learning opportunities
CleverArium has put together a number of useful articles on the Aquarist hobby. Everything from water chemistry to keeping mixed species of tropical fish to publications that are helpful and Aquarist clubs in your area. If you would like to see more helpful articles, please contact us.
Multispecies Aquariums
In today’s hobby environment you have the possibility of creating an aquarium that consists of fish that would never see each other in the wild. Combining different fish allows the hobbyist to make “themed” aquariums and match fish for colors or habits……….
Water Chemistry Basics
Water in nature contains dissolved salts, buffers, nutrients, etc. and fish and plants have evolved over the millennia to adapt to the water conditions in their native habitats. Moving them from their natural environments to significantly different environments ………
Phosphates and Your Aquarium
In addition to GH, KH, pH and salinity, most tap water contains an assortment of trace elements in very low concentrations. The presence (or absence) of trace elements can be important in some situations – specifically Phosphates. They have been linked to algae growth. If you have persistant algae problems, high phosphates may be a contributing factor. In a plant tank, ideal phosphate levels are .2 mg/L or lower. To control algae, frequent partial water changes are often recommended to reduce nutrient levels. If your tap water contains excess phosphate, water changes may be aggregating the situation. Your local water company can tell you what the exact phosphate levels are. Plants need iron in trace quantities to grow. Tap water in many areas contains no iron at all.
Source: users.cs.duke.edu/~narten/faq/chemistry.html
Raising Your Aquarium’s GH and/or KH
To raise both GH and KH simultaneously, add calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Two teaspoons per 50 Liters of water will increase both the KH and GH by about 4 dH. Alternatively, add some sea shells, coral, limestone, marble chips, etc. to your filter.
To raise the KH without raising the GH, add sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), commonly known as baking soda. One teaspoon per 50 Liters raises the KH by about 4 dH. Sodium bicarbonate drives the pH towards an equilibrium value of 8.2.
Note: The above measurements are approximate; use a test kit to verify you’ve achieved the intended results.
Source: users.cs.duke.edu/~narten/faq/chemistry.html
Raising or Lowering Your Aquarium’s pH
The pH in your aquarium can be raised or lowered by adding chemicals. Because of buffering, however, the process is difficult to get right. Increasing or decreasing the pH (in a stable way) actually involves changing the KH. The most common approach is to add a buffer whose equilibrium holds the pH at the desired value……….
Softening The Water (i.e. Lowering the GH) In Your Aquarium
Some fish (e.g., discus, cardinal tetras, etc.) prefer soft water. Althought they can survive in harder water, they are unlikely to breed. Thus, you may feel compelled to soften your water despite the hassle involved in doing so……….
Using Municipal Tap Water In Your Aquarium
Local water companies add chemicals to the water to make it safe to drink (e.g., by adding chlorine or chloramine to kill bacteria). More recently, concern about water flowing through (older) lead pipes has caused some water utilities to add pH-raising chemicals to the water (lead dissolves less readily in alkaline water). Consequently, tap water must be specially treated before it can safely be used in fish tanks……….
Chlorine In Your Aquarium
In the US, EPA guidelines require that tap water at any faucet contain a minimal chlorine concentration of .2 ppm, and stringently limits the concentration of bacteria (which may require more than .2 ppm chlorine to keep in check). Because chlorine breaks down over time, the chlorine concentration of the water that comes out of your tap will be lower than that put in at water plant. Thus, the exact concentration at your faucet depends on how far you are from the water plant, how long it takes the water to travel from the water plant to your house, how much chlorine is ……….
Chloramine and Your Aquarium
One problem with using chlorine to treat water is that it breaks down relatively quickly. Another concern with the use of chlorine is that it can combine with certain organics (that may or may not be present in your water) forming trihalomethanes, a family of carcinogens. Consequently, many water companies have switched from using chlorine to using chloramine. Chloramine, a compound containing both chlorine and ammonia, is much more stable than chlorine……….
Nitrates, Nitrites, Amonia and Your Aquarium
The pH and dH measure are not the only chemical measures that are important in an aquarium. Chemicals can enter the water through the fish, themselves. The most important of these chemicals is likely to be the ammonia related chemicals. The so-called ammonia cycle starts with the very aquarium inhabitants that the fish keeper seeks to protect – the fish. Every fish give off ammonia……….
What’s In Your Local Water
In addition to the additives described above (chlorine & chloramine), municipal water may (or may not!) contain other elements that the aquarist may need to know about about. Water in some locations actually contains nitrates. In some places, water contains elevated concentrations of phosphates (1 ppm or more). High phosphate has been linked to algae problems……….
Well Water
So, you don’t have city water. Can you use your well water?
Yes. One advantage with well water is that you don’t need to deal with chlorine and chloramine. On the other hand, well water is frequently (much!) harder than water available through local utilities. In addition, the only way to know its composition (GH, KH, etc.) is to run tests on it yourself.
Alternatively, there are companies to which you can send water samples that will perform a detailed analysis of its contents (for $20-$100).
Note: One potential problem with using well water is that it frequently contains high concentrations of dissolved gases (e.g., dangerous to fish). For example, well water is frequently supersaturated with CO2, which lowers the water’s pH. Once the CO2 escapes, the pH will increase. Fish shouldn’t be subjected to this temporary pH fluctuation. For safety, aerate well water thoroughly for several hours before adding it to your tank.
Source: users.cs.duke.edu/~narten/faq/chemistry.html
Ammonia Test Kits
You might be asking yourself whether or not you should get an ammonia test kit. The short answer is Yes.
Ammonia test kits are cheap ($5-10) and will tell you whether your tank has elevated ammonia levels. This is useful in two circumstances. First, during the tank-cycling phase, regular testing for ammonia will tell you when the first phase of the nitrogen cycle has completed. Second, should you have unexplained fish deaths, testing for ammonia verifies that your biological filter is……….
Nitrite Test Kits
First, ask yourself if you should get a nitrite test kit.
The short answer is maybe.
Nitrite kits are cheap ($5-10) and are useful in the same circumstances where an ammonia test is useful. The only time a nitrite kit provides information that an ammonia kit can’t is while testing for completion of the second phase of the nitrogen cycle. As in the case for ammonia, if your test kit detects nitrite, your biological filter is not working adequately. Once a tank has cycled, nitrite kits are pretty much useless. (If the bio filter in an established tank isn’t working, both ammonia and nitrite levels will be elevated.)
Nitrite is an order of magnitude less toxic than ammonia. Thus, one common saying about tank cycling is: “if your fish survive the ammonia spike, they’ll probably survive the nitrite spike and the rest of the cycling process.” However, even at levels above .5 ppm, fish become stressed. At 10-20 ppm, concentrations become lethal.
Source: users.cs.duke.edu/~narten/faq/chemistry.html
Nitrate Test Kits
Nitrate test kits are important. Nitrate levels increase over time in established tanks as the end result of the nitrogen cycle. (The only exception to this rule is HEAVILY planted tanks, which are SOMETIMES able to consume nitrogen faster than it is produced.) Because nitrates become toxic at high concentrations, they must be removed periodically (e.g., through regular water changes). Having a nitrate test kit helps you determine whether or not your water changes are removing nitrates quickly enough.
Nitrates become toxic to fish (and plants) at levels of 50-300 ppm, depending on the fish species. For fry, however, much lower concentrations become toxic.
Note: A nitrate test kit is only of limited value in determining whether the nitrification cycle has completed. Most nitrate test kits actually convert nitrate to nitrite first, then test for the concentration of nitrite. That is, they actually measure the combined concentration of nitrite and nitrate. In an established tank, nitrite levels are essentially zero, and the kits do properly measure nitrate levels. While a tank is cycling, however, a nitrate kit can’t tell you how much of the reading (if any) comes from nitrate rather than nitrite.
Source: users.cs.duke.edu/~narten/faq/chemistry.html
pH Test Kits
pH test kits are important.
You will want to know the pH of your tap water so that you can select fish whose requirements meet your water conditions. In addition, you will periodically want check your tank’s pH so that you can be sure it stays stable and doesn’t increase or decrease significantly over time.
In some cases, tank decorations (e.g., driftwood) or gravel (e.g., of made of coral, shells or limestone) change the pH of your water. For example, tank items may slowly leach ions into your tank’s water, raising the GH and KH (and pH). With driftwood, it is not uncommon to have the wood slowly leach tannins that lower the pH.
Source: users.cs.duke.edu/~narten/faq/chemistry.html
GH Test Kits
Should you get a test kit that measures general hardness (GH)?
Maybe.
You may want to get one of these, but having one is not critical.
You don’t need to know the exact hardness level. Knowing whether your water is “soft”, “very soft”, etc. is good enough.
Your local fish store may be able to give you sufficient information. Alternatively, call your water utility.
Source: users.cs.duke.edu/~narten/faq/chemistry.html
KH Test Kits
Should you get a test kit that measures carbonate hardness (KH)?
The short answer, like GH, is Maybe – this kit is not critical to have.
By regularly monitoring the pH, you can figure out whether your KH is “high enough”. That is, the KH should be high enough that your pH stays stable over time. If you have trouble keeping the pH stable, you may want to increase its buffering capacity. Your local fish store may be able to give you sufficient information as to your KH value. Alternatively, call your water utility.
Source: users.cs.duke.edu/~narten/faq/chemistry.html
Why You Need To Change The Water
The solution to pollution is dilution; water changes replace a portion of “dirty” water with an equal portion of clean water, effectively diluting the concentrations of undesirable substances in your tank. In an established tank, nitrate is the primary toxin that builds up. Regular water changes are the cheapest, safest and most effective way of keeping nitrate levels at reasonable levels. During the tank cycling phase, however, ammonia or nitrite may be the substances that need to be diluted and removed. Likewise, if medications have been added to your tank, they may need to be removed after they’ve served their primary purpose……….
Frequency of Water Changes is Important
In a nutshell, the more frequent the changes, the less water that needs to be replaced. However, the longer between changes, the more stressful changes potentially become, because a larger portion of the water gets replaced. Replacing roughly 25% of your tank’s water bi-weekly is a good minimal starting point, but may not be enough. The proper frequency really depends on such factors as the fish load in your tank……….
How Many Fish Can You Put In The Tank
This is a tough question and cannot be answered by a simple formula, though many are given in books. The answer is determined by:
- What species of fish does your tank contain? Many fish have minimum space requirements independent of the number of tankmates. For example, angelfish (eventually) need at least a 20g. Most fish that get longer than 1.5 inches need to be in a tank larger than 10g.
- Is your biological filter large enough to handle the tank’s bio-load? Some fish produce more waste than others of the same size, so the answer depends on the species of fish, their sizes, as well as their numbers. Goldfish, big cichlids (e.g., oscar fish) produce much more waste than other fish of the same size.
- How much surface area does your tank have? A “long” tank can generally support more fish than “high” tank of the same volume; the increased surface area provides more oxygen exchange and provides more length-wise swimming room.
Source: users.cs.duke.edu/~narten/faq/chemistry.html
When And How Much To Feed
Out in the wild, food is not plentiful year round. In comparison, your tank is a feeding trough. Chances are, fish will get much more food in your tank than in the wild. Thus, the problem to avoid is overfeeding, rather than underfeeding. Fish are also smart (in the sense of Pavlov’s Dog) that they learn quickly how to train their masters into giving them food. Just because they act starved when you walk by the tank an hour after their last feeding, doesn’t mean they actually are. Look at the abdomens on your fish. If they are fat and bulging, your fish isn’t starving. If they are thin, or hollowed out (concave upward), you may want to consider increasing the feeding……….
Fish Diets
Big topic!
No single answer.
There are endless varieties of fish foods available from local stores. The best fish diet is a varied diet. Rather than feeding them only one type of food, give them several types, at alternate feedings.
Source: users.cs.duke.edu/~narten/faq/chemistry.html
Adding New Fish
It’s best to acclimate your new fish to their new home. Acclimate them before adding them to their new home tank. Not doing this properly is the most common cause of fish dying soon after they’re brought home. Acclimation not only eases new fish into any temperature change, but it also prevents pH shock, caused by an imbalance of……….
