Daily Maintenance
You should visually inspect each of your pets, including all sessile invertebrates, each morning. The functioning of all the electrical equipment such as lights, heaters, and filters should also be visually checked each day. Be sure to ascertain that water is flowing freely and at its usual rate from the filter. Any decrease in your filter's output may indicate that the pads or filter materials are becoming clogged with debris or that the motor itself is slowing down due to some malfunction. It is a good idea to have backups of each piece of important electrical equipment on hand at all times.
Because water is an excellent conductor of electricity, it is very important that all pieces of electrical equipment, including lights, be disconnected before any type of servicing or adjustment is done.
Any visible debris at the bottom of the aquarium should, ideally, be removed each day. This is best accomplished through the use of a fine net moved back and forth in a figure eight motion just above the aquarium's substrate. The nets commonly sold as “brine shrimp nets” are the most useful for this purpose, as they trap even the tiniest bits of detritus. Check also that any aerating equipment is functioning properly. An accumulation of algae, or, in marine tanks, of salt, will inhibit the action of air stones and will slow the flow of air through plastic air hoses.
The temperature of your aquarium's water should be checked each day and you should ascertain that your backup heater has not come on. A functioning backup heater may indicate that your main heater has failed or that temperatures have fallen to an unacceptably low level for some reason.
Visually inspect the intensity of all light bulbs used over your aquarium. Be aware that full spectrum and other fluorescent lamps will lose their effectiveness over time, even though they continue to remain lit. In other words, they will light your aquarium but may not, as they age, provide the specific wavelengths needed for plant or algae growth or for normal animal behavior.
The effective life of fluorescent lamps is generally listed by the manufacturer. It is important that you calculate your lamp's effective life, based upon its daily hours of operation, and that you note the expiration date on a calendar or in your logbook.
Water quality is best monitored by chemical tests, but be sure to take note of any visual change in the condition of your water each day. A buildup of foam at the water's surface or a cloudy or yellowish tint to the water is an indication of a problem. Often the source of the change will be a dead organism, so be sure to search carefully for those animals that usually remain hidden, or those invertebrates that are normally immobile. A filter malfunction or a sudden die-off of plants or algae are other possible causes of overnight changes in the water's appearance. In all cases, it is important that you determine the source of the problem and correct it. Of course, you will also need to take a short term measure to remedy the situation, such as a water change, but the most important factor is that you learn why the water quality has deteriorated.
Is it advisable to use preparations that promise to “clear up cloudy aquarium water immediately”?
The use of such preparations is a bad idea because they treat the symptoms of the problem only, and water conditions worsen. When your water becomes cloudy, you must discover the cause of the problem and then take appropriate steps to remedy it and to prevent its reccurrence.
If you maintain a marine aquarium, you will need to use a damp sponge to remove the salt that will accumulate on the hood of the tank and on various other surfaces. Water that evaporates from a marine aquarium does not contain dissolved salts, but water that leaves as a fine mist, due to the aerating action of air stones or filter outputs, does contain salts. Over a long period of time, the removal of salt from the aquarium in this manner will lower the specific gravity of the water, so be sure to monitor it carefully.
You may be quite surprised at how quickly the interior and exterior of your aquarium glass becomes clouded due to the accumulation of dust and a near invisible film of algae and other organic material. Clean glass will make a remarkable difference in the appearance of your aquarium, so be sure to clean the outside and inside surfaces each week. The outer glass may be cleaned with a commercial glass cleaner, as long as you are careful not to spray any into the aquarium.
Sponges designed specifically for glass cleaning are available at all pet stores, and can be used to clean the interior glass surfaces. If you own an acrylic tank, make sure that the sponge or pad you choose is specifically approved for use on acrylic, as this material is easily scratched. Razor blades are very efficient at the removal of algae from glass but should never be used on acrylic aquariums. Algae removed in this manner may be fed to a wide variety of freshwater and marine animals. Do not leave a large amount of algae scrapings in a tank where they will not be consumed, as they may quickly clog your filter's intake strainer.
The fluorescent lamp above your aquarium will be shielded by a pane of glass or plastic. It is very important that you clean the surface of this material, because it will quickly become coated with algae or, in marine aquariums, with salt. Even a light covering of salt or algae in this location will drastically cut down on the intensity of light that reaches your aquarium. The reduced light level will detract from the aquarium's overall appearance and will, over time, negatively affect plant growth and the health of your animals.
When cleaning the inner surface of your tank's glass, be especially careful as you near the substrate, because any gravel or sand that you may inadvertently rub against the glass or acrylic will cause scratches.
The water's pH should be tested weekly. Minor changes in pH can be corrected by a water change or with commercially available preparations. Be aware, however, that rapid or major changes in pH indicate a problem whose source needs to be investigated. The specific pH that you will need to maintain in your aquarium will depend on the species of animals that you keep. Freshwater fish and invertebrates vary greatly in their pH requirements because they come from a wide variety of habitats with pH values ranging from basic to quite acidic. Marine systems, on the other hand, tend to be very stable in terms of pH. Therefore, most saltwater organisms will fare well at a pH of 8.1 to 8.3. Remember that most marine fish and invertebrates are relatively intolerant of pH changes, especially if they occur within a short period of time. Certain hardy species of freshwater organisms may be more resilient in this regard, but in all cases, aquatic animals will fare better if not subjected to drastic changes in pH or any other water quality parameters. Reread the section on pH in Chapter 2 for a more complete discussion of this topic.
In marine aquariums, specific gravity (salinity) should be tested weekly with a hydrometer. The evaporation of water will cause an increase in the water's salinity, and the loss of salt from the aquarium through water mist will lower the specific gravity.
In marine aquariums, it is difficult to estimate the amount of salt needed to make up for that lost in association with mist from aerating devices. Therefore, do not attempt to mix the salt directly into the aquarium, because mistakes cannot then be corrected. Prepare your makeup water in a separate vessel, check the salinity, and then add the water to the aquarium.
