Aquarium Salt Water - Steps To Take To Change It

Aquarium salt water in any tropical fish tank will need to be changed at some point. Although you may have a good filtration system which is able to remove most of the waste which builds up in the aquarium salt water, the filters on these are not so effective that they can remove it all.

The buildup of any waste material in an aquarium could not only turn the water cloudy or yellow but also it will help with the production of algae in the tanks salt water. This build up can lead to problems affecting the growth of the fish and corals (if you have any) in the aquarium and this may well lead to them become ill as it could cause them to become stressed. The one question that you should therefore be asking yourself is "When should I be changing the salt water in my aquarium, rather than should I change it?"

When Is It The Right Time To Change The Aquarium Salt Water?

Ideally one should not be leaving the tank water along until such time (may in a few months time) before they decide to change the aquarium salt water so that they are able to provide a cleaner environment for those that are living in it. Often people will remove all the saltwater fish, invertebrates and reef items from the tank so that they are able to remove all the water currently in it and then replace with freshwater. The problem with doing this is it could actually cause more harm to the marine life living in the aquarium than it will do them good.

Rather the best way to do it when changing aquarium salt water is to remove about 1/3 of the total amount in the tank on a regular basis and keep the saltwater fish, invertebrates and reef coral in it. Then after removing 1/3 of the total aquarium salt water you should then replace this with the same amount.

Changing The Aquarium Salt Water In Your Tank - Steps You Need To Take

1. Before you do anything else the first thing that you need to do is make sure that you turn off and then unplug the filtration system and heater pumps that you have in your aquarium (but don't remove them). If left running without enough aquarium salt water in the tank then the chances of them overheating are greatly increased. Plus as you replace the water in the aquarium and you leave on the heater pump then this may well result in the glass in the tank cracking. Remember just how much money you spent on buying the tank in the first place and how much it is going to cost you to replace it.

2. In order to get rid of the buildup of waste and algae on the insides of the aquariums glass you need to very gently and slowly use an aquarium scrubber or scraper on them. The reason for making sure that you don't do this task vigorously when using these kinds of aquarium salt water accessories is to ensure that you don't upset the marine life within the tank.

3. After scrapping the insides of the tank glass you now need to remove any plants you have in the aquarium salt water and from these remove any parts which are dead or dying. Then once you have removed the plants you can spend time stirring up the gravel to help bring any waste deposits to the surface, but do so carefully as some species of salt water fish like to bury inside it. If you can put a large amount of the gravel towards the back of the tank and then leave the rest where it is so that the waste deposits can then settle on top of it.

4. After moving the gravel around you are now ready to siphon off some of the old aquarium salt water in order to replace it with fresh. Remember you should only ever remove about one third of the tanks water when changing it at any one time. The best way to remove the aquarium salt water is using a specialist aquarium siphon product. Not only can it remove the old water easily but also when used correctly can help to remove the waste that has accumulated in the aquarium salt water also.

5. When it comes to replacing the old aquarium salt water it is best not to use freshwater, but rather one that you have left to stand for several days or one that you have added a salt mix product to. This will ensure that the water has the right chemical composition and never use ordinary sea salt but only specialist aquarium salt. Plus you need to make sure that the temperature of the aquarium salt water you are adding to the tank is correct. At no stage should the new water being more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit less than that of the water currently in the aquarium. Also after adding check to see if you do need to add any more aquarium salt to make sure that the levels are correct for your fish and marine life to live in.

Before you even do turn back on the filtration system and heater after changing the aquarium salt water then why not spend time cleaning the tank's cover and also the outside of the tank.

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