Aquarium and Pond Care with EcoBio-Block

If you plan on turning your freshwater aquarium into a saltwater aquarium, you are likely wondering if the equipment you already have can be used to create that saltwater aquarium or if you have to get brand new equipment. We will examine the individual components to see what you can continue to use and what you must replace. First, we will check out the aquarium itself.

Aquariums are not designed only to be used as either a freshwater tank or a saltwater tank; most aquariums can be used for either. The glass or acrylic material that makes up the structure of the aquarium certainly applies to both freshwater and saltwater aquarium tanks. The silicone adhesive that is used in construction is also applicable to both freshwater and saltwater aquariums.

The one main difference between freshwater and saltwater tanks is that freshwater tanks tend to be considerably smaller than their saltwater counterparts. While a 5-gallon freshwater tank can theoretically be transformed into a saltwater tank, small saltwater tanks are often harder to work with, which is why many experienced saltwater aquarists suggest that you use no smaller than a 55-gallon tank for your saltwater aquarium.

Regarding the filtration of your aquarium, filtration is a little more involved when it comes to saltwater aquariums, since biological filtration is an especially critical component in a saltwater aquarium. Freshwater aquarium owners can choose to use a biowheel and box that hangs on the outside of the tank or in a corner of the tank for filtration needs, but a saltwater tank usually needs more filtration than that which these types of filters can provide. While undergravel filter (UGF) set-ups can be used in saltwater aquariums, they can contribute to unwanted nitrate problems in later years, which is why many saltwater aquarium owners prefer wet-dry trickle and canister type filters that have bio-media chambers.

There is no set choice for a filter to be used in a saltwater aquarium; your best bet is to research the various filtration methods and set-ups, than choose the one that you feel will work best for your aquarium.  You can usually help to narrow your decision by deciding whether you will have a fish-only aquarium or a reef tank system, though filters that are used for reef tank systems can also be used for fish-only aquariums, so you can save money and hassle by purchasing filters that will work with reef tank systems even if you only initially plan on having fish in your saltwater aquarium.

Regarding pumps and powerheads, most freshwater pumps can work well in saltwater aquariums, provided that they are rated as safe to use in saltwater. The main difference between freshwater and saltwater aquariums is that saltwater aquariums use more pumps and powerheads to obtain greater movement and circulation in the water. This can be especially beneficial to the health of corals.

Many freshwater aquarium owners use large-sized gravel or rock material to provide the biological filter base. However, this does not work well in a saltwater tank, as the substrate that is used in saltwater tanks should have high natural levels of calcium content that originates in the ocean. One solution that you can use in both freshwater and saltwater aquariums is ONEdersave’s EcoBio-Block® aquarium products. Their EcoBio-Stone™ L works especially well in larger saltwater tanks, as it is made to be used in 16 to 100 gallons of water.

The lighting used for freshwater tanks can work with fish-only saltwater tanks, though the light hood may not stand up well to the corrosive effects of saltwater, plus it will not hold MH, PC, or VHO lighting.  You certainly need to change the lighting if you plan on having a reef system. It is important that you carefully research exactly what you need for your aquarium before heading out to your local fish store so that you don’t buy unnecessary or inadequate equipment.

You will definitely need to change the decorations in your tank if you plan to convert from freshwater to saltwater, as most saltwater fish are grazers, and if you leave decorations that are made of plastic, your saltwater fish could have their digestive tracks shut down from eating such items. You should place either live rock or non-living or synthetic decorative rocks and corals in your saltwater aquarium.

The heater for your freshwater tank will likely suffice for your saltwater tank, provided that it is safe to use in saltwater tanks. You will need to use a different test kit, however, since the chemicals used in freshwater test kits are entirely different from those found in saltwater test kits.

In conclusion, some equipment from your freshwater aquarium will work well with your new saltwater aquarium, but some equipment will have to be replaced. By doing some careful research online and in saltwater aquarium books, along with the information in this article, you should be able to transform your freshwater aquarium into a saltwater aquarium quickly and at relatively little cost.

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 L 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.

Saltwater or Freshwater Aquqrium?

You are interested in the hobby of keeping fish, but you cannot make up your mind between a freshwater and a saltwater aquarium. You have heard that saltwater tank care can be difficult, but if your heart is set on owning a few of those bright blue and yellow fish you saw in a magazine, you will want to consider a saltwater tank. If you have had a freshwater tank for a few years, and want a new challenge, then a saltwater tank may be just what you are looking for.

The two main considerations should be the amount of money you wish to spend on your new hobby, and the amount of time you have to spend maintaining your tank. Saltwater tank care is very different from the care required of a freshwater tank, but it does not have to be difficult.

A freshwater tank costs less to set up and to maintain. On average, you can set up a 10-gallon tank and stock it with a few fish for a minimum of $75.00. The fish that will live happily in a freshwater tank are less expensive than saltwater fish. Once you have a freshwater tank up and running with your fish added to it, the maintenance is not all that time consuming. At a minimum, you can expect to keep the water level topped up, add water conditioner, and perform partial water changes on a weekly basis with a freshwater tank. Plan to vacuum the bottom of the freshwater tank and change the filter material once a month. The cost to maintain a freshwater tank for a month, counting fish food and the occasional replacement fish, is probably $20.00 or less.

A saltwater tank can range from being a little expensive all the way up to the “money is no object” range, depending on what you put inside it. The live rocks that go into saltwater tanks can cost you from around $25.00 all the way up to several thousand dollars. It all depends on their size, and on where the live rock originated. Compare these prices to a few bags of aquarium gravel for a freshwater tank, and you can begin to get a better idea of the cost differences.

However, setting up a saltwater tank takes more than just live rocks. You still may want some form of substrate for the tank bottom, a few live plants, a hydrometer to tell you how much salt is in the tank water, and a good filtration system that was made for salt water. A sturdy tank heater and a thermometer that can take the punishment that salt water can dish out are also required.

You will want a powerhead for water movement, a protein skimmer to remove any sort of organic trash from the tank water, and an air pump and external water pump for the protein skimmer. You will also need a couple of boxes of aquarium salt, depending on the size of your tank, and a few various test kits to keep a check on the water. Yes, some of these same accessories are needed for a freshwater tank, but a marine tank generally requires a more heavy-duty form of the chosen item.

Saltwater tank care can take you several hours per week. The water must be tested for salt content every day. The temperature of the tank must be monitored, as well as the water quality. Your live rocks must also be cared for, or they will die. They need a particular form of lighting, and it must be balanced for them to be healthy.

If you want to simplify maintenance, the use of products from the EcoBio-Block family Products can help you to keep the water in any tank, whether saltwater or freshwater, clean and clear. Users of the EcoBio-Block have noticed less trouble with excess nitrates and ammonia spikes as well.

Saltwater tank care seems like a lot of work compared to a freshwater tank. However, a well-maintained saltwater tank is visually stunning, and well worth the time and attention you give to it. Saltwater tank care can be made easier when the proper bacteria and nutrients are added to the water, and the EcoBio-Block can do all this for you.

In the end, the decision between freshwater and saltwater is up to you.

by Ruby Bayan

Community Fish Tank

Here’s a candid question from my friend Bob: “I just got a 20-gallon tank and was thinking about putting in about a dozen Neon Tetras, six to eight Mollies, a Plecostomus and perhaps introducing two to three Angelfish afterwards. Is this an acceptable plan?”

My answer was, “Bob, you’re inviting disaster into your aquarium! You will be defying at least four major guidelines in the book of ‘good fishkeeping’!”

Defiance 1: “The one-inch-per-gallon rule is baloney!”

Although not a strict rule, the one-inch-of-fish-per-gallon-of-water guideline is often a takeoff point for fishkeeping hobbyists aspiring for a stable bioload. However, factors like efficient filtration, fast-growing fishes, and aggressive or territorial breeds totally overhaul this “rule” giving rise to setups with more than one inch of fish per gallon, or with just a pair of two-inch fish for a 25-gallon tank.

In Bob’s planned 20-gallon setup, 12 Neons, 8 Mollies, 1 Pleco, and 3 Angels, even if they’re all less than an inch each, will surely overload his tank habitat, no matter how efficient his filtration is. But let’s say that on top of a truly efficient filter, he can be diligent enough to make regular water changes, his next problem will be what water parameters to maintain.

Defiance 2: “What natural habitat? I’ll give them their natural habitat!”

One of the primary objectives of fishkeepers is to provide a habitat that is closest to what the fishes have in the wild. The community that Bob is looking at putting together cannot occur naturally because the fishes he has chosen do not thrive in the same water conditions.

Although all the chosen fishes can be made accustomed to a common water temperature (around 77 degrees F), Neons prefer water that is slightly soft, with pH between 5.0 and 7.0. Mollies, on the other hand, live in slightly hard water with pH of 7.5 to 8.5.

In other words, either the Neons or the Mollies will suffer stress and eventually fall ill if brought together in one community tank because the water composition is outside the range ideal for them.

So, if Bob removes the Mollies from the equation and maintains a water composition ideal for the rest of the fishes, will the Neons, Pleco, and Angelfish be fine together? The answer is, again, “no.”

Defiance 3: “They don’t look aggressive to me!”

Angelfishes belong to the notoriously cranky group of cichlids. Highly territorial and potentially aggressive, Angels (an oxymoron?) are known to be “stealth” attackers. Swimming casually and almost in a delicately gentle manner, they can snap at a prey in a flash and swallow whatever fits their mouths. Full-grown Angels are known to feast on Neons.

So, maybe Bob can chuck the idea of adding Angels later on. Will his tank be safe now with the dozen Neons and one Plecostomus? Unfortunately, the Pleco may pose a whole new problem.

Defiance 4: “They’re just sooo cute!”

The Plecostomus is one of the fastest growing catfishes in captivity. A “cute” three-inch Pleco can double in length in six months and grow to a “horrendous” adult size of close to two feet in a couple of years. Their phenomenal growth is accompanied by their equally phenomenal rate of excretion that can easily overwork standard filtration systems. A Pleco will, therefore, be okay in a 20-gallon tank only in its first few months as a juvenile.

In other words, Bob’s 20-gallon tank is down to just a dozen Neons. That’s no fun, right? Well, a 20-gallon tank can’t really support a lot of fishes, and frankly, losing some to not having an acceptable plan is my definition of “no fun.”
Bob can still have a fun tank by choosing a combination of community fishes that are attractive together and thrive in a habitat that will remain stable indefinitely.

Here’s one suggestion: to join his Neons, he can add a pair of Rams (Ramirezis may be cichlids but they’re one of the more sedate ones), and instead of the Pleco he can choose a pair of Corys (corydoras) or Otos (otocinclus) that remain small even as adults.

Add to that some diligent monitoring, regular water changes (or better yet, an EcoBio-Block that conditions water so that changes are hardly necessary), and efficient equipment, and Bob can be well on his way to implementing a truly acceptable plan.