Aquarium and Pond Care and EcoBio-Block

You’ve spent a lot of money and time picking out the right fish for your aquarium and you think you’ve got it just right. Then you start losing some valuable fish. How does this happen and what can you do to prevent this tragedy?

There can be a lot of reasons why your fish are dying. Generally, it happens when a fish tank is new. It pays to buy an aquarium water test kit to determine how much ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are in the aquarium, and how high or low the pH is. These are the four most important tests for your tank.

In the nitrogen cycle of the fish tank, an important biological cycle, the fish give off nitrogenous wastes when they eliminate and these products break down into ammonia, which is very toxic to most fishes. In aquariums, this nitrogen product can build up into levels that are harmful to your fish. When you measure the ammonia level, it should be negligible.

The nitrogen cycle, is the process of getting rid of ammonia using nitrifying bacteria that convert the ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate, which is not as hazardous. The cycle goes from ammonia to nitrite to nitrate. These bacteria are present everywhere and establish themselves eventually in your fish tank as soon as the ammonia builds up. It is a slow process, however, and you can lose fish in the meantime.

One way of improving the nitrogen status of your aquarium is to purchase an EcoBio-Block Products that contains the nitrifying bacteria within the block. You rinse the block and soak it in chlorine free water over night before placing it in your tank. Normally, in a few weeks or so, you can have your ammonia levels drop followed by drops in nitrite levels. You can safely put your fish in then and expect that they will survive.

The other thing is to take a couple of hardy and cheap fish and put them in your tank. Don’t overfeed the fish. More food means that more ammonia will build up. For freshwater fish, try some zebra danios or some barbs. For saltwater tanks, use damselfish. Don’t use feeder fish for your tank as they can introduce unwanted diseases in your tank. The initial cheap fish you put into the tank get the nitrogen cycle going and you can then add more delicate and expensive fish to your tank.

Use your test kit to determine the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate level in your tank and use this as a guide for how healthy your tank is. It takes time for the bacteria to develop unless you are using a EcoBio-Stone to speed up the nitrification process.

Poor pH can also be a cause of a loss of fish. The pH is a measure of how acidic or how alkaline a fish tank is. Ideally, the pH should be around 7.0, which is “neutral”. However, fish can generally tolerate pH of 5.5 to 8.0. You can get a test strip to measure the level and if you need to change it, look at ways to change the pH slowly.

If your water contains buffers, you will not be able to change the pH very easily. Remember, too, that fish can tolerate a wide range of pH levels but do not tolerate sudden changes in pH.  Sometimes it’s better to leave the pH alone as long as your fish are thriving.

If you still think you need to adjust the pH, one way to lower it slowly is to add some driftwood to your fish tank or to the tank. A cleaned off seashell or coral skeleton will gradually increase the pH of your aquarium. The downside of both these solutions is that they will stain the color of the water brown or yellow for quite a while, but it will alter the pH in a safe way.

Maintain your tank well and you can have a healthy, happy fish population.

Saltwater Aquarium

Many newcomers to the world of keeping saltwater fish are wondering about the proper accessories for saltwater tanks. A lot depends on what kind of saltwater tank system you prefer. Do you want a reef tank system, a system with live rock and fish, or a system with just fish? Some accessories are considered to be basic; you would need them no matter which kind of system you chose.

Let us assume that you have already chosen the aquarium in the size you prefer. You know where you are going to place it in your home, and you have a suitable stand that can bear the weight of your tank when it is filled with water. You will need to decide what sort of lighting you are going to use. A hood for the top of the tank usually holds the lighting system you have chosen. Remember that for saltwater tanks, the lighting must be very similar to that of the sun. Otherwise, marine fish and coral will not do well.

Gravel, aragonite sand, crushed oyster shell and crushed coral are popular choices as a substrate for saltwater tanks. Since calcium is so important in maintaining the pH in the water of a marine tank, choosing a substrate like gravel, coral or oyster shell that can provide this mineral is a wise choice.

The plants chosen for saltwater tanks are generally live ones. Plastic plants, while attractive and hardy, cannot take a constant bath in salt water without a change in appearance. Live plants that are known to grow in salt water should be chosen. Live rock and coral are often considered as part plant, part decoration by the aquarium hobbyist. These choices grow and need nutrients just as plants do. The shapes and colors of coral are as beautiful a decoration as anyone could want.

Your aquarium filter should be chosen with both the size of the tank and the type of water that will be used in it in mind. A canister filter is a good choice. Saltwater tanks often prefer a filter that includes a protein skimmer. An aquarium heater will be needed as well. Choose a heater that is intended to use around 3 watts per gallon. You will need a thermometer, preferably digital, though some in the fishkeeping hobby do prefer the standard type of aquarium thermometer.

You will need a synthetic salt mix in order to make your salt water, available at any store that sells supplies for marine fish. Do not use regular table salt! A few buckets are handy to have to mix the salt water. In fact, five gallon buckets are a fine accessory for helping you maintain your tank. They can be used to hold plants, substrate, even fish if necessary for a short time. The proper mixing of the water is crucial for the saltwater tank. Just as the quality of the water that marine fish are used to in their native habitat is constant, so must the water that you mix and add to the tank also be.

A powerhead is an excellent choice as one of the proper accessories for saltwater tanks. Powerheads duplicate the wave action of the ocean. As so many of the marine fish sold today are wild caught, having conditions that match the ocean’s is crucial for success.
One of the best accessories possible for your saltwater tank is an EcoBio-Block. This product keeps the aquarium water clean and clear, and releases beneficial bacteria and nutrients into the water to help deal with the organic waste matter. It helps keep the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels down, and keeps the pH at a constant level. The EcoBio-Block can help you maintain your tank with very little work.

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.

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.