Aquarium Maintenance

The amount of money spent on establishing the smallest of aquarium set-ups can be troublesome. Where some of the real troubles can begin is with maintaining the fish and their new environment. However, with a careful maintenance schedule, many troubles can be easily averted.

First of all, make sure to replace 1/3 of the water each week. Pulling a siphon through the gravel will take many of the larger harmful matters out of the aquarium. Keep in mind that a 30-gallon aquarium does not necessarily hold 30 gallons of water after everything is put in, so that may save you some time.

Live plants need to be trimmed once per week as well. Making sure dead leaves won't pollute the water by removing decaying plant matter is important.

While replacing water and trimming the plants, make sure to clean any algae growth before it comes a problem.

When it comes to feeding, no matter how much the fish beg, feed them only twice per day. Try not to overfeed, use discretion. This will keep harmful bacteria and algae from populating the aquarium.

Of all these points listed above, the big focus is on decay. Any living or biological matter that decays will harm the aquarium. In some set-ups it may be beneficial for a little over feeding or decay, such as heavily planted aquariums that thrive on CO₂, but in the average set-up... it's not recommended.

In addition to these simple tasks, there are many more things that can be done.

Keeping an extra light nearby incase one goes out is always a good idea. It simply saves less time and money to have a spare sitting by instead of having to make a trip for a new one. Filters would probably be the next piece of equipment to fail, but they generally last a while as long as they're not abused. The same goes for heaters, which last quite a while.