Over time, the aquarium turns into a closed biotope, a comfortable environment for fish in which is maintained by bacteria, nitrifiers and other beneficial microorganisms.
The aquarium owner faces a difficult task – maintaining this balance. Why difficult?
The fact is that mistakes made by inexperienced aquarists when changing water can upset the balance.
Complete water change
Replacing the entire volume of water in the aquarium destroys the environment that has formed here and the beneficial bacteria.
Fish entering new water, the characteristics of which are very different from the previous one, are subject to severe stress and may die.
After a complete water change, the process of restoring biological balance begins again, which can take several weeks.
If an aquarist changes all the water every week, the comfortable environment for the fish does not have time to recover, as a result of which the aquarium inhabitants simply cannot survive.
Topping up tap water
Tap water typically contains chlorine, chloramines and heavy metals, which can negatively affect the health of fish.
Additionally, adding cold water can dramatically reduce the overall temperature in the aquarium, which can cause the fish to become hypothermic and their immune system to weaken.
In order to get rid of chlorine, chloramines and bind heavy metals, it is necessary to use a special conditioner, with the help of which it is possible to quickly make the water suitable for fish.
Use of poor quality water
Of course, you shouldn't even think about using contaminated water, rainwater or water from open reservoirs.
Most aquarium fish live in soft water (with the exception of cichlids from African lakes Malawi and Tanganyika). Therefore, adding distilled or osmotic water will be beneficial, which will make the water softer and more comfortable for the fish. However, the volume of this water should not exceed 50% of the total volume of water in the aquarium.
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