Regulating the water in your freshwater aquarium is the most important role in maintaining the health of your marine life. Without proper maintenance, fish can become anxious, irritable, and unhealthy. These conditions will shorten the lives of your fish and create water that is neither suitable for life nor pleasant to look at. Below you can find information on how to maintain your freshwater aquarium, how often to perform this maintenance, and tips on troubleshooting problems as they arise.
How often should I change my aquarium’s water?
You should change about 15 to 25% of your aquarium’s water every one to two weeks. When you change your aquarium’s water, you should clean the rest of the tank as well. The percentage of water and frequency of water changes depend on the volume of fish and plant life in your tank. A heavily stocked tank will need a larger volume of water changed more frequently, and a lightly stocked tank can be changed slightly less. Changing the water in your tank is the most important maintenance you can perform on your aquarium, so following a regular schedule will greatly benefit the health and quality of life of your marine life.
Aquarium maintenance schedule
Following a maintenance schedule will prevent your aquarium from becoming overly dirty or hazardous to your fish’s health. This schedule should consist of daily, weekly, and monthly tasks.
Daily aquarium maintenance
You can keep your tank’s water clean by performing these simple tasks every day:
- Ensure all pumps, filters, and lights are working properly.
- Observe fish for negative side effects. If any side effects are evident, test the water immediately. If the water is fine but the fish remain ill, check the filters and pumps for any malfunctions.
- Remove excess food from the tank
- Top off the tank with treated water
- Check the water’s temperature. Most freshwater tanks should remain between 75° and 80° Fahrenheit. However, some fish require different temperature ranges. Ensure that the temperature of your tank is suitable for all of your marine life.
Weekly/semi-weekly aquarium maintenance
Every one or two weeks, you should clean your fish tank and replace no more than 25% of your tank’s water.
How to clean a fish tank
Cleaning your tank every one to two weeks will prevent any buildup of hazardous chemicals, grime, or other contaminants. While cleaning, you can keep the fish in the tank if you cautiously work around them.
What equipment do I need to clean a fish tank?
While you do not need an abundance of specialized equipment for a simple home aquarium, these tools will make maintenance simpler, quicker, and more effective:
- Gravel vacuum
- Algae scrubber
- Filter brush
- Acrylic-safe cleaner
- Scissors (if your tank contains plant life)
- Aquarium fertilizer (if your tank contains plant life)
Steps to deep cleaning a fish tank
- Wash your hands and entire forearm.
- Unplug all filters and lights. Close any open valves if you have a sump pump.
- Remove 15 to 25% of your tank’s water. Do not remove more than this amount of water, as it will interrupt the biological filtration inside your tank.
- Remove non-living decor and gently rinse and scrub with hot water.
NOTE: When rinsing items in your tank, do not use unfiltered tap water. The chlorine in city-treated water will kill good bacteria on your items and cause disturbances to your aquarium’s ecosystem. Using reverse osmosis water will effectively rinse your aquarium accessories while not disrupting good bacteria.
- Scrub the inside glass with an algae scraper. Then use an acrylic-safe glass cleaner and scrub the inside glass.
- Vacuum the tank’s gravel. Good bacteria live in the tiny crevices between pieces of gravel, so a gravel vacuum will only pick up a small percentage of them. As a result, gravel vacuums will not compromise the biological filtration inside the aquarium.
- Remove filter media and lightly rinse it. Cleaning your media too well will remove beneficial bacteria from your tank. When your filter media needs to be replaced, never replace more than one-third of your filters at once.
- Place your decor back in the tank. Replace the percentage of water you took out of the tank with treated water. You can learn about the benefits of using reverse osmosis water in your aquarium on our blog.
- Open any valves you closed before cleaning. Pour water into the base of your filter to prime it.
- Plug in all tank accessories and filters. Ensure all equipment is working properly.
Monthly aquarium maintenance
Each month, you need to test the quality of water in your aquarium. This task ensures that the pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate levels in your tank are appropriate for your fish and plants.
How to test aquarium water
Aquarium water can be tested using an aquarium water test kit. For most freshwater aquariums, the most important contaminants to test for are ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, and water hardness. The pH level of your water will also need to be checked. Some kits, such as this 6-in-1 test kit, can test all of these elements with a single strip. Other kits specialize in testing one contaminant and provide more accurate readings than testing strips. If you choose testing strips, ensure that they are submerged in water for the correct length of time, and allow them to sit for a short while after submersion for accurate results. If your aquarium water test shows concerning pH levels or high levels of a contaminant, you will need to perform some corrective maintenance.
How to fix low pH in an aquarium
A freshwater aquarium’s pH should stay between 6.8 and 7.8. If your test shows results below this line, you can correct the pH in the following ways:
- Add crushed coral or dolomite gravel to tank’s substrate. These dissolve slowly over time and will raise and buffer the pH levels in a tank.
- Add limestone or coral rock to your tank’s decor.
- Add reverse osmosis water to your aquarium. Ensure the pH of the filtered water is appropriate for your desired levels. Adding a remineralizing post-filter to your reverse osmosis system can help increase the alkalinity of your water. Remember to never replace more than 25% of your tank’s water at a time.
How to fix high pH in an aquarium
- Add driftwood to your aquarium. This lowers the pH of your aquarium. However, you will likely need more driftwood to lower the tank’s pH than your aquarium can support.
- Incorporate peat moss or peat pebbles with your filter. Closely monitor the pH level of the water and add more peat as needed.
- Add reverse osmosis water to your aquarium. Ensure the pH of the filtered water is appropriate for your desired levels. Adding a remineralizing post-filter to your reverse osmosis system can help increase the alkalinity of your water. Remember to never replace more than 25% of your tank’s water at a time.
How to lower ammonia levels in an aquarium
Even miniscule amounts of ammonia in your tank can be harmful to your fish. Because of this, the only acceptable level of ammonia in a tank is 0 parts per million (ppm). If your water contains any ammonia, try the following:
- Clean your tank and replace up to 25% of the aquarium’s water (if not already completed). This is the first and simplest solution you should attempt.
- Introduce more air into the tank. You can learn more about air pumps on our blog.
- Lower the pH of the tank’s water. See above.
- Add beneficial bacteria to the tank.
- Improve the tank’s filtration. This may mean installing a new filter or cleaning a clogged one.
How to lower nitrite and nitrate levels in an aquarium
Nitrite levels in a tank should be lower than 0.75 ppm, while nitrate levels should be kept under 40 ppm. If your water contains above these levels, attempt the following solutions:
- Clean your tank and replace up to 25% of the aquarium’s water (if not already completed). This is the first and simplest solution you should attempt.
- Introduce more air into the tank.
- Add beneficial bacteria to the tank.
- Add live plants to your aquarium.
- Ensure that you are not overfeeding your fish. Excess food is a common contributor to high nitrate levels. If there is too much food floating in the water, remove the excess immediately.
How to lower phosphate levels in an aquarium
Phosphate levels in an aquarium should be kept below 0.2 ppm to prevent algae growth. Keeping these levels low is particularly important to the plant life in your aquarium. If your phosphate levels are above 0.2 ppm, try the following solutions:
- Clean your tank and replace up to 25% of the aquarium’s water (if not already completed). Vacuuming the substrate is the best way to eliminate phosphates in a tank.
- Add phosphate absorbing media to your tank.
- Avoid overfeeding your fish.
- Ensure that your water source does not contain high levels of phosphate.
How to lower water hardness levels in an aquarium
There is no magical level of water hardness that is appropriate for all fish. Each fish type will have its own preferred levels of water hardness. In your aquarium, water hardness levels are more likely to be too high than too low. To lower hardness levels that are too high, try one of the following solutions:
- Add reverse osmosis water to your aquarium. Ensure the pH of the filtered water is appropriate for your desired levels. Adding a remineralizing post-filter to your reverse osmosis system can help increase the alkalinity of your water. Remember to never replace more than 25% of your tank’s water at a time.
- Incorporate peat moss or peat pebbles with your filter. This will gradually lower the hardness levels in your water. Closely monitor the water hardness to ensure that levels do not drop too low. This method is not as quick or effective as using reverse osmosis water.
Explore more aquarium content on our blog:
What Is an Aquarium Air Pump? | What Is an Aquarium Water Pump?
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.