How to make the aquarium water crystal clear? In this article, we show you 5 ways on how to keep your aquarium water always clear.
Leaving the aquarium water crystal clear, for many who have aquariums at home, is one of the most difficult tasks, especially when we have fish that like to turn over the substrate, such as goldfish. Here are some ways that can help keep your aquarium water always crystal clear.
Powerful Filtration
Filtration is essential or your aquarium’s engine. Your aquarium filter must be powerful or sufficient when the water that flow through it is 5 times the filtration rate of your aquarium. This is a rule that must be followed. So, the next time you to buy an aquarium, check that out. For example, a 100 liter fish tank, use a filter that works with a flow rate of 500 liters per hour.
Some flow rates are calculated without media in the filter, so once the media is added, the flow rate can be reduced due to the media’s resistance to water flow.
If you are unsure about the filter rate, contact the manufacturer for clarification. Insufficient filtration is one of the main problems that amateurs struggle to maintain the crystal water in the fish tank.
Water Movement and Oxygenation
For your filtration to work effectively, you must provide good water movement within the aquarium. Without sufficient movement, there will be dead spots where the water remains stagnant and debris will be installed, resulting in a loss of water quality as the waste slowly decays
This can sometimes trigger a bacterial flowering that causes the aquarium water to become cloudy. To eliminate potential dead spots in your aquarium, increase the movement of the water by adding a more powerful filter, or even circulation pumps.
The exchange of oxygen is also an important factor in obtaining crystal clear water. Beneficial bacteria used oxygen to break down waste, so if there is not enough dissolved oxygen in the water, as colonies cannot efficiently process waste.
To ensure that there is sufficient oxygen exchange, increase the surface agitation with filter return tubes, porous stones connected to circulation pumps.
Filter media
Mechanical filter media is a must when the goal is to get crystal clear water in the aquarium. It traps debris, including fine particles, as water passes through the filter.
Most filters come with sponges, but it is recommended to use blanket. It is great for capturing fine particles that filter sponges cannot. It is sold in most Aquarium Stores, but you can find them in fabric stores, for a much cheaper price, apart from the much larger quantity.
Depending on the number of fish in the aquarium and the amount of waste, the blanket can become unusable very quickly, so try to change it every 2 – 4 weeks, as it will become very dirty and may decrease the flow of the filter.
Chemical filtration helps to remove dissolved organics that cause odors and discoloration in your aquarium water. The most used type of filtration is activated carbon, except in planted aquariums.
There are other excellent varieties of chemical filtration on the market. Some perform special functions, such as nitrate control. One of these products is Purigen from Seachem (photo above). The great advantage of this product is that it is easily reusable, so you can use it several times.
See also:
Activated carbon, on the other hand, is not reusable and must be replaced periodically. Purigem works to absorb organic compounds dissolved in the aquarium, and many amateurs also say it helps to make the water in your aquarium more crystal clear.
Biological filtration is any inert material that provides a surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonize. It is usually placed in your filter, where the moving water brings nutrients (waste) and oxygen to the bacteria.
Beneficial bacteria are important because they convert toxic ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate. This process, called the Nitrogen Cycle, helps to prevent bacterial proliferation, which causes cloudy aquarium water.
When cleaning your biological filter media, be careful not to kill the nitrifying bacteria that have colonized your media over time. The most common way in which amateurs kill their bacteria is by rinsing biological filter media with tap water; chlorine and chloramines in tap water instantly kill bacteria.
Instead, always rinse and clean your biological filter media with water from the aquarium you have removed from your system (for example, water from a Partial Water Change).
High quality food
High quality feeding is an important step in keeping the aquarium water crystal clear. By feeding foods that are specifically formulated for your fish, they will be able to digest them more completely and therefore produce less waste.
Obviously, you still need to be careful not to overfeed them. So i recommend following the rule of feeding them little by little until you see that the momentum to seek food has lessened. This can occur about 30 – 45 seconds after starting feeding.
Partial water changes
Partial Water Changes are one of the most important tools of all, as you are replacing dirty water with clean water. Water changes are also important to remove nitrates from the system.
It is generally recommended to maintain a nitrate level below 25 ppm. But a safe level for African cichlids, for example, is around 40 ppm or less..
It is common for aquarists who have African cichlids to change 50% of the aquarium water once a week. This helps to reduce the high biological load and stress of the fish. For community aquariums of mixed species, the recommendation is to do a partial water change of 25% to 30% every two weeks.
When changing the water, the ideal is to vacuum the substrate, although it is not necessary to do this every week. Due to the large amount of water movement, the debris is suspended in the water column and is removed by filtration.
Each biological aquarium system is different. So it is worth investing in a test kit to precisely control your water parameters.
Some other items can help keep the water crystal clear, such as including plants. Healthy plants often help to control nitrate levels by absorbing ammonia and nitrite and using them as nutrients. But in general, there is nothing better to improve water quality than to make the good old Partial Water Change.
Conclusion
As we can see, to keep the aquarium water always crystal clear it is necessary to follow some steps. A good filter that has a flow 5 times greater than the volume of your aquarium is the ideal. Use an excellent biological, chemical and mechanical media and always use high quality food. But we cannot fail to mention that the main item that will make a difference in the quality of your water, will always be the good old Partial Water Change.
Do you know any other ways to keep your aquarium water always crystal clear? Tell us!
