I have been very busy lately with some big projects. For starters they all came in within a few weeks of one another and that required some quick thinking. I started with the initial consultation to get an idea of what was wanted and what could actually be done. To understand this concept let me explain.
Three things to consider:
1. Natural light exposure – if there are lots of windows in the area of the aquarium you can have major algae problems
2. Electrical – you need proper GIF outlets that can handle high voltage mechanics
3. Water – for your larger systems it is always good to have an automatic top off system, so you will need a water line in the area of your aquarium
This is just the beginning of things to factor in and of course I take care of all these things so you can sit back worry free. Choosing the correct mechanics is so crucial because it will dictate the outcome of your aquarium. A simple rule of thumb for the correct pump choice that will run the entire system is making sure that the total volume of water travels through the filters five times per hour. Realize that you can never have too much filtration so if you want to double or triple the hourly flow rate you can. I make sure to always do so because once you start adding u.v. sterilizers, chillers, refugiums and all the plumbing you will be glad you bought a larger pump.
Sometimes people don’t want a service company to take care of their aquarium which is fine with us. So what we do is build a very easy to use self maintaining system. What people fail to realize is that any type of aquarium will always need monthly water changes, filter replacements, filter media replacements and so on. Let’s just say you have an aquarium that is 300 gallons and you will need to perform at least a 20% water change every month which would total 60 gallons. That could be a major back breaker and would make you not want to do it which ultimately would lead to problems with your aquarium. So that is why we build a water changing station that really only requires a few minutes of your time and you will not even break a sweat using it. In the very near future we will be building a system just like this. I will make sure to upload video and pics to show you how it works.
Please visit us at: http://www.cleanmyfish.com/
Our FaceBook Fan Page: http://tinyurl.com/yl75bn9
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/UnderwaterTreasurez
Thanks,Tim
Designing
Good & Some Bad Critters for Your Aquarium
There are tons of great little critters to add to an aquarium and will work on keeping your system clean. Most fish and snails along with crabs are great assets for your aquarium but it is important that you put the correct ones in your tank. You can put the wrong ones in your tank and end up killing some really expensive coral or plants and maybe even other fish. So for now I am going to tell you about some simple good critters you can start with and ones to keep away from. Let’s start with your hard working but very slow moving snails. They do a really nice job at keeping your rocks, glass and decoration clean. Snails are very slow, so you may need to buy a couple of extra ones. There are tons of different types of crabs that you can choose from, just keep in mind their size that they reach and what they enjoy to eat. If you get ones that grow larger you will need to provide empty shells that are a bit larger so they have a new home to move into. Most only eat algae and things that have died and will not harm anything else in your tank. Snails and crabs are both for fresh water and salt water so you will be able to choose which one is needed. Just make sure to let your lfs know what type of tank you have and what is living in the tank so you will not harm anything.
Onto the nuisance critters that are a pain to get rid of and are something you do not want to ever have. If you are one of those unfortunate one’s to get these nasty little critters than I will try and give you the best remedies on getting rid of them. We will start with the very famous Aiptasia anemone that usually appears when water parameters are pretty bad or came in on a live rock/coral purchased from your lfs. Here is a picture of what one looks like: Click Here
Luckily these are easy to get rid of but you need to act fast before they spread like weeds. Never try and remove them by cutting or poking at them, they will reproduce even faster that way. You need to purchase a chemical called Joe’s Juice and it will depend on your lfs on what brand name they carry but they all have the same ingredients. It should come with a syringe needle to inject into the mouth of the Aiptasia. I have found this stuff to work on the first shot. There is also another way of getting rid of these pests and that is by purchasing some peppermint shrimp and depending on how bad of an infestation you have will determine how many you need. Do not feed your tank for the first three days of introducing the shrimp because they will get lazy and just wait for you to feed the tank. The last choice you have is purchasing a Copperband Butterfly fish but keep in mind that these fish enjoy eating on corals.
The next pest is one that I have had recent encounters with and it does not have lots of remedies. This one is very similar to the Aiptasia as for looks but you can tell the difference by looking at this picture: Click Here
This one is called a Majano Anemone and it can spread just as fast as the Aiptasia but it does not have as many creatures to eat it. Some people have had success with using Joe’s Juice but not many. Others have tried creating their own home remedies and have had some success. The only problem with that is it really depends on the type of aquarium you have and what is living in it already. Be very careful with what you read on the Internet and make a sound decision on what to do. This is the best way to get rid of them without harming anything in your aquarium. As it turns out they can’t live without lighting so what you can do is take a five gallon bucket and fill it up with your aquarium’s water. Then grab the rock that the Majano Anemone’s are on and place it in the bucket. It may take a few hours even days for them to crawl off the rock and search for light and once they are off the rock you can put it back into the aquarium. The last remedy is purchasing a Raccoon Butterfly Fish but please keep in mind that this fish loves all types of anemone’s and even enjoys some corals. It will however go after the majano anemone's first because it does have a sweet tooth for them. You may find yourself removing after it has completed the job just so you don't risk it eating your coral.
Please visit us at: http://www.cleanmyfish.com/
Our FaceBook Fan Page: http://tinyurl.com/yl75bn9
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/UnderwaterTreasurez
Thanks,Tim
Food Time!
It is time to feed your fish and you want to know, “what is the best food for your fish?” There are tons of fish foods on the market and you will find the one that is more appealing to you. I am just going to look at the basics of what your fish require. For starters, you need to provide your fish with a high protein and vitamins meal. Know what your fish prefer to eat and make sure to feed them the right amount per day.
The best type of food to provide your fish with is natural food, food that they would find in their own environment. I understand that it can become expensive but if you want your fish to live a long and full life than I suggest you spend the extra money. I believe that if you go cheap with the food you can find yourself buying more fish to replace the dead ones and that can get a bit costly in addition to frustrating. Let’s brake down the diet of your common fish. An omnivore prefers to eat both plants and animals so they are going to need a variety. An herbivore prefers to only eat plants. You can start with using seaweed selects for your saltwater fish. They offer a large variety of kinds to choose from. I would go with the basic one, Green Marine Algae. For your freshwater fish you can get Hikari Algae Wafers. They will sink to the bottom of the tank and allow your fish to eat with ease. I prefer to feed my fish frozen vitamin enriched shrimp. You can find this food at any local fish store. Brine shrimp and mysis shrimp are the best and most common to choose from. They provide lots of protein and fat to keep the fish’s immune system strong and metabolism operating at a good pace. The frozen food is for both freshwater and saltwater fish.
I would stay away from any dried food it is artificial most of the time and does not provide enough nutrients or natural behavior for the fish. If you have to buy dried food then the only one I will vouch for is New Life Spectrum Thera+A sinking pellets. This product has all the beneficial nutrients that any type of fish you have can live off of.
Please remember that this is a basic chart of what you need for your most common fish. If you have an exotic fish, one that cost a lot of money, than be sure to do the proper research on that fish so you can provide with the right diet. I can’t emphasize enough on how important it is to feed your fish properly.
Please visit us at: www.CleanMyFish.com
Our FaceBook Fan Page: http://tinyurl.com/yl75bn9
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/UnderwaterTreasurez
Thanks,
Tim
Never be scared of feeding your fish!
It seems that over the years of listening to fellow service guys and other hobbyist that there is an issue when it is time to feed your fish. So I wanted to dig a little deeper as to, "why are we starving our fish?"
The main reason why people are told to be careful when feeding the fish is to prevent the water quality from becoming real dirty. I would have to agree with this. It is very important to monitor the water parameters on a monthly even bi-weekly basis. But do we need to starve our fish to accomplish this? My answer is "NO" we do not. There are plenty of easy solutions to this matter and I will go over some.
The first could cost a little in the beginning but save you time in the long run. The rule of thumb is when searching for the right filtration you need the max volume of water to travel through your filter at least 4 times per hour. So if that is the “rule of thumb’ then that means your quantity of fish in your tank need to be 2 inches of fish for every gallon of water, make sure to consider the max size of the fish, not what it looks like when you buy it. My approach in this situation would be to purchase a larger filtration system that will have more volume per hour and then I won’t be as limited to the size or quantity of fish I can get.
Here is the cheaper way but more labor is involved. You should already be performing a 20% water change every month. With that in mind, let’s say that you have just the basic filtration and want more fish. From my experience you will need to perform a larger water change per month. To be more of help in this matter, there is such thing as doing to much of a water change so instead of performing a larger water change per month. Break it into 2 or 3 water changes in a month. This way you won’t be risking stressing your fish out or any other inhabitant. I prefer to change my water every week it’s easier on the back.
If you follow these 2 methods you should not be concerned on how much you are feeding your fish. But you are probably still wondering how to tell when enough food is enough. That is very simple, after putting the food in the tank the food should float around for no longer than 3 minutes. I recommend shutting off the filtration and allowing the food to sink to the less aggressive fish and then that way you don’t dirty your filters and potentially waste food, that stuff can get very expensive.
Realize that under feeding can cause illness to the fish and potentially kill it. That is why it is so important to not feed less and to make sure you are feeding your fish a healthy nutritional diet. I will go more into the good and bad in food choice.
Thanks,
Tim
www.CleanMyFish.com
U.T. Inc
