How to Maintain a Tropical Fish Tank

Maintaining a tropical fish tank can be a fun and rewarding experience. Here are some tips on taking good care of your freshwater fish tank.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. A very necessary part of being an aquarist is to make sure you are providing enough oxygen to the water in your fish tank. You will need an air pump and a tube. Run the air tube down below the water surface in the tank. The air tube will get dirty and clogged up, so you will need to have enough tubing to just cut off the clogged section on the end and lower the tube further into the water.

2. Water temperature in your fish tank is another important consideration. Tropical fish need the water in their fish tank to stay warm, especially in the winter. Make sure that you get a heater for your tropical fish tank, as well as a thermometer. Be aware of fluctuations in room temperature. You may not need the heater on in your fish tank during the summer months.

3. A water filter is one of the most important considerations for your fish tank. The right water filter will keep the water in your aquarium crystal clear and filtered properly for your tropical fish. It will remove any debris from the water. It is important to have the right size filter for your fish tank. The more gallons of water, the larger the filter you need to keep your aquarium clean. The resources section below contains links to aquarium filters and other products.

4. You will need to change the carbon cartridge in your water filter regularly. The carbon cartridge helps your filter keep the water clean and the Ph balanced properly.

5. You should do a partial water change in your aquarium on a consistent basis to help keep the water fresh. Remove 10-25% of the total water volume in the tank and replace it with fresh water. When changing the water in your aquarium, use water conditioners to eliminate chlorine and other harmful chemicals in tap water.

6. In maintaining your aquarium, you will need proper lighting in order to keep your tropical fish healthy. Fluorescent lights will encourage good bacteria to grow in your fish tank, which will help keep the bad bacteria in check. Tropical fish like having fluorescent light on a regular basis.

7. You should regularly rinse the objects in your tank under hot water. When performing a regular partial water change in the aquarium, take out any plants or rocks and rinse them thoroughly under hot water.

8. Don't overfeed your tropical fish.

9. Don't put too many tropical fish in your aquarium based on how many gallons it holds. The general rule of thumb is one inch of fish for every gallon of water in the tank. If you have a ten gallon aquarium, it should contain no more than ten inches of tropical fish. In other words, two five inch fish, or five two inch fish.

10. Get fish species such as Plecostomus for your tropical fish tank. Plecos are wildly popular with aquarium keepers because they are algae eaters that will help keep your fish tank clean.

Resources

• Bio-Wheel Water Filter for up to 20 gal. tank
• AquaSafe Water Conditioner
• TetraMin Tropical Flakes fish food
• Tetra Easy-Strips Water test strips
• Tetra Algae Control Drops
• Aquarium Heater
• Aquarium Air Pump
• Aquarium Decorations

[redar]

on 10/30/2009 Great article on fish tanks, I don't have any, but I I have been thinking about getting one. 5*

[ees1984]

on 10/28/2009 Thanks! I always wanted a fish tank but didn't think I could handle the maintenance... now I think I might go ahead and get a tank! Thanks 5*

[mvalora]

on 10/27/2009 Thanks for the good instructions on how to maintain a tropical fish tank!