine or chloromine in your supply. You must also match the new water temperature to the water in the tank. Cold water will shock your fish which is not good.

Change/Clean the Filter Media - Again you can do this approximately every four weeks. Don't wait too long as the filter will get less efficient with time. Filters are now generally pretty easy to clean and/or replace and do a good job of keeping the tank clean. Avoid harsh chemicals which may harm fish and plants and "good" bacteria.
Vacuum the tank. If you have a lot of fish you may need to clean some of the bits of food, feces, plants etc. from the gravel at the bottom of your tank. Gravel vacuums are widely available and it makes this pretty easy to do. They use a siphon action to suck up the waste.

Scrape Algae. If it builds up scrape it off. Do it before a water change so you can siphon off the bits that will inevitably float in the tank. Alternatively there are algae eating fish which will help!

Look after your plants. Live plants in your aquarium will get uprooted and need to be re-planted, some need trimming and some even need fertilizer. Know the types you have to be sure. Over the course of 4 weeks you are probably looking at 3-4 hours total