Newcomers to the hobby are bombarded in the fish store with all sorts of water treatments: conditioners, stress coat, pH adjusters, ammonia detoxifier, bacteria in a bottle, buffers, aquarium salt, ad. infinitum. Only a cheap conditioner is necessary. All the other products are simply scams.
There is a “rule” that says you need to change the water 50% every week and a 25% change twice a week with an aquarium. The only reason for doing water changes is to keep the nitrates down.
It is generally (but not universally!) accepted that fish will do better in an aquarium if some of the water is drained upon occasion and replaced with new clean water. A reasonable water change schedule for most hobbyists is: 50% water changes be done every one to three months
“Old tank syndrome” is a tank with: Low KH (80); Low pH (< 6.5, or yellow to yellow green on the API pH test kit); High nitrate (>80); High ammonia readings (>4); This article tells you what to do when your fish are dying!
Heavy Stocked Maintenance: ONLY if one has very heavily stocked aquarium with only moderate amounts of biofiltration one should read on. This analysis is very long and boring.
Both beginners and experienced aquarium owners often make a big mistake that stresses fish in their aquarium. They give their new filters a thorough cleaning at the end of cycling.
There are a host of YouTube videos emphasizing that it is essential to “deep clean” and “deep vacuum” the substrate of an aquarium at least once a week. We do NOT recommend doing this.
Aquarium Maintenance can be a very simple topic or a very complex topic, depending on the aquarium stocking ratio.
Sick Tank Syndrome can occur even when the water parameters seem to be perfect. Invariably they will have “dull” or slightly cloudy water. This article explains what it is and how to treat it!
Diseases are generally not a problem in aquariums which have over-filtered, crystal clear, bacteria-free water.
