Cichlid Warehouse
 
       Log On
 
FAQ - Water
 
Why do I have to change the water in my fish tank?
The water change is one of the simplest methods of ensuring your fish stay healthy. All fish tanks contain bacteria that break down the organic waste produced by the fish. Most bacteria occur in the filtering systems as this is where most of the bio waste ends up. During breakdown process the bacteria produce ammonia (NH3). The ammonia breaks down further over time and produces nitrates (NO3). Nitrites oxidize the iron atoms in the haemoglobin of red blood cells from ferrous iron (2+) to ferric iron (3+), rendering it unable to carry oxygen. This will make the fish unable to absorb the oxygen in the water through their gills and they will suffocate. Even though you add fresh water to your tank every day or two, evaporation does not remove any of the nitrates or other pollutants from the tank. By removing about 25% of the fish tank water once a week or 50% every two weeks, you will remove some the Blank Separator Substrate Vacuum
nitrates and other pollutants from the fish tank water and re-establish the water balance. You should also vacuum your substrate (sand) while you are busy draining the water out of your tank. The substrate vacuum is attached to the front of your draining hose and is most effective when you push it down into the substrate as far as possible before pulling it up again. Try and cover as must tank area with the vacuum as possible while the water is draining. If you have a under gravel filter system, focus on the filter area first as it contains the most bio waste and highest bacteria count. Removing a lot of the bio waste in the substrate, will reduce the bacteria count in your tank which will slow down the ammonia and nitrate production cycle. If you don’t want to buy a substrate vacuum you can make your own by using the top three quarters
DIY Substrate Vacuum Blank Separator of a plastic bottle. Once you have completed the water change you may want to add some coarse fish salt to you tank to further impede bacteria an algae growth. The amount off salt you want to add is up to you, but the salt solution should be less that 5g of salt per 1l of fresh water added. Usually a tablespoon of salt to every 10l of fresh water added is enough. If your water contains chlorine like city or municipal water please see the next section on “How do I get rid of the Chlorine in my tap water?”
Separator
How do I get rid of the chlorine in my tap water?
Chlorine is a reacts with most organic compounds and that is why it is used to sanitize drinking water. When reacting with the organic compounds that form part of viruses, bacteria and amoeba it destroys them. It also reacts with the organic compounds that forms part of fish and plants and destroys them too. Fortunately chlorine breaks down under UV light like sunlight. Leaving a clear plastic container filled with water in Blank Separator UV and Glass
direct sunlight for a day will breakdown the chlorine in the water and will make it safe for your fish. Don’t use a glass container UVA light is partially filtered out and UVB light is completely filtered out by ordinary glass. That is why you do not get a tan when you are exposed sunlight through window glass. This works well for topping up the water in your tank that is lost through evaporation. Sometimes you require a large volume of water and your outdoor UV water container cannot hold enough, especially when you have to do a water change in your tank. Fortunately you get nifty chemicals at your local pet shop that will bind with the chlorine and remove it from the water on
Tetra Products AquaSafe Blank Separator contact. One of these chemicals is Tetra AquaSafe. Drain the amount of water you would like to replace during the water change. Calculate the amount of Tetra AquaSafe that you will to treat the chlorinated water. Normally you require about 5ml per 10l of chlorinated water. Mix the Tetra AquaSafe with water in a jug. Use a normal hose to fill your tank directly from the tap. While the tank is filling add the Tetra AquaSafe mix in the jug to the tank. Don’t add all the Tetra AquaSafe mixes at once, rather add little by little as the tank is filling. This ensures that the Tetra AquaSafe is thoroughly mixed into the tank water and that all the chlorine molecules get bound up and removed from the tank water.
 
 
 
Not through the will of man but by the grace of God... Site Index (HTML)  Site Map (XML)  Ver : 2.4.5427.24909
Cichlid Warehouse is one of the biggest African cichlid breeders in South Africa and specializes in breeding and raising cichlid species from Lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria as well as a few other species of cichlid from all over the world.
Cichlid,Cichlid Breeder,Cichlid Breeders,Cichlid Breeding,Cichlid Wholesaler,Cichlid Wholesalers,Cichlids,Cichlids for Sale,Cichlids Wholesale,Malawi Cichlids,Tanganyika Cichlids,Victoria Cichlids,African Cichlids
 

Cichlid Warehouse FAQ Water