Category: Aquarium
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Understanding the aquarium: the best type of filter media
Filter media is one of the most critical aspects of the aquarium hobby. Our ecosystem is healthy by converting toxic nitrogenous compounds into less toxic nitrate. It is also the living space of the beneficial bacteria. Unfortunately, the bacteria that help us process these poisonous compounds do not reside in the water column. Therefore, choosing…
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Understanding the aquarium: How to clean an aquarium filter?
Cleaning the aquarium filter can be a daunting task, but it helps maintain a healthy ecosystem. It consists of not only mechanical but also biological filtration. It regulates the number of toxins and avoids the build-up of nitrogenous compounds like ammonia. It is recommended to maintain your hang-on-back and canister filters at least once a…
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Understanding the aquarium: how to reduce nitrate
Nitrate is the end product of the nitrogen cycle. At a high level, it can be toxic to your aquarium inhabitants. There is no known concentration of nitrates that are proven to be unhealthy. However, the average hobbyist’s general nitrate level is about 40 ppm, as measured by test kits. Many studies show that different…
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Understanding the aquarium: how to deal with chlorine and chloramine
To successfully keep an aquarium, you will need to know how to keep the beneficial bacteria alive. In this article, we will talk about chlorine and chloramine in our water source and how to prevent significant die-offs of beneficial bacteria. After all, our inhabitants’ lives depend on it. Chlorine and chloramine are added to our…
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Understanding the aquarium: water source
Water is life. The ability of you to control the quality of water equals success in the aquarium hobby. The source of water that you can use in the aquarium hobby can be challenging to understand. The water quality is different depending on the region you live in and the type of water treatment you…
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Why are water changes essential to the health of the home aquarium?
Many people have asked why I do such massive water changes for my fish friends. There are definitely misconceptions regarding water changes on the internet and I wish to help debunk some of those misconceptions here with a series of articles. Please note that by no means do I claim to be an expert in…
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Changing Aquarium Substrate- Part 1
My project of this weekend is to change my 40G aquarium substrate from this painted white rocks I got from Petco to another medium size regular aquarium substrate. I love the white substrate with the strong light and black background because it helps to reflect the vibrancy of the fish color. However, I am suspicious that this white substrate I…