Aquarium Set Up: Maintenance

Now that you have put much time, energy, and money into getting your new saltwater aquarium set up and running, it is of the utmost importance for you to establish a regular aquarium care maintenance routine.

Good aquarium maintenance practices will lead to a healthy aquarium, which is what we all wanted in the first place.

Aquarium maintenance is easier than you think.

Here is a suggestion or recommendation on how often your saltwater aquarium should be checked and what should be checked and/or be monitored.

Here are some handy products you should always have for your aquarium maintenance:

Floating magnetic aquarium cleaner

This is the easiest way to remove algae for simple aquarium maintenance. It keeps your hands dry while you scrub those algae away from the glass of your aquarium. Just drag the no-scratch, felt-lined handle.

While inside your aquarium, the scrubber follows and cleans as it goes. If the magnets get separated, the scrubber part of the magnet floats right back to the surface of your aquarium.

Gloves

Here is another way to keep your hands dry during aquarium maintenance. It also helps you on protecting your aquarium from contamination, and preventing allergic reactions from chemicals.

Under water glue

Get the one that works both in and out of the water in case of leaks and any other emergencies.

Siphons

This is the most important piece of equipment for convenient water changes. Siphon product relies on gravity to draw water from the aquarium and into a bucket or sink, making it so much easier to get that unwanted debris and uneaten food that can later cause to fish stress or even fish loss.Here are steps on how to siphon saltwater from your aquarium

Cleaner and Wipes

Use aquarium wipes to prevent watermarks on your aquarium. Use cleaners that are designed for aquariums. Always remember that aquarium glass cleaners are only designed for use on the external surface of your aquarium, NOT inside.

Log

A log or a journal can keep you on top of your maintenance. Note the dates on when you did your water changes and other important information. You can also use this to note your water parameters each cleaning time and test results.

Whether it is fish, corals, or invertebrates, you should only choose and add 1 or 2 into the aquarium at a time.

After your selection has been placed into the tank, you need to allow the aquarium's nitrifying bacteria base to adjust to the additional bio-load.

This means you DO NOT add anything else at this point of the set up.

And over a week's time you should test the aquarium water daily for any appearance of ammonia and possibly nitrite.

Zero readings will show you when it is safe to add the next 1 or 2 pieces of livestock. Better yet, even when the test results are showing zero, wait another week or two before continuing on.