Water Testing

When keeping fish in a tank they rely on owners to maintain such things as water quality and feeding.

Basic understanding of water quality.

When keeping fish in a tank they rely on owners to maintain such things as water quality and feeding.

Water changes, filtration and not overstocking the tank with too many fish will all help. Fish keepers can take advantage of nitrification. A natural process of converting ammonia to nitrite then to nitrate. This process involves specialized beneficial bacteria in side the filtration system. Biological filtration's create surface areas for beneficial bacteria to colonize, increasing efficiency.

Partial water changes of 10-20% will remove nitrate`s, debris and build-up of organic waste. Depending on the tanks needs, this should happen on a weekly or fortnightly basis. These Changes will usually keep levels in check.

Feeding your fish

When introducing new fish into a tank, it is important that over feeding doesn’t become a problem. Feeding small amounts at a time will ensure all food gets consumed. Fish will usually take about a week to settle into their new environment. Once settled in, feeding sessions should take about 5 minutes no left over food should be visible. Any food waste will contribute to ammonia. If so water changes will be necessary to prevent poor water quality.

Testing water is to ensure water quality parameters are acceptable for your fish to live in. The most common needed are Ammonia, General hardness and pH levels.