Setting Up An Aquarium Maintenance Schedule

The last thing anyone new to the hobby of fish keeping thinks about is aquarium maintenance but it is the most important factor if you want your fish to live a healthy life. 

Having a fish tank in your living room with beautiful and colorful fishes swimming lazily by amidst cool decoration can be one of the most relaxing scenes that I personally believe every home should have. But this beautiful scene will not last until you have established an aquarium maintenance schedule that will ensure it lasts. 
Aquarium maintenance is probably the last thing a new hobbyist considers when first deciding on keeping fish. While it is really not too tedious a task, there are still responsibilities that need to be perform to maintain your little ecosystem and many people get flustered at the early stage. 
The amount of work you put in largely depends on a number of factors including:
Where you place your tank.
If you place your aquarium in a location that enjoys too much of natural light source, you will be encouraging algae growth.  Also, placing an aquarium in a place that makes it hard to clean it will actually make it more of a chore and one that might make people avoid doing. 
The size of the tank.
A lot of new hobbyist are reluctant to own a large aquarium but they might be surprised to know that a smaller aquarium is actually harder to maintain. In a large fish tank, the bigger water volume actually buffers the waste and needing less maintenance. So smaller aquariums need to be cleaned more often. 
Over feeding the fish. 
Fish always look hungry and it is easy for people new to the hobby to feed them too much and too often. This will cause the excess food to sink to the bottom as waste and need to be removed before they rot. The key is to feed a little at a time and if there is excess food, to remove it before it sinks down. 
The amount of fish in the tank. 
The more fish you have in the aquarium, the more waste they will excrete and therefore the more maintenance the fish tank needs. 
Setting Up Your Maintenance Schedule
Once you have considered what type of fish tank you have and counter effect factors that might your job more difficult, then it's time to work out your aquarium maintenance schedule. The task can be broken down into a daily and a weekly set of tasks. 
Daily Maintenance Tasks
Feed your fishCheck the water temperatureMake sure all the equipment (fish tank filters, heater and lights) are functioning properlyVisually check your fish to ensure that they are healthyVisually check e water for cloudiness, excess waste and smell it for foul odor
Weekly Maintenance Tasks
Remove dead leaves and dying plantsClean off any algae manuallyDo a proper water changeClean the glass and outside of the aquarium
These are the basics that you need to do on a daily and weekly basis. As you begin to get a feel of your fish tank, you will begin to develop a flow of how the tasks need to be performed and it will no longer become a task that is hard to but one that you will do with pride. 

Article Tags: Aquarium Maintenance Schedule, Aquarium Maintenance, Maintenance Schedule, Fish Tank

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