Altering Water Temperature

This week I had a semi-idiot moment (but still a lesson learned in the process) when trying to reduce the current water temperature in my aquarium momentarily (per another experiment of mine). Basically I have been told that when doing a water change you should keep the temperature of the new water within 3-5F of the aquariums current water temperature (as to prevent things like 'Ich' from happening). However, if you have a 79F tank, change 25% of the water (in say a 20 gallon aquarium), and add in 74F (which is 5F lower than the current water temp) water to replace that 25%... guess what, the aquarium water only dropped 1.25F degree in combination with the current tank water temperature (which just wasn't going to do because I wanted the overall water to become 74F momentarily and not 77.75F).

As a side note the upside to adding in cooler water than the tanks current temperature is an increase in the waters oxygen level (which is why I feel when you do a water change to always add in cooler water than the tanks current temp). Did you know water at 77F/25C has an oxygen solubility level of 8.6mg/L? Which means that the average oxygen level in a typical indoor freshwater aquarium is probably going to be around 8-9mg/L. Water at 32F/0C which is 'freezing point' has an O2 level of 14.6mg/L, while water at 212F/100C which is 'boiling point' has an O2 level of 0.

To break it down if I did a 50% (1/2 the tanks water) water change I would need to add in 69F water to my 79F for it to average 74F, which is a 10F temperature difference from the tanks current temp. So if I am only changing 25% (1/4 the tanks water) of the water I would need the new water to be 15F below 79F which would be 64F.

Now you may be saying that colder water is denser than warmer water (thus meaning the cold water would sink to the bottom of the tank) and that 'would' be problematic for aquarium inhabitants. However, when you add cool water to warm water the two temperatures combine together (because heat rises and cold sinks), but if you added hot water to cool water (thus reversing the order) then the two would take time to merge together (the later case could be problematic for aquarium inhabitants). Don't believe me? Than checkout this video on water density. So, if you happen to be using a tube to fill cooler water back into your aquarium you'll want this tube to be closer to the waters surface and not at the base of the tank in order to allow the two water temperatures to better merge together (unless of course you have other intentions for doing so).

Free... Water?

This week I discovered an interesting local treasure about an hour away from my place. Located in Berkeley Springs, WV lies what is known as George Washington's bathtub.. which was apparently his favorite spot to bathe. Not only does there appear to be what looks like guppies swimming in this outdoor area (I think you can actually fish them out with a net as the museum gift shop sells fish nets) but there is also free water available coming from two different outdoor units. This water also gets filtered 1,000 times per minute.. which puts most any hobbyist aquarium filter to shame (hah). Upon talking to a few other people one lady from Bethesda, MD actual drives nearly 2 hours to fill several 5 gallon jugs (she does this every 2 months) of this natural spring water, and I mean who doesn't like free water? Okay okay.. if you come here before 5pm and it isn't a Sunday or holiday than you will possibly spend $0.25 to pay the meter to park long enough to get some of this water... otherwise it's free (and there really wasn't any lines to get this).

Berkeley Springs, WV

So, I quickly had the idea of dumping out a perfectly fine small bottle of Deer Park water to refill it with this water which seemed to be considered "special" by its regulars (so maybe they're a bit on the "hippie" side, hehe). I took a drink and although the water wasn't cold (and it didn't immediately kill me) and it did have a very slight smell, I knew my main reason for taking it was to actually test the quality of water using my API water test strips back home (and yes, I have fish on the brain, haha). The test strip readings came back as the following...

NO3 (Nitrate): 1 (est.) Safe
NO2 (Nitrite): 0 Safe
GH (Hardness): 150 Hard
Cl (Chlorine): 0 Safe
KH (Alkalinity): 120 Ideal
pH (Potential of Hydrogen): 7.0 Neutral
Temperature: 74°F/23°C

After these test results I had my lovely assistant Meko (my betta fish) take a sip... and he's still doing fine. Honestly I'm not sure what would be "super" about this water after seeing these results, but it obviously has minerals in it based on it being 'Hard', which I know all too well that hard water generally adds annoying mineral deposits onto aquarium surfaces. I actually think what I am smelling in this water may be Iodine which is generally used in outdoor hand pump type water devices (which in this decade you may have seen around camp/hike sites), and Iodine is not something that everyone should consume (such as those with overactive thyroids) but I have heard crustacean types often require a bit of this to keep their shells hardened. Upon taking an up-close look at the clear water it does appear to have a few very tiny/fine dust-like looking particles floating about. The most interesting thing to myself about this water test was probably the fact the nitrate readings are barely existent from this fresh spring water, but perhaps it's due to the water being filtered 1000 times per minute. Another interesting thing about this water is that it runs around 74 degrees Fahrenheit (I am assuming that's year round based upon nearby signs), which may be how a scant amount of guppies are capable of surviving in these waters (which I am also curious about acquiring a few of these fish in the future) as I am not sure how well they would survive in freezing temperatures.

How to Clean Aquarium Nets

I am sure their are many different methods and techniques for cleaning aquarium nets however, I have found this way to be the quickest, easiest and safest bet for myself. I am sure some may have tried things like bleach, and I would advise against using it since bleach is very hard to rinse off, is very toxic, and it can weaken fabric aquarium netting. So, for my following how-to tutorial you'll only be needing a few things to clean your aquarium nets...

You'll need...
-Water, boiling
-Hydrogen Peroxide, in a spray bottle
-Net Soak
-Unscented Antibacterial Foaming Soap

How to...
If by some chance your aquarium net happens to be covered in filth (for whatever reason) than you may want to try washing the net first with an unscented antibacterial foaming soap before attempting the below method, otherwise skip this step.

Start by liberally spraying your entire aquarium net (handle and all) with hydrogen peroxide. Let the peroxide work its cleansing magic for around 15-30 minutes (you may see the peroxide turn white on the net as it kills off any bacteria). Rinse off the entire aquarium net by carefully pouring on the boiling water. Shake off excess water from the aquarium net. Allow the net to air-dry overnight.

If your net is looking dry or you have numerous aquariums you're dealing with then you'll want to use a Net Soak solution as to avoid cross contamination between tanks and/or to keep your net conditioned so that the netting doesn't scratch/harm the fish. Net Soak will also clean your net, the one I use does not require rinsing and claims to not harm fish.

Aquarium Finds & Updates

I just saw that Nat Geo Wild has an aquarium show called 'Fish Tank Kings' which is basically like Animal Planets show 'Tanked'. I'm still wishing for a show that specializes in freshwater aquariums, and talks more about the aquatic life in the aquarium and such. In the mean time... 'River Monsters' still ranks as my fave fish show to watch.

Other news... one of my breeding guppy males 'Cheeky' passed away a few days ago, I noticed he was becoming inactive over the past week or so... it was really only a matter of time before he passed since I couldn't identify his condition. I'm not sure if 'Freckles' got pregnant from him or not but the two baby guppies I had found in my tank after giving away my fish appear to be a male and a female so... he will become the young females mate and 'Freckles' new mate in the future if all goes right. I'm also not sure if 'Blue' has impregnated 'Quartz' yet either. On that note, I'm going to have to name them both at some point!

I also wanted to share the recent overstocked, sick, mistreated, etc fish at my local Walmart this week. I think I'm going to periodically try and share these poor living conditions of fish because I don't think it's right for things like this to be acceptable in pet-stores/dealers and I'm trying to get people involved in what I call 'fish rights' because all these other pets (such as cats and dogs) undergo a certain process upon purchase and have rights, etc so, I think that's only fair.

In the first photo on my trip to Walmart's aquatic department you'll see a ton of Oscars all kept in a small tank and also how their are some small fancy goldfish such as Oranda's in the tank with them. First of all Goldfish shouldn't be kept with Oscars because Goldfish aren't tropical fish. Also, Oscars are aggressive fish that acquire a large habitat to live in and Oscars will even attack each other. So, as you can see the Oscars were eating the Goldfish, several Oscars managed to get the entire Goldfish inside them whole... Goldfish tails sticking out of their mouth and some of them still moving after being spit out in the Oscars attempt at eating the Goldfish alive.

Next you'll see a Walmart Goldfish, a case of bad fish care, and having been subject to some fish cruelty (also, yet another case of an overstocked small aquarium). This fish seemed to be swimming around fine and healthy although missing its top fin, the wound did seem healed although the fish will have to live with its handicap. Just out of curiosity but is their anyone out there that cares or collects injured fish because they are truly special and unique, and of course deserve a safe happy life?

Betta's with very low and poor quality water (why does it vary in colors?). I was almost tempted to grab a jug of spring water down the grocery isle and fill these up, eheh. Have you noticed that a lot if not all Walmart's got rid of their sink area in the fish dept?

What is That?

Click Image to Enlarge

As I was using the rapid-shoot on my digital camera to try and get some better photo's of my guppies (I didn't exactly succeed in getting any non-blurry images BTW) I did came across an interesting find which I hadn't noticed until I was later viewing over the images on my computer. As you can see from the above image here there is some type of creature which dwells in my aquarium... I am not 100% certain as to what this is (perhaps planaria?). Thus far I haven't been able to see these creatures with my own eyes although I have been able to spot planaria before. Interestingly enough certain cameras are capable of capturing things of which we can't see with the naked eye, and the guppy is capable of seeing them.. and even eats them as you can see from the slide of photo's I took below (you may have to look closely!).

Rain Water pH

According to Wikipedia the pH in rain water can vary depending on your location. Since it has been pouring rain here recently (around the DC area) I decided to make the best of it by capturing some falling rain drops in a cup and then testing it using the Tetra 6-in-1 EasyStrips.

My Results...

Nitrate = 0 Safe
Nitrite = 0 Safe
Hardness/GH = 0 Very Soft
Chlorine = 0 Safe
Alkalinity/KH = 0 Low
pH = 6.2 Acidic

Aquarium Update - Part 2

This past weekend when I actually had some downtime I worked on my aquarium yet again and achieved most of what needed to get done from my previous aquarium update on here.

Click to Enlarge

I got my light fixture setup and attached to the wall now, and I decided to move the decor around as before it looked like a pile of leaves stuffed into the corner or something. I also decided to use a matte finish trash bag as my background which I layered and cut to fit the back of the tank and attached it with a bit of clear tape. I changed the placement of my filter and heater to better disguise it in the back behind the decor a bit. I haven't added any additional fish to my tank yet and find it odd that without female guppies in my tank my males spend most of the day hiding and lazing around. Aside from what I set out to do I also did a little more tank maintenance and changed out about 3L worth of water (since it got a bit cloudy throughout the week) and tried my best to scrub off the calcium buildup (is there an easier way to remove that stuff?!).

I'm in debate about changing out the mopani driftwood with branches as I loath having to clean and soak new wood. I'm also in debate about getting a glass top over the tank as they don't always hold up too well and require more tank maintenance on my end since my well-water is really hard.

Quick Tank Update

I purchased the Top Fin Greek Pavillion with Airstone for my 10 gallon fish tank recently but unfortunately it was slightly too wide to fit inside the tank, so either I'll return it or keep it until I decide to setup my larger tank again in the future. I did look at some of the other Greek style decor they had but I opted to purchase the Conceptual Creation Stack Stones I found in the terrarium isle instead. The devils ivy in my tank has grown a lot so I trimmed down the length of the vines and re-anchored them back into my tank. I am considering setting up another tank I have because I am looking into the possibilities of purchasing a Ranchu in the near future and I would not want a goldfish type living with my current fish. Unfortunately I did lose one of my store bought guppies during my week vacation (and no it was not the barb lover, hah). I also purchased a fisheye lense for my DSLR camera so you can expect to see a lot more of those photo's to come. I have been medling with my water quaility lately and it has been a learning experience which I hope to share more of soon.

Hope you enjoyed my quick video!

More = Merrier

I found a recent news article which states that fish in groups of 10 or more are less stressed and happier than just a single lonely fish, a pair or even 5 kept together. Fish are more likely to demonstrate natural behaviors when kept in larger numbers.To answer this articles question "how many fish you should put in an aquarium to create the best environment for them" it's usually 1 inch length of a single fish is equal to 1 gallon of water. So if you have 2 fish in your tank that are each 2 inches in length, you'll need at least 4 gallons of water, perhaps more if the fish aren't full grown (my personal suggestion). So if both your 2 inch fish grow up to 5 inches each, you'll need at least 10 gallons of water in order to provide a healthier fish environment.

Now you ask "why are Betta's often sold in small amounts of water", I've yet to discover this answer fully but I do find it slightly inhumane myself. It's no wonder why Betta's AKA Japanese Fighting Fish are aggressive when together after reading the above article and why they seem so sad when living alone. The same question should be asked to pet stores that keep too many fish stocked in a single tank at one time. You could debate that pet stores do this because there selling rate and providing a big selection for buyers, or you could debate that the fish you're getting from these fish stores aren't as healthy as they may appear. I believe if you want healthier fish that are kept in these conditions then go to a store where people actually come and purchase the fish and if you see dead fish in the tank with them at the time of purchase, chances are they may not be THAT healthy.

On the other hand I somewhat feel schooling fish or more non-active fish will do okay in a tank that may perhaps be a tad too tiny for them. Just insure your fish have plenty of room to swim and they're not living fin to fin.

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