Posts tagged Methods
A Short Introduction To The Cycling Process And Different Cycling Methods
Oct 21st
A Short Introduction To The Cycling Process And Different Cycling Methods
A very important part of setting up an aquarium is the so called cycling process. This process is unfortunately neglected by many aquarists who simply fill their aquarium with water, perhaps some water treatment, let the water stay for 24 hours and then rapidly scoop down their fish into their new home.
By setting some time aside to proper cycling, your aquarium will be much easier to maintain, since the cycling process aim to produce a thriving population of beneficial bacteria that will convert harmful waste products into less dangerous compounds. You need two types of beneficial bacteria in your aquarium. The first type converts ammonia into nitrite, while the other type converts nitrite into nitrate. Ammonia will be produce by the metabolism of your fish and extracted from the gills and in fish poo. High levels of ammonia are dangerous to fish, but fortunately enough there exist a group of bacteria that can convert ammonia into nitrite. Nitrite is actually even more toxic than ammonia, but the second group of bacteria will turn the nitrite into nitrate, which is much less toxic. The nitrate can then be removed by regular water changes.
The beneficial bacteria will of course need to be introduced to the aquarium, and this can be made by simply adding one or two sturdy fishes from species that cope well even with high levels of soluble waste. Their waste products will contain live bacteria than can start to colonies suitable homes in the aquarium, such as sponge filters and gravel. If you want to jump start the process, you can purchase a bacterial solution from the fish store that contains the right type of nitrifying bacteria. You can also use gravel or sponge from an already established aquarium when you set up a new one, but you should keep in mind that this can introduce benevolent bacteria as well.
When you purchase a bacterial culture form the fish store, you should always carefully read the label and avoid getting nitrobacter bacteria. Earlier, nitrobacter bacteria was believed to be very powerful converters of nitrite to nitrate, but scientific studies have now showed that nitrospira bacteria are much stronger converters. Some fish stores still sell nitrobacter bacteria, even though nitrospira bacteria are a better choice.
Another method of cycling the aquarium is the so called “fishless cycle”. This cycling method is much less frequently used compared to the one that uses cycling fish, but it has grown increasingly popular during the last few years. During fishless cycling, you will add small amounts of pure ammonia to the water together with nitrifying bacteria and wait for them to form large colonies. You will need a test kit to measure the amounts of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Investing in a test kit is however a good idea even if you use fish to cycle your aquarium.
A third cycling method uses plants and is commonly referred to as “silent cycling”. This method requires a densely planted aquarium with thriving plants. You should therefore avoid sensitive, demanding and slow growing plant species. During the silent cycling, the plants will consume nitrogenous compounds and use them as nutrition. Aquarists fond of this method like it since it does not produce the ammonia and nitrate spikes that are common during other forms of cycling. You should keep in mind that when plants absorb nitrogenous compounds they incorporate them leaves and stems. If the plant, or a part of the plant, dies and starts to decay, the compounds will therefore be re-released into the water. Pruning the aquatic plants and removing any dead parts are therefore important.
Allen Jesson writes for several sites including two sites that specialize in
salt
water and fresh water aquariums and the aquarium site and Seapets, a
leading source for aquariums
and fish tanks.
This video is to explain a little on what I think is the science behind how the DIY overflow siphoning system works. Not sure if the explanation is 100% clear but it also shows the progress of the shrimp tank and how does it looks now after the “upgrades”. The following had been modified 1. added a net over the overflow opening in replace of the sponge to allow more water in & prevent shrimps from going into the overflow tube opening. 2. Added a new plant & neon tetra fresh water fish 3. Cloudy water finally clears up after the upgrades & reduction of food given 
4. Added a basket at the sump filter to disperse the water effectively over the sponge filter 5. Added a moss plant & 55 Watt light at the bottom sump
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Aquarium Cleaning Methods, Water Changes
Sep 13th
Aquarium Cleaning Methods, Water Changes
For cleaning your aquarium (freshwater or saltwater) a Gravel Vacuum attached to a siphon or re-circulating filter works best. If you have a planted aquarium, I recommend #00 sand (3-5 cm) mixed with laterite or conditioned soil with #3 gravel (2-3 cm) on top. You should NOT vacuum the sand, as this will tend to be sucked all the way thru the vacuum, and this will also disturb the natural aerobic and anaerobic filtration going on in the substrate being performed by the bacteria and plant roots. You can drain this water into a bucket or attach the siphon to a long hose and drain it outside or into a toilet using gravity.
There are other products that hook on to the sink, but these are over rated and waste water. It is simpler to just get a long hose and get an adapter and attach your hose to the sick to fill, but drain your water into a garden where it will do some good (unless it is saltwater of coarse).
I prefer to leave the fish in during this process, as I feel more stress is added to the fish removing them and then placing the fish back in new water conditions that the fish are not accustomed to. Add water back slowly, and if tap water is used make sure the temperature is similar to the aquarium water already present in the aquarium, you can generally safely add warm tap water to correct this. Although in the Marine aquariums I maintained, I brought my own water and it was invariably colder than the aquarium, but this does not present as much of a problem as many think. If you do some math; Say your aquarium is 78 F and you add 20% water back that is 68 F, that is 1/5th the volume, so 1/5th of a 10 F difference is only 2 F.
What is more important is adding a de-chlorinator to your tap water (if tap water is used) WHILE the water is being added. I prefer Start Right, this product removes chlorine (and the chlorine ions attached ammonia in chloramines), removes heavy metals, and very importantly naturally stimulates the slime coat in fish vs. products that drop an artificial wad of slime into the aquarium that generally sinks to the bottom anyway.
In some successful aquarium keeping traditions (especially in Germany), no vacuuming is performed. Water is simply siphoned out of the aquarium and new water is carefully added back in. For this method to be successful in fresh water aquariums, you need a healthy growth of plants, good lighting, a thin layer of sand just enough to cover plant roots (not gravel). Good aerobic filtration is also a must.
A new device that performs both water removal and recirculation thru a micron filter cartridge that is easily cleaned is the Aquarium Cleaning Machine. This new device uses a protected magnet-drive motor to remove or re-circulate your water thru a filter (or both). For saltwater changes, this device is a money saver and fish saver. You can change 20% of your water, then keep re-filtering it thru the micron cartridge using the gravel vacuum do pick up debris. This saves having to use more salt for larger water changes and keeps a healthier aquarium with lower nitrates, as much of the debris is removed from your system before it can go thru the nitrogen cycle (adding to the Nitrate levels).
By Carl Strohmeyer
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_cleaning.html
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A Short Introduction To Aquarium Cycling Methods
Sep 10th
A Short Introduction To Aquarium Cycling Methods
By setting some time aside to proper cycling, your aquarium will be much easier to maintain, since the cycling process aim to produce a thriving population of beneficial bacteria that will convert harmful waste products into less dangerous compounds. You need two types of beneficial bacteria in your aquarium.
The first type converts ammonia into nitrite, while the other type converts nitrite into nitrate. Ammonia will be produce by the metabolism of your fish and extracted from the gills and in fish poo. High levels of ammonia are dangerous to fish, but fortunately enough there exist a group of bacteria that can convert ammonia into nitrite. Nitrite is actually even more toxic than ammonia, but the second group of bacteria will turn the nitrite into nitrate, which is much less toxic. The nitrate can then be removed by regular water changes.
The beneficial bacteria will of course need to be introduced to the aquarium, and this can be made by simply adding one or two sturdy fishes from species that cope well even with high levels of soluble waste. Their waste products will contain live bacteria than can start to colonies suitable homes in the aquarium, such as sponge filters and gravel. If you want to jump start the process, you can purchase a bacterial solution from the fish store that contains the right type of nitrifying bacteria. You can also use gravel or sponge from an already established aquarium when you set up a new one, but you should keep in mind that this can introduce benevolent bacteria as well.
When you purchase a bacterial culture form the fish store, you should always carefully read the label and avoid getting nitrobacter bacteria. Earlier, nitrobacter bacteria was believed to be very powerful converters of nitrite to nitrate, but scientific studies have now showed that nitrospira bacteria are much stronger converters. Some fish stores still sell nitrobacter bacteria, even though nitrospira bacteria are a better choice.
Another method of cycling the aquarium is the so called ‘fishless cycle’. This cycling method is much less frequently used compared to the one that uses cycling fish, but it has grown increasingly popular during the last few years. During fishless cycling, you will add small amounts of pure ammonia to the water together with nitrifying bacteria and wait for them to form large colonies. You will need a test kit to measure the amounts of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Investing in a test kit is however a good idea even if you use fish to cycle your aquarium.
A third cycling method uses plants and is commonly referred to as ‘silent cycling’. This method requires a densely planted aquarium with thriving plants. You should therefore avoid sensitive, demanding and slow growing plant species. During the silent cycling, the plants will consume nitrogenous compounds and use them as nutrition. Aquarists fond of this method like it since it does not produce the ammonia and nitrate spikes that are common during other forms of cycling. You should keep in mind that when plants absorb nitrogenous compounds they incorporate them leaves and stems. If the plant, or a part of the plant, dies and starts to decay, the compounds will therefore be re-released into the water. Pruning the aquatic plants and removing any dead parts are therefore important.
Allen Jesson writes for several sites including http://www.seapets.co.uk, the UK’s leading retailer of aquariums and fish tanks and http://www.saltwaterfreshwateraquarium.com, an excellent information resource for any owner of a salt water or fresh water aquarium.
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Freshwater Aquarium Filters And Filtering Methods
Jul 7th
Freshwater Aquarium Filters And Filtering Methods
Regular cleaning must be performed to maintain the cleanliness of your freshwater aquarium. Your aquarium can accumulate wastes over some period of time. These wastes can be left over foods, dead small fish, dried leaves and others that must be removed to avoid further decay and contamination. Manual cleaning is often practiced but there are techniques and methods which could make your cleaning process easier.
What is Filtration Method?
This is one method of cleaning the aquarium through using filtration media and has 3 types namely; biological, chemical and manual. These 3 types have its distinct procedures of filtering the dirt inside the aquarium.
Biological Filtration
This is the kind of filtration method which uses a special kind of bacteria to convert several substances that can go through with the water. These good serving bacteria will then break down toxic substances found in fish tank into less toxic ones. These harmful and toxic substances are ammonia and nitrites which can bring hazardous effects to living things inside the aquarium if they are not properly removed.
Chemical Filtration
Synthetic substances are mixed with the waste materials to easily flush them out together with the water. Activated carbon is commonly used in chemical filtration making it easily dissolved and flushed out through its filter.
Mechanical Filtration
This type of filtration method involves the use of filtration media to trap solid waste particles in the water. This can be manually done anything that can hold the waste materials can be used here. This is the least costly type of filter and can readily be available when needed. This kind of filter must be replaced in determined time interval.
The filtration process made easier through using filters. There are a number of filters which can be used in any filtration methods you may want to select.
Power Filters
They are the most common type of filters mainly because they are cheap and can be bought almost every local hobby shop you can find. Power filters are easy to install easy to use and maintain that is why many would like to use this filter for most of their filtration needs.
Canister Filters
This filter is not quite easy to maintain and use, though it has bigger cleaning advantage than any filters do. This is heavy duty type of filter exerting much force so that wastes can be flushed out faster. Canister filters are also more expensive thus many would not prefer to use this especially those budget conscious people.
Corner Filters
A corner filter provides the most basic filtration in an aquarium. These are one of the most familiar things a hobbyist acquires when starting to build his first freshwater aquarium set up.
Sponge Filters
This type of filters makes use of a sponge to filtrate organic wastes from your aquarium. Oftentimes they are considered simple, effective and cheap. This type of filter is ideal for water tanks that have small fish or fry as it can absorb almost anything.
Fluidized bed filters
This is a relatively new type of filter today that uses sand in the filtration process. This is highly efficient biological filter which make sand as the filter media. The sand will slowly moves the bacteria as it moves outside the filter.
It is important to know and search on this information about filtration method and the different types of filters so that it will be easier to clean the aquarium since proper filtration system handles maintaining the cleanliness inside your freshwater aquarium. Basically these information that has just been presented can give a more positive result in your freshwater aquarium keeping.
For more great information on freshwater aquarium filter and other aquarium setup. do visit www.freshwateraquariumadvice.com
Wilson love to share his secret of Freshwater Aquarium keeping, Ab workout and Pet caring. Feel free to visit his articles at www.freshwateraquariumadvice.com and www.secretofabs.com
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