Planted Aquarium Problems
Problems that you may have with a planted aquarium are as follows: If you have fish in your tank they may nibble on the plants or even dig up the roots. If you have this planted aquarium problem, then you may opt not to have live plants, but rather put in rocks, caves, or fake plants. But if you are careful enough, you should be able to find plants that your fish will not want to ingest. Fast growing plants can handle a few nibbles, so if your fish are nibblers then consider getting a strong, fast growing plant.
Another planted aquarium problem is having dead and decaying plants in your tank. Even though plants can act like natural filters by absorbing the nasty compounds found in the water, they can also re-release those compounds back into the water if they die. So always observe your plants and if they look unhealthy or dying, remove them as quickly as you can.
Plants need light to survivor. So avoid any plant growth problems by having adequate lighting for the types of plants you put into your aquarium. Fluorescent lights are the best for this, but some plants even require stronger lights, and if your a beginner aquarium keeper, it is not recommended that you start out with plants that require very demanding lights.
So to sum up some of the problems that you may have with a planted aquarium, you will not want to have fish that will eat up your plants, nor do you want fish that can dig away at the roots. It is also important that you prune and remove any plants, including loose leaves, so as not to allow them to die and pollute your aquarium. Lastly, you will want to make sure that you have the proper lighting for you plants so they can grow. Avoid these common problems with planted aquariums and you will find joy and satisfaction in keeping a beautiful aquarium with plants.
Showing posts with label Aquarium Problems You May Encounter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aquarium Problems You May Encounter. Show all posts
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Freshwater Aquarium Problems You May Encounter
Freshwater Tank Problems
Having an aquarium can be a truly satisfying hobby, especially if a tank is well maintained and filled with colorful and attractive fish, rocks, plants, and other creatures. But even a clean, beautiful aquarium can become very unsightly if it becomes dirty, if you have sick fish, or if the tank is covered by algae.
This can become a major problem if you do not take care of your tank. An aquarium may appear to run on autopilot, but it doesn't in actuality. You must stay on top of your tank or you will have problems! What can you do to make sure you don't run into major problems with your aquarium?
The most important thing is to make sure your water is clean, fresh, and healthy. Adding a good filter can help to ensure this. A filters job is to cycle your water while removing waste and other substances that are in your aquarium. If you are using a filter that utilizes a filter cartridge, then you will want to check this on a daily basis and make sure it is still clean. If not, then you will want to change it. Monthly cartridge changes are highly recommended!
If you are not careful, algae can overtake your tank very quickly. And it will get all over everything in your tank. A simple solution is to add fish that feed on algae, such as a Pleco. You may only need one or may need a few, depending on the size of your aquarium.
If your tank has substrate at the bottom, such as gravel, you will want to use a siphon to vacuum any buildup of debris that has embedded itself into your substrate. While you are siphoning out debris you will also be taking out dirty, nasty water. A good rule of thumb is to remove about twenty percent of your water each time you clean. This will keep your water mostly fresh and it will not disrupt the ecosystem too much.
You will want to add back clean, fresh water into your aquarium, but be don't put cold or hot water in. It is good to check the temperature of the replacement water prior to adding it to your tank and make sure that it is fairly close to your tanks temperature. And make sure that no harmful chemicals are being added into your aquarium via your tap water. Always test your tap water, and if you detect even a hint of a dangerous chemical, such as chlorine, then you will want to add another chemical that will de-chlorinate it.
Once your tank is fully established it won't take much to keep it maintained. However, if you slack in maintaining your aquarium it won't take long to look dirty and gross. Heed this aquarium keeping advice and your will avoid having problems in your freshwater aquarium.
Having an aquarium can be a truly satisfying hobby, especially if a tank is well maintained and filled with colorful and attractive fish, rocks, plants, and other creatures. But even a clean, beautiful aquarium can become very unsightly if it becomes dirty, if you have sick fish, or if the tank is covered by algae.
This can become a major problem if you do not take care of your tank. An aquarium may appear to run on autopilot, but it doesn't in actuality. You must stay on top of your tank or you will have problems! What can you do to make sure you don't run into major problems with your aquarium?
The most important thing is to make sure your water is clean, fresh, and healthy. Adding a good filter can help to ensure this. A filters job is to cycle your water while removing waste and other substances that are in your aquarium. If you are using a filter that utilizes a filter cartridge, then you will want to check this on a daily basis and make sure it is still clean. If not, then you will want to change it. Monthly cartridge changes are highly recommended!
If you are not careful, algae can overtake your tank very quickly. And it will get all over everything in your tank. A simple solution is to add fish that feed on algae, such as a Pleco. You may only need one or may need a few, depending on the size of your aquarium.
If your tank has substrate at the bottom, such as gravel, you will want to use a siphon to vacuum any buildup of debris that has embedded itself into your substrate. While you are siphoning out debris you will also be taking out dirty, nasty water. A good rule of thumb is to remove about twenty percent of your water each time you clean. This will keep your water mostly fresh and it will not disrupt the ecosystem too much.
You will want to add back clean, fresh water into your aquarium, but be don't put cold or hot water in. It is good to check the temperature of the replacement water prior to adding it to your tank and make sure that it is fairly close to your tanks temperature. And make sure that no harmful chemicals are being added into your aquarium via your tap water. Always test your tap water, and if you detect even a hint of a dangerous chemical, such as chlorine, then you will want to add another chemical that will de-chlorinate it.
Once your tank is fully established it won't take much to keep it maintained. However, if you slack in maintaining your aquarium it won't take long to look dirty and gross. Heed this aquarium keeping advice and your will avoid having problems in your freshwater aquarium.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Reef Aquarium Problems You May Encounter
Reef Aquarium Information That Hopefully Will Help You Avoid Problems
It's nice to see that you are interested in starting a reef aquarium. However, there are some things that you need to consider before starting out. Aquarium keeping for beginners is a big hobby and you will want to make sure you are totally prepared so as to avoid any problems that may come your way.
One of the first things that you want to think about is, what are you going to keep in your reef aquarium? This is important to consider because if you know what creatures or things you are going to house in your tank, then you will be able to know what other things go with them, or what is needed to allow them to thrive. Take just for an example, are you going to have corals? If you do, are you going to have soft or hard ones? If you are not sure of the difference, then it is absolutely imperative that you do some additional research to learn all there is to know about corals. To keep these types of creatures in your aquarium requires superb lighting and water chemistry. In addition, you will need to know how to feed them correctly.
Without knowing what you are going to put in your tank, then you are planning for failure!
Another consideration is cost. How much are you willing to spend to set up a reef aquarium, and how much will you need to have each month to maintain your reef aquarium? To be perfectly honest, a reef aquarium can cost a lot of money and it definitely takes quite a bit of time maintain it. When you have a reef aquarium, you also need to run other items that can cost you money as well. Have you considered the extra cost it would take to run specialty lights, pumps, and filters? Then there is the job of changing the water on a regular basis. It is highly recommended that you change roughly 10% of the water on a weekly basis. This can be costly if your tap water has chlorine and you have to de-chlorinate it each week. And it certainly can be costly if you decide to buy water from your LFS (local fish store). You can save yourself a lot of money if you invest in a reverse osmosis system, and it will not only benefit your reef aquarium, but also you as an individual. However, you will still need to purchase salt mixes.
Another cost, but not as much, is feeding. The more creatures you have in your tank, the more diversity you will need in feeding. One type of food will not feed every tank mate. If you have fish, then they will require certain kinds of foods. If you have invertebrates or corals, you will need a different type of food.
Then there is water chemistry. Your water will be depleted of necessary elements as your creatures use them up to survive, so you will have to also invest in having certain chemicals to add back into your system. And in order to know what is low, or high for that matter, you will need to have on hand different kinds of test kits and buffers. And these are necessary if you want to succeed in this hobby.
Can you see where I'm going with all of this? It is not as simple as saying you want a reef aquarium, but it means that it will take money, time, and knowledge to setup and maintain it. All of this sounds very negative, but I hoping to enlighten people a little before they embark on the wonderful world of reef keeping. These are things that you need to consider or you will encounter problems. But don't despair, there is enough information out there that can help you to become knowledgeable and with enough desire you can understand it and become good.
Now when it comes to money I can't help you there, but at least I've made an attempt to let people know that it will be quite expensive. Don't let this article be of discouragement to you, but rather, let it be an outline that you can use to explore the world of reef aquarium keeping for beginners and finding joy and satisfaction in doing it.
It's nice to see that you are interested in starting a reef aquarium. However, there are some things that you need to consider before starting out. Aquarium keeping for beginners is a big hobby and you will want to make sure you are totally prepared so as to avoid any problems that may come your way.
One of the first things that you want to think about is, what are you going to keep in your reef aquarium? This is important to consider because if you know what creatures or things you are going to house in your tank, then you will be able to know what other things go with them, or what is needed to allow them to thrive. Take just for an example, are you going to have corals? If you do, are you going to have soft or hard ones? If you are not sure of the difference, then it is absolutely imperative that you do some additional research to learn all there is to know about corals. To keep these types of creatures in your aquarium requires superb lighting and water chemistry. In addition, you will need to know how to feed them correctly.
Without knowing what you are going to put in your tank, then you are planning for failure!
Another consideration is cost. How much are you willing to spend to set up a reef aquarium, and how much will you need to have each month to maintain your reef aquarium? To be perfectly honest, a reef aquarium can cost a lot of money and it definitely takes quite a bit of time maintain it. When you have a reef aquarium, you also need to run other items that can cost you money as well. Have you considered the extra cost it would take to run specialty lights, pumps, and filters? Then there is the job of changing the water on a regular basis. It is highly recommended that you change roughly 10% of the water on a weekly basis. This can be costly if your tap water has chlorine and you have to de-chlorinate it each week. And it certainly can be costly if you decide to buy water from your LFS (local fish store). You can save yourself a lot of money if you invest in a reverse osmosis system, and it will not only benefit your reef aquarium, but also you as an individual. However, you will still need to purchase salt mixes.
Another cost, but not as much, is feeding. The more creatures you have in your tank, the more diversity you will need in feeding. One type of food will not feed every tank mate. If you have fish, then they will require certain kinds of foods. If you have invertebrates or corals, you will need a different type of food.
Then there is water chemistry. Your water will be depleted of necessary elements as your creatures use them up to survive, so you will have to also invest in having certain chemicals to add back into your system. And in order to know what is low, or high for that matter, you will need to have on hand different kinds of test kits and buffers. And these are necessary if you want to succeed in this hobby.
Can you see where I'm going with all of this? It is not as simple as saying you want a reef aquarium, but it means that it will take money, time, and knowledge to setup and maintain it. All of this sounds very negative, but I hoping to enlighten people a little before they embark on the wonderful world of reef keeping. These are things that you need to consider or you will encounter problems. But don't despair, there is enough information out there that can help you to become knowledgeable and with enough desire you can understand it and become good.
Now when it comes to money I can't help you there, but at least I've made an attempt to let people know that it will be quite expensive. Don't let this article be of discouragement to you, but rather, let it be an outline that you can use to explore the world of reef aquarium keeping for beginners and finding joy and satisfaction in doing it.
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