• Airpump
• lift tube
• airstone (optional)
• air tubing
• fish food pot
• gravel
• filter floss/sponge

Maintaining a FW Aquarium

As with mostly everything in life, stability is the goal for what ever you work at. So, now that your tank is set up and running, how do you keep it running in a healthy way for both your fish and plants and to keep it healthy, lively, and beautiful? Well lets get the water bucket and siphon? Well, there's much more to it than that....

Water Changes

Lets bin the old water and bring in the new freash water right? "dilution of polluted water is the solution for poor water coonditions", what you will be doing is the replenishment of your system with vital nutrients and minerals that help keep things alive and well. If you don’t change your water it is just like living in a room you’re your whole life with stale air.... sure, maybe you can get by, but eventually the pollutants are it's going to get a bit rough unless you have a way of refreashing your system, and we do this by opening a window and change out some of your environment.

Preparing Your Water

You cant just change your water as it isn’t as simple as that so Put down that siphon hose! You're not ready yet. Before you start taking water out of your tank, let's think about what you're going to be putting back into the aquarium.

Does your system require a special pH level for your fish? Does your tapwater have a different pH than your aquarium; also are you using Reverse Osmosis water that will need to be replenished with minerals before using it? If this is so, you might want to start preparing your new water before you take any out of your aquarium.

A dedicated Rubber tub and waist water pale should be used for making and storing new water for your system. If you need to modify your water conditions prior to adding it to your tank, this will give you the ideal opportunity.

Fill up your bucket, with your tap, RO or rain water and start making whatever changes you feel are necessary. E.g. Salt, fertiliser or vitamins. Add your water conditioner... to remove chlorine/chloramines.
Next, bring that water up to the correct temperature (Aquarium temp). IMPORTANT Don't use hot or heated water out of the tap; the rapidly elevated temperature from your water boiler can cause the water to become saturated with dissolved gasses (nitrogen, primarily) and can actually cause your fishes to contract "gas bubble disease" - sort of "the bends" for fish. The best thing to do is to, drop in an extra aquarium heater to raise the temperature of your water bucket – IMPORTANT SAFETY always remember to unplug it before you empty the container.

To keep this water from going stale it's a good idea to add a powerhead or an airstone will do fine as an air stone will increase the oxygen in the water which is good wheb changing water.
Before you use your new water, be certain that it is of the right pH (and possibly hardness), has no ammonia or nitrite, and is the right temperature.

Siphoning the water & Cleaning the Gravel

Alright, we're now ready for that siphon hose. There are several types of siphon hoses but I find the normal green ehinem tube to be good enough. There are even some that are "powered", Choose what will work best for you and your system; the idea behind all is pretty much the same: getting water out of your aquarium. Remember that you should only use this hose for this purpose.

WARNING DO NOT start a siphon with your mouth. Beside a very few bacterial complaints that can transfer from fish to humans, water filled with fish poo tastes horrible. Don't do it. Instead, put the end of your hose into your bucket and submerge the hard plastic tube completely in your aquarium, then lift up, covering the end of the tube. As the water starts to drain down into your bucket, submerge the tube completely again to keep the water flowing. This might take a bit of practice the first few times, but the alternative is a mouthful of dirty tank water - you'll learn quickly.

Once your siphon is running, you can start cleaning your gravel with the hard plastic tube.make sure you have a filter end on the pipe or you might suck up your fish.

Push the head gently into your gravel and give it a bit of a back and forth motion or up and down motion to loosen detritus in the substrate and send it through the tube and into your bucket. If you have very fine or lightweight substrate, you'll need to be very careful not to pull it through the hose as well. Also, be thinking about the inhabitants of your tank; especially those that might live partly or primarily in the substrate, and use caution not to harm any kuhlii loaches.

For undergravel filteration

never clean "too much" of your substrate at once - remember, most of your biological filtration takes place in the substrate.

For Bio Media (Bio Balls and Foam)

Dont clean the Bio Balls and the Media foam at the same time as you will kill the bacterial compounds of the media.
You should only clean one at half of the total cleaning period. so if you have a 1 year cleaning cycle for your bio sump then at 6 months you should clean one of the materials then at the 1 year point clean the other. this will keep enough bacteria in your system. remeber this all depends on the size and amount of filteration your tank does.

cleaning this too often or too thoroughly can have devastating effects on your system by causing the tank to start again at the beginning of the nitrogen cycle, subjecting your livestock to toxic ammonia and nitrite as your nitrifying bacteria repopulate your gravel.

Internal tank Maintenance.

Once you've removed the amount of water you wanted from of your system', you can take the opportunity to handle a little more in-tank maintenance. Is there algae on the glass? Decor that needs to be cleaned, moved, or removed? Live plants that need a bit of a trim, or propagation?
REMEMBER If you use a scrubbing or scraping device to remove algae from the surfaces of your aquarium, keep in mind the material of which your aquarium is constructed.
If you move or remove stones, background, plastic plants and caves, remember again about your tank's inhabitants. REMEMBER are the shrimp or loaches that may have taken up home inside an ornament of some sort? If it has holes in it have a look as they will hide with all this movement in the tank.
If you have plants to trim, now is the easiest time, inspect the cuttings to be sure nothing – (shrimps especially) - has tried to sneak out with them.

NEVER NEVER flush your plant clippings.

Instead, set them out to dry and then discard them in a sealed bag with your trash. Flushing plants or tossing them out in the yard can be a bit of an environmental hazard, as the plants may find their way into your local waterways.

Now that you're done with your tank maintenance, you can now fill the water you prepared earlier.

Equipment Maintenance

Periodically, you will need to inspect your equipment for wear. A short visual inspection after your water change is a good idea. Check to see that your water circulation devices are still functioning properly. Keep an eye on your temperature control devices and monitor the temperature with a thermometer so you'll know right away if something is awry. Be sure to check your filter and change, clean, or replace any media that is used up or soiled.

Thoroughly Cleaning Your Various Equipment

Check your lighting for any mineral buildup. Clean any algae or mineral deposits off the glass or cover of the tank (if you have one) to make sure nothing is obstructing the path of the light into your tank. Look at the ends of the bulbs and anywhere that could possibly show you any indication of corrosion of the wiring, starter, ballast, or pins of the bulbs themselves. Carefully clean any buildup off the light housing and tubes (you might want to unplug the lighting, just to be on the safe side).
Remove powerheads and disassemble them (refer to the instructions that came with them, or look up the manufacturer on the internet to request instructions, if you need them). Clean off the impeller, and check for any hairs or plant material that may have gotten wound around the shaft. Check to be certain that the impeller spins freely. Clean out the impeller housing. If you use a venturi device with the powerhead, make sure the hoses are free from obstruction, and if the venturi includes a small air filter, make sure this is clean.

If you use an air pump, check that your airline tubing is still flexible. If it has gotten hard or has mineral deposits or algae inside it, replace the tubing. If the airflow seems reduced, replace the airstone. These do become clogged over time and can seriously decrease the output of the air pump. A dirty airstone can also cause a lot of wear and tear on the pump from the resistance applied, so it's a good idea to replace these periodically even if you don't think it's very clogged up.

Take a look at your heater to be sure the glass tube is not cracked. Observe your temperature to know that your heater is functioning normally.

Disassemble your filter and clean its components. Use a clean bottlebrush to scrub out pipes and tubes. You might even dedicate an old, clean toothbrush for helping you with this task. Clean any gaskets or O-rings and lubricate them if necessary or recommended in the manufacturer's instructions. Remove and clean the impeller, and clear the impeller housing of any obstruction or foreign objects before replacing the impeller. Clean or discard/replace dirty or expired filter media. Never completely replace all soiled media at one time if it is your primary source of biological filtration, or if you have just heavily cleaned your substrate. Instead, replace the media but leave a portion of the old media in the filter for a while, to help "seed" the new media with nitrifying bacteria.

Maintenance Schedule

The schedule of maintenance you adopt for your aquarium is something that you'll ultimately develop on your own. Each system is different, including the amount and frequency of maintenance its components require. A very good practice is to make a permanent "log" for your aquarium, detailing purchases, keeping receipts handy... including a daily, weekly, monthly and more longer time frames for listing and dating when you should/have done maintenance.

Test your water frequently for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in the beginning to start to determine how often you'll need to do water changes for your tank. Ammonia and nitrite should always be zero. Nitrate should be maintained below 20ppm, and perhaps lower. If you notice your nitrate starting to creep up a bit, use that as your cue to do a water change.

Though your system may differ, you could start off with the schedule outlined below and then tailor it to fit your system if you find that you need to do more or less maintenance of any particular part of your system.
Daily....
• Feed your fish. Some species are best fed a few times per day, others only every few days.
• Visually inspect your fish to be certain nobody's injured and everyone's accounted for.
• Check the temperature of the water.
Weekly....
• Either this often or bi-weekly change out 20% of the water, replace with water that is stored.
• Test your water. If ammonia or nitrite are above zero, or nitrate is 100 + ppm, it's time for a water change.
• Clean the outside of the glass (just plain water and a clean rag, please!), and scrub algae if necessary.
• Clean the lid/cover of your aquarium.
Monthly....
• Visually inspect all of your equipment, including your lighting, powerheads, air pumps, and filters.
• Clean any equipment that warrants it, including and especially intake tubes on your filters.
• Trim any dying foliage from your plants and take care of propagating cuttings if you choose to do so.
• Check your filter media, clean or replace when necessary.
....and Beyond.....
• Change bulbs in your lighting system.
• Replace airline tubing and airstones.

quarium Water-bridge

Fish keeping is a very addictive hobby. Anyone in this hobby knows multi-tank syndrome and "suffers" from it. After many years in the fish keeping business I decided not to buy (yet another) tank, but to venture into something unique that I am sure nobody or very few people in the world have tried. This concept was an aquarium water-bridge and I decided to go ahead and build one. This turned out to be my most exciting project ever in the fish keeping business and it has entertained my family and me for years, as well as visitors who have come to see it.

What is an aquarium water-bridge?

An aquarium water-bridge is a clear tunnel of water that travels above the water line between two aquariums in which all or most of the inhabitants of the tanks can swim. Imagine two 4 foot tanks standing 3 feet apart, and fish swimming out of one tank, and into the other. Even more absurd, imagine that they swim almost a foot above the water line, as if they had wings and enter the other tank, a completely different environment. 

How does the water-bridge work?

The water-bridge is based on the same mechanics that keeps water in a bottle when it is raised out of the water in an upside down position. If you fill a bottle with water and and raise it (upside down) out of a tub of water, no air can enter the bottle and therefore no water can escape from the bottle: hence all the water remains in the bottle. You can almost raise the bottle out of the water completely before it catches air and the water runs out. The water-bridge uses the same mechanism to keep the water inside the tunnel, except that there are two openings, neither of which allows air inside. One opening is in tank A, and the other opening is in tank B.

Was it worth the effort?

Yes. No let me repeat that: yes, yes and yes! Almost within 20 seconds of loading the bridge, my Siamese Fighter  swam inside. He hesitated for a while then he returned into the original tank. He then became totally inquisitive and decided to enter again. This time he swam to the other side and "Hey Presto!", entered a brand new environment. From then on he spent 80% of his time in the water-bridge leaving the bridge only on occasions to breath air on the surface of the 2 tanks. He almost claimed the bridge for himself, like a troll!

On a regular basis we had pearl gouramis and other gouramis, plecs, angelfish, rainbowfish, red finned sharks, swords and tetras swimming through. Fish that did not enter were silver dollars, some loaches and certain types of sharks.

What made the water bridge spectacular, is that it sometimes amplified the image of the fish when they swam through. This was remarkably spectacular with the pearl gouramis. The pearl seemed at least 3 times its normal size when it swam closely to the edge of the tunnel and it emphasized the brilliance of this already beautiful fish. 

Then there was a male freshwater lobster that claimed the one side while the female lobster claimed the other side. All one could see was their feelers and pincers sticking out into the tunnel, sleeping there in total bliss. The lobsters often crossed the tunnel 4 or 5 times a day. A lobster molted in there on one occasion and we watched as he undressed in the magnified tunnel. Incredible!

The Siamese fighter and a female even spawned in the tunnel on another occasion. And the apple snails loved to cross the bridge regularly.

All the inhabitants somehow instinctively knew the bridge was there and how to use it. 

Are there any advantages besides the uniqueness?

Yes, there is more water in each tank, so the water is more stable. It is like having one 8 foot tank. The fish seem happier as they constantly explore between the 2 "changing" environments. Breeding pairs are naturally separated for days, giving the female time to recover, and seems to trigger the spawning process when they meet without the stress of human intervention. The tanks are also easier to move than one 8 foot tank.

How was it built?

It was very easy to build. You can very easily build one yourself in less than 2 - 3 hours. The most difficult material/part to find is the clear tunnel piping. I used 110mm clear PVC piping. This almost looks like glass and to the untrained eye looks exactly like glass. It was quite expensive: 400 ZAR ($50), but that is mainly because it is imported. For the bends I used 2 normal white 90 degree 110mm PVC elbows. I also extended the vertical ends with a small length of standard white 110mm piping and glued a PVC threaded terminator on the end for a normal white 110mm PVC screw on cap. This would become useful when loading the bridge.

The PVC pipes are simply forced into the elbows. I used the elbows with the rubber rings that requires no adhesive to be applied.

The most work is required to build the brackets that hold the water-bridge on top of the aquarium. I used a piece of flat bar aluminium and bent it into 4 legs. These legs would stand on the top of the aquarium support glass that holds the top edges of glass (of the aquarium) together. I would not rest the bridge on the sides of the aquarium glass as the bridge is rather heavy. I used 4 aluminium brackets that are commercially used to support 110mm piping. There brackets were riveted to my 4 aluminium legs, and thick rubber pads were stuck to the bottom of the legs so that they would not scratch the glass. You will need 2 brackets on each side of the tunnel between the bend and the clear PVC tunnel.

Ideally I would have liked to use clear PVC elbows but I could not source these anywhere. It is not recommended to use a smaller diameter than 110mm for tropical fish. All fish should comfortably fit through the water bridge. It is also possible to go for 150mm or 200mm; however, these would probably be too heavy for the aquarium glass and would need to be supported on a wall.

How do you get the water up there?

This is a question that I was always asked by first time visitors. I often said " I place my head under water and suck on the one end." And it makes them even more inquisitive.

Getting the water up there is very simple. You turn the water bridge upside down so that the openings are facing upwards. Preferably outside, and fill the bridge, until there is no air in the tunnel or in the elbows or extensions. Do not forget the anti-chlorine. You then screw on the end caps allowing as little air as possible to be trapped in the  extension pipes and tunnel. When both caps are secure, you can go inside and at the very last minute, flip the bridge around that both of the entrances are under water. Unscrew the caps that are now under water.

What happens if the water level drops below the entrance of the tunnel?

The obvious. Water runs out of the water-bridge in both directions and floods your lounge with the content of the water-bridge. I have never allowed the water level to drop to lower than 1 inch from the threaded opening of the bridge.

Do the fish get stuck up there?

Yes, if there are lobsters on either side that do not allow the fish to escape. This happened once and the fish waited in the middle of the bridge until one of the lobsters decided to leave the bridge and enter the tank again. The fish was not stressed. But in all other cases, the fish seem to instinctively understand. Up = In. Down = Out.

Does the water not stagnate up there?

No. I pump water out of my one tank through an external canister filter and into the other tank. Gravity keeps the water level of the two tanks the same and there is constant motion of water through the tunnel. It also keeps the chemistry of the water in both tanks the same. If your filter pumps 2000 liters of water an hour; this is the volume of water that passes through the bridge every hour.

Does the water-bridge clog up with algae and debris?

Surprisingly not. I expected to constantly have to clean the tunnel of algae and other dirt. The bridge has been running for a couple of years, and I never needed to clean it. I suppose the plec and the apple snails helped to keep it clean. Cleaning would be easy. You just fill the tunnel with 50% water and then shake it until it is clean. You can also use a magnet like you clean your aquarium glass. But be careful:- PVC scratches very easily.

What does all of this prove?

Fish keeping is seriously interesting and a fish will swim almost anywhere where there is water.