Aquarium Care and EcoBio-Block

Avoid overcrowding and keep your fish healthy

Being an aquarium owner is one of the most rewarding hobbies ever! There are so many different types of fish to choose from, and watching your fish with their striking colors swim about the tank is a pleasure you can enjoy every day.

Some aquarium owners are unaware of the need to prevent overcrowding in their fish tanks, and are unable to tell if their fish are ready for a larger tank.
A novice owner can commit this no-no easily. The fish that they purchased when first starting out in the aquarium hobby may have become too large for their original tank. Enthused about this new hobby, the newbie may have also added more fish than the size of the usual beginner 10-gallon tank can handle. No matter what the circumstances, it does not take long for an overcrowded tank to begin to show signs of trouble as the level of toxins in the water rise.

A high toxin load in your aquarium is definitely going to stress out your fish, and can even kill them if it is allowed to continue for too long. You can try to keep up with partial water changes, which can help the condition of the tank water, but that can be a lot of work.

The overcrowded aquarium requires much more oxygen than the aquarium that is properly stocked and well maintained. This means that the fish in a tank that is too small to house them properly are deprived of the oxygen they need.
If you are dealing with an overcrowded aquarium, then ammonia and nitrite levels should be monitored frequently.

Another aspect of overcrowding is the fact that any diseases or parasites your fish may have will affect every fish in the aquarium in a very short time. All fish have parasites and bacteria on the surface of their bodies. When fish are stressed, they are much more apt to fall victim to either or both.

It can be simple to take care of one or two fish that have developed some sort of fungus, or who are spotted with Ich. However, having a small aquarium full of sick fish is not a pleasant scenario. By the time you are able to get all of the fish out of the aquarium and into a safe place, well over half of them could be dead or dying.

You may think that a larger tank is out of your budget. Ask friends if they have or know of anyone with a spare aquarium in their garage. Watch the classified section of your daily newspaper for used tanks, or even better, look around the online classifieds for your area. You may be lucky enough to find the exact type and size of tank you need

Once you have located what you think would be a suitable tank for your fish, make sure that you have found the size that you need. Freshwater fish will generally need about a gallon of water for every inch. Saltwater fish need one square foot for every three inches, so do keep the proper figures in mind as you shop for a larger tank.

Your larger tank will be a lot of fun to accessorize, but why not make one of those accessories a highly functional one? Placing an EcoBio-Stone or an EcoBio Block in that new to you, larger aquarium will help to keep the water beautifully clear. This product also gets rid of any funky odors the tank water may have, and can really cut down on the frequency of water changes.

Suffice it to say that Old Tank Syndrome is the opposite of New Tank Syndrome. To refresh the memory, let us remember that New Tank Syndrome takes place when an eager newcomer to the aquarium hobby starts to lose fish at about the six-week anniversary of aquarium ownership.

This can happen due to poor water quality, especially elevated ammonia levels because of an unhealthy filtration system. It can also take place because the novice owner is still a bit clumsy at giving the aquarium and fish the proper sort of care.

Old Tank Syndrome has a telltale symptom, and that is a sense of complacency in a long time aquarium owner when it comes to the condition of his or her tank. All of the excitement of having this hobby has passed by this time, and the fish-lover could almost be said to take his aquarium for granted.

The tank is stable, the fish are well fed and in good health. There have been no changes in the aquarium for quite a while now. The fish are fed on schedule most of the time, and no new fish have been added to the aqua community. No water tests for ammonia or nitrites have been done, either. All those partial water changes that were done at the beginning of aquarium ownership have fallen by the wayside as well.

It is about now that the long-time aquarium owner begins to notice that his fish tank seems to be a bit “off”. He or she may decide to do a partial water change to try and rectify things. Alternately, the hobbyist discovers a dead fish, and decides to go and purchase a few new occupants for the aquarium. Either of these scenarios is going to upset the balance of the aquarium.

The present fish are used to the aquarium condition just the way it is. A partial water change could prove to be very stressful, and could even kill the fish. Every seasoned pet fish keeper has heard this tale of woe from a newbie, “We had just changed the water, and then all the fish started to die one by one.”

New fish will also upset the balance in the aquarium, but in a different way. They will create even more ammonia and nitrites, and this will upset the balance that the fish have slowly become used to. Either way, you stand a good chance of losing some fish.

Old tank syndrome can be avoided by maintaining the same schedule of water testing and frequent partial water changes that you did when your tank was brand new. Or, you can take advantage of one of the EcoBio-Block family of products, and spend the time you would have spent maintaining your aquarium admiring your fish! EcoBio-Block Products will keep the water quality in your tank healthy for your fish population as well as maintaining the water in a crystal clear condition.

Ammonia Test

What are some of the common problems with aquarium water chemistry? Many times, beginners to the aquarium hobby are uncertain as to what steps they need to take in order to get their tank off to a good start.

No matter how clear and sparkling that water may look in your new aquarium, do not be fooled! Remember that looks can frequently be deceptive. Many new owners think that it could not possibly hurt to go ahead and add some fish to their new aquarium setup once they have added the water. After all, it looks so clean and pure!

Wrong. That water you just poured into your tank is full of certain gases that can be toxic to your fish in the right amount. Compressed carbon dioxide gas is present in most city or tap water, along with chlorine, fluoride, and perhaps even some sulfides as well. There are also minerals, heavy metals, and chemicals in this water.

Some of these substances are added by the facilities that treat water in order to make it safe for human consumption. What is safe for a human can be quite unsafe for a fish. You must wait for the water in your aquarium to stabilize before you can add any fish to it. Often, people are advised to place one lone feeder fish in the tank in order to get the beneficial bacteria started up, cycle the tank, and also to see if the water quality is good enough for this fish to live in. While this seems like a good plan, you may be bringing diseases into your tank by doing so. There are much better ways to accomplish this task.

Test kits are available to tell you the condition of your aquarium water. Make sure you get the proper test to match your aquarium water, as the tests for freshwater and saltwater tanks can be a little different. You will want to test your tap water before proceeding to test the tank water. That first test will give you a baseline of sorts. Knowing the parameters of your tap water and comparing them to the parameters of your aquarium water can help you to decide if you need to do a partial water change or adjust the water parameters.

What sort of parameters do these kits test the water for? Normally, a simple water test kit will check the pH, Nitrite, Nitrate, Carbonate hardness and General hardness. You can also purchase kits that will test for ammonia. Tanks can be tested for KH or GH as well with a simple home kit. You can purchase products at your pet store to make the proper adjustments.

It does not take much ammonia to be toxic to fish, so the beginner hobbyist should strive to keep the levels in the tank at or near zero. However, during cycling, you will get high ammonia readings until there is enough bacteria in the tank to breakdown the ammonia into safer by-products. During this time, water changes of 10 –20% are suggested to keep the ammonia levels down. Different fish varieties need different pH readings, so a normal level will depend on the type of fish you are keeping. At one time, the only way to test your aquarium water was with a series of test kits and/or test strips. Whenever you suspected a problem, you would need to perform these tests on a daily basis. With the busy lifestyles so many of us have, it could be difficult to schedule this testing.

Fortunately, there is a solution that will save the hobbyist time, effort, and even some cash! The EcoBio-Block family of products can keep your aquarium water safe for your fish. These products contain a good bacteria that can last as long as two years. This bacteria will change ammonia into nitrates, which are safer for fish. Minerals and calcium are added to the water by the block, and the water is kept sparkling clear. Owning and using an EcoBio-Block product is a great way to help you reduce any problems you might have with your aquarium. Common problems with aquarium water chemistry are easily conquered when you are using the right tools.