Care guide for an aquarium - what beginners should know

Aquarium care guide for beginners: When you bought your first aquarium, you quickly threw yourself into your new hobby, but without thinking and without knowing what work to do. The Aquaristics is fascinating and at the same time very demanding care and maintenance ango. In our care guide we want to explain the most important things, what needs to be done at certain intervals. Above all, beginners and newcomers to aquaristics should take the time to read these things carefully.

In our care measures, we distinguish what needs to be done, especially in the respective interval. Most things are general though. It doesn't matter whether you have a nano aquarium, a 54 or 60 liter tank, a 200 liter or 240 liter tank or even larger aquariums with 300 and more liters. In the end, the only thing that matters is the time it takes. Changing the water in a 500 liter tank takes more time than a 30 liter tank.

With the care measures listed below, we go less on the Setting up and running in the aquarium a. Significantly shorter intervals may be possible there. There can also be a lot more problems there, be it with algae in the aquarium or with further water changes. We will mainly go into the care measures for a well-established aquarium.

 

Daily care measures in an aquarium

The daily check of the technology: Most people are aware that an aquarium contains a great deal of technology. Be it the existing one Heating, the Filter technology, possibly also one CO2 plant, the aquarium lighting and also regulations as well as the aquarium computer. All of these devices can cause problems and must therefore be checked daily in a small check. You should pay attention to the following:

 

 

Daily check of the aquarium plants

She should also take a close look at the plants every day. Are there any signs of deficiency? Or what about the algae? Do plants need to be cut back? Are all inlets and also the intake openings still OK? Do leaves have to be removed? Are there floating dead leaves? You should ask yourself all these questions in order to do the daily care in the field of plants.

 

 

Check and control of the fish

Of course, the fish must also be checked daily. Feeding is not always an option for this, because there can be a lot of bustle and certain abnormalities are difficult to notice. It is better to control and observe your fish in a quiet minute. You should especially look at abnormalities in swimming behavior. Visual control is also very important. Do fish possibly have a disease like white spot disease, which can be seen quickly? Or will there be the dreaded fin rot? Take the time to identify problems early. She should also always have an overview of the number of fish. A fish can die quickly and you don't even notice it. This was then rotted somewhere and thus pollute the water. That's why you should keep an eye on everything here and include it in the daily check.

 

Control of the water values

Here you have to decide how often you want to check which value. Certain values ​​should be checked frequently and others are almost never checked. It also depends on whether you have current problems with certain problems. Especially with sensitive fish such as the discus, it makes sense to check the conductance and the PH value more often.

The temperature should be checked every day and with an appropriate computer, the PH value or the conductivity can also be measured quickly. Also write down the measured values ​​in a notebook or use them a corresponding app.

 

 

Weekly care measures in an aquarium

In addition to the measures already listed above, which should be done daily, there are also various things that should be done at weekly intervals.

 

Water change in the aquarium

As already described in our guide to changing the water, opinions differ as to when this should be done. Be it once a week or once every 14 days or even longer intervals. Everyone has to find their own individual solution here. But since this is a care guide for the beginner, we suggest a weekly change of the aquarium water at 25%.

 

Everything to change the water

 

Extraction of sludge and plant remains

The weekly water change is ideal for sucking the remains out of the aquarium with the suction bell. In addition to the sludge and any leftover food, this also includes plant remains.

 

Cleaning the lighting

It has proven to be very positive for us to wipe the reflectors and the lighting tubes with a damp cloth every week. This increases durability and always ensures enough light.

 

fertilizing aquatic plants

If you use a CO2 system, you already have one essential part for the fertilization of aquatic plants contributed. Nevertheless, other nutrients such as iron or phosphate must also be supplied. We recommend doing this when changing the water. Of course, it can also happen that you have to fertilize the plants more often. Watch out for deficiencies.

 

Cleaning the aquarium pane

The aquarium pane must also be cleaned at least once a week. Algae quickly settle here. These can be removed quite easily in the early stages. You can use a disc magnet or a disc scraper for this. There are also cleaners with razor blades. But always be careful not to scratch the pane. Of course, you should also clean the panes and the entire aquarium from the outside. Dust and deposits also settled here.

 

 

maintenance measures as needed

For many of the necessary care measures, there is no specific interval. These arise from time to time and mostly result from the daily checks.

Cleaning the filter and accessories

If the filter performance decreases, then it is time to clean it thoroughly. This may require cleaning not only the filter media, but also the hoses and inlet fittings. In addition, the filter material must be renewed again and again. How often you have to do this cannot be described in detail. New and modern filters even show this.

 

Cleaning the CO2 diffuser or pinball machine

The CO2 storage also needs a certain amount of cleaning. The diffuser and flipper, where the CO2 bubbles dissolve, become dirty over time and thus lose effectiveness. That's why you should clean it from time to time. Here you can make the decision based on the optical aspects.

 

 

Thinning out the plants

If the plant growth is right, then you should also give the plants a rejuvenation cure at regular intervals. Be it thinning out the fast-growing plants or cutting the new shoots. Old leaves can be removed and stem plants can also be cut off. Here you can even use the new stems again as young plants and thus create a denser planting. Moose also need a cut every now and then. You should use special scissors for the aquarist.

 

Replacing the lighting

The lighting also has to be replaced from time to time. The bulbs lose their power and must therefore be replaced. The interval depends on the respective illuminant.

 

How long does the care take?

Basically, the daily work is done quite quickly. Everything was carefully checked here in 5-15 minutes. Of course, this also depends on the size of the tank. If you clean the filter and change the water, you should calculate 2 hours here. Again, it is of course very different and size-dependent. But you can also help yourself with certain equipment, and so you can, for example, carry out other activities when refilling the pool. Nevertheless, beginners should know that almost half an hour a day is used with the aquarium. This should also be taken into account during holiday care. However, there is a guide for that.

Even if the beginner now feels overwhelmed, the regular maintenance work in an aquarium becomes a ritual and is usually done automatically. Be it feeding the animals or checking him in the morning when the lights go on.