FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I recently acquired a 20 gallon tank that i have some neons in along with a pleco and two swordtails I got from a friend. But besides that, I was just curious as to if anyone could give me some advice on general maintenance of the tank and what products are out there to make sure that the chemical levels are all where they are supposed to be. I have a whisper 10 filter, but I will be shortly purchasing the appropriate size. Also products to keep algae at a healthy level. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

My advice to you would be to keep the chemicals in your tank to a bare minimum. Preferably nothing but a little tap water conditioner when doing water changes. Cycle the tank properly. Do regular water changes, use algea eating fish to control algea, not herbicides. There are a million products out there claiming aquarium miricals, but a great number of them do more harm than good. An artifically balanced soup af chemicals and medicines is FAR from simulating a fishes natural habitat

Hi,
Welcome to FP!
Probably the most important advice would be to establish
a time for routine tank maintenance. Set aside a day
and time to do weekly water changes and at the same time
vacuum the unplanted sections of the tank. Most of the
problems that we have occur because we don't stick to a
regular maintenance program.

Regular water changes of 10-20% cannot be over emphasized
enough. In nature, it rains, floods occur, etc. These are
all nature's way of replenishing the bodies of water that
fish live in. Water changes by you are the only way you
can replicate that.

Unless you are drawing from a well that you own, chances
are that your water is treated by the local water plant
and it contains chlorine and perhaps chloramine to kill
off bacteria. Some treatment plants also add other
chemicals to the water to preserve the pipes, or fluoride
for building strong teeth, etc. You will need to add a
"conditioner" to the water to remove (neutralize) the
chlorine/chloramine from the water during your water
changes. You need only purchase one product, just read
the label and be sure that it says that it will remove
Chlorine AND Chloramine from the water.

Hope this helped...
Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

if you're really new to the hobby i would recommend buying a book on starting fishkeeping and do some research. it really is worth it to get a good grounding in the hobby. your fish will thank you for it!

horselvr8495,

I am pretty much with Frank here, but I would go even further on the water changes. 25 to 30 % weekly will be even better.

About keeping algae at bay: a good maintenance, not overstocking and/or overfeeding, no direct sunlight, and proper filtration will go a long way to avoid algae in the first place. I am not too wild in general about treating algae with chemicals as you are not defeating the reason why the algae is there in the first place.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Frank has given you some excellent advice.
If you are new to fish keeping there are many very basic and easy to read beginners guide on Aquariums and fish keeping.

Sera have several and they are free they have very useful info.

Dont rush in and buy this and that because a book or the sales person said so.

Ask as many questions no matter how silly or simple they sound to you as you like here on FP

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW