Basic HTML Version
29
AVAILABLE FROM
WORLD OF WATER
www.worldofwater.com
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Algae magnet
Place magnets either side of the glass
and rub! Algae comes away easily.
properly, buy a gravel vacuum
and siphon tube combined,
and choose one that self-starts
to save you sucking the pipe.
The principle of gravel
vacuuming is to hover the wide
diameter intake over the gravel.
Once started the vacuum will
lift the gravel and spin it around
inside, removing any debris.
The debris then flies up the
tube into the bucket and the
heavier gravel is dropped back
down. Repeat the process over
the entire surface area of the
gravel and by the time you have
done that, the water change will
also have been carried out.
Regular vacuuming helps to
remove debris that may hold
nitrate and phosphate, and
even parasites like whitespot,
which has a life stage that lives
in the gravel.
Vacuuming is particularly
important for bottom-dwelling
catfish like
Corydoras
because
without it, their delicate barbels
may become infected.
Filter
maintenance
Filter maintenance is essential
to keep your filter working
properly, and your fish healthy.
By the nature of what they do,
filters become clogged over
time and may even stop.
Maintain mechanical media,
like sponge and filter wool, the
most regularly and clean or
replace it to keep water flow
constant. If your filter sponge
is doing the job of mechanical
and biological filtering, only ever
replace half of it at a time and
wash it in old tank water to keep
bacteria levels high. When you
clean mechanical media, clean
the impellor at the same time.
Next is the chemical media
like carbon. Carbon soaks
up pollutants to the point of
saturation and then it won’t
remove any more. Replace
carbon every four weeks to
prevent this.
Nitrate and phosphate
removers are also forms of
chemical media and also need
regular replacement.
Test your water so that you
know when the media is spent
and needs replacing.
In a well-maintained filter,
biological media should need
to be maintained the least. If it
becomes dirty, only wash it in
old tank water. Biological media
can be replaced, but only
part of it at a time to maintain
bacteria levels.
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Stress Coat
A water
conditioner to
remove chlorine
from tapwater.
It has the added
benefit of Aloe
Vera to protect
and help heal
fish.
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Battery-
operated
gravel
cleaner.
No buckets
involved and
easy, precise
cleaning with
two different
nozzles.
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Tetra
EasyBalance
reduces the
need for
frequent water
changes by
reducing nitrate
and buffering
pH.
Very dirty
mechanical
media should
be cleaned or
replaced.
Wash biological
media in old
tank water.