Recently, an aquarium has become a popular design element of a house or apartment. It is included in the interior in terms of decorativeness, but it often does not take into account the fact that the aquarium is not beautiful furniture, but a member of the family! Yes, that's right, the aquarium is rightly regarded as an integral living organism, or rather biocenosis - that is, the totality of living organisms that inhabit a certain space, including all types of interactions between them. In addition, it is wrong to assume that the inhabitants of your aquarium are fish and, perhaps, a beautiful sprig of algae. In addition to them, there are still a lot of inhabitants, whom you do not see, but, nevertheless, very important. These are microalgae and bacteria. Of course, not all of these inhabitants are useful, often they cause illness and death of fish, as well as pollution of the walls of the aquarium and stagnation of water.
Thus, the need for thorough and systematic maintenance of the aquarium becomes apparent . It involves not only feeding the animals and changing the water periodically, but also cleaning the aquariums, inspecting, checking the operation of the equipment and a lot of other activities. With the awareness of such a need, the question sometimes arises of how to properly care for the aquarium. Departure depends on the type of reservoir, its inhabitants and your goals.
How to care for an aquarium where only fish live
Do not forget to feed the fish daily. Select food according to their individual needs. In addition, carefully dose it, since excess feed that settles to the bottom will not only mechanically pollute the water, but also contribute to the growth of unwanted flora. During feeding, carefully inspect the fish, analyzing their behavior: if a fish is passive, does not eat, behaves unnaturally, it should be removed from the general aquarium to prevent the spread of a possible disease.
Also, do not forget to change the water on time. However, you should not completely merge it - this is a common mistake by beginners. Useful microflora lives in the aquarium water, which should be preserved, and a complete replacement of water can lead to disruption of microflora and the development of pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, it will correctly drain part of the water and add fresh. The amount of replaced water should not exceed 30%. At the same time, try not to mix the soil covering the bottom. If a large amount of waste has accumulated in the soil, the amount of feed should be reduced, since this means that the bacteria cannot handle the processing.
How to care for an aquarium with sophisticated equipment
If your aquarium is equipped with a filter, compressor and other equipment, it should be cleaned regularly (at least 1 time in 2 weeks). Mechanical filters must be cleaned every 2-3 days. If you do not have such an opportunity or desire, purchase aquarium filters of other types. Chemicals also require regular flushing and periodic replacement of the filler. You should be extremely careful with biological filters: you should not wash the entire filler at a time - only a third of it. In no case should you wash such a filter with tap water. This can adversely affect the bacterial population and significantly reduce the quality of filtration.
An important point is cleaning the aquariums. It is convenient to clean the walls with special magnetic devices. However, be careful with scrapers that have blades - you can scratch the glass.
How to care for a seaweed aquarium
Aquarium plants, like land plants, require nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide and light for their normal development. In addition, damaged (dried or decaying) leaves and twigs are best removed as quickly as possible. If the nitrogen concentration in the water is low, additional fertilizer must be applied. However, you should not do this at random, it is better to conduct a water analysis, because otherwise you can permanently disable the aquarium. Just as in terrestrial plants, in aquatic plants it is necessary to form an shoot so that it has a decorative appearance, by cutting off excess parts.
How to care for an aquarium in summer
In the hot season, caring for the aquarium is somewhat different from winter. So, the rate of evaporation of water increases , and therefore there is a need to add it. Do not forget about the quality of water that you pour into the aquarium.
In addition, an overheating problem may occur. Many fish do not tolerate high temperatures, so carefully monitor the thermometer and, if necessary, conduct an extraordinary change of water cooler. But at the same time, avoid too abrupt changes in the temperature regime. Alternatively, you can drop a plastic bottle or plastic bag with ice into the aquarium. In addition, you can use special devices for cooling.
Systematic and quality aquarium care will ensure not only the decorativeness of the reservoir, but also the health of your pets.