Keep Your Aquarium in Tip-Top Condition With These 4 Must-Haves

Most aquarists, myself included, become very complacent when we think we’ve perfected our skills in rearing fish and keeping aquarium healthy. There were times when I either minimize or use inferior products to achieve the same result as before. Needless to say, the outcome was less than perfect if not disaster.

The 4 Must-Haves to Keep Your Aquarium Healthy

1. Aquarium Salt

Derived from evaporated seawater, aquarium salt is used to stop pathogens from growing in the aquarium and on freshwater fish.

A small amount of this all-natural salt can help stem the growth of parasites like ich, and temporarily block nitrite toxicity in the water. It also helps reduce the loss of electrolytes from disease and stress, promote healthy gill function and enhance the fishes’ ability to produce a protective coat of slime on their bodies.

All these are especially helpful if the fish is recovering from a bacterial infection, an injury such as torn fin, or an illness. However, it’s important to ensure your fish can handle salt before using it.

2. Sponge Filters

A sponge or filter foam is a plastic filter media produced by heating plastic in a pressured vessel. This process produces a structure comprising skeletal strands of plastic that contain billions of holes.

This type of structure allows water to pass through quickly while trapping particles. It also becomes a colonization site for nitrifying bacteria to breed, allowing it to perform both as a mechanical and a biological filtration system.

Sponges come in different grades, according to the size of the pores. One with pores that are too fine may have a tendency to block up.

3. Protein Skimmers

Also called foam fractionators, a protein skimmer is an air- or water-powered gadget which removes proteins from the water before they break down into ammonia, phosphate and other pollutants.

Protein skimmers create a mist of bubbles inside a contact chamber. Particles in the water, such proteins, are attracted to the bubbles and stick to them as they rise up the column and overflow into a collection cup, from where they are removed from the system.

4. Ozonizers

Ozone occurs naturally in the atmosphere and absorbs harmful UV radiation from sunlight. This pale-blue gas is an unstable form of oxygen that can be used to disinfect water and improve water quality.

Ozone application systems are used by some koi keepers and aquarium retailers, and usually applied to re-circulating fishkeeping systems. The gas should be used appropriately and precautions taken when handling it.

When used in a marine aquarium, ozone is added to the air pump supplying the protein skimmer. Freshwater systems use ozone reactors where the gas is introduced into a tower containing a high-surface-area medium.

Ozone oxidizes organic and inorganic matter, and reduces nitrite levels. By speeding up the oxidation of organic matter, it reduces the biochemical oxygen demand, thereby leaving more oxygen available for the fish and filtration bacteria.

If also kills bacteria, viruses, fungi, algae and protozoan. These organisms are killed as the ozone passes into their cells and disturbs the biochemistry of the organism’s nucleus.

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