Pond water depth is critical to what you want to put in it. Wildlife, goldfish, koi and pond plants all have different depth requirements which you should match if you want them to thrive. FishIn the UK, pond fish need a minimum water depth of 18”/45cm. This is so that when the water gets cold in winter, they can hibernate at the bottom in a 4 degree Celsius thermal layer, and far ...
Knowing the volume of your pond is critical to stocking with fish, adding filtration, and treating the water. Pond volume is measured in gallons or litres, and pond product manufacturers will reference one or both on their packaging. But there are a few things to consider when working it out.Gallons can be either Imperial gallons, used in the UK, or US liquid gallons, used in America. Confusi...
Pond cleaning is an unenviable task, but it needs doing. If you don’t clean a pond it will fill up with leaves and debris, and plants and algae may overgrow. Sediment filled ponds suffer from low oxygen levels and if dirt gets disturbed nuisance algae will be fuelled. The temptation is to strip the pond completely, but stripping it will do more harm than good. Use the right tools and you’ll b...
We often divide freshwater fish into two types - tropical and coldwater, but what defines a tropical fish, and what temperature is tropical?If you take the oceans, Tropical is determined when water temperatures are above 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) year-round. Temperate refers to waters which are typically 10-20C, 50-68F year-round, and below 10C,50F year-round is referred to as polar....
Crystal clear, healthy-looking water is the aim of virtually every aquarium owner. We are drawn to clear water as a species, we like to live next to it, swim in it, and of course, drink it.But if not properly maintained aquarium water can quickly become cloudy, full of algae and discoloured. Dirty aquariums are one of the biggest reasons why people give up fishkeeping, so by keeping your tank...
Planted tanks can be some of the most beautiful aquariums, and live aquatic plants can benefit fish too. Plants definitely grow better with the addition of CO2, but some plants don’t need additional CO2 at all. A thriving, healthy planted aquarium can be created without CO2, as long as you choose the right plants, and light it accordingly.It's all about energyPlanted tanks can be divide...
GH is an abbreviation for General Hardness, and it's a reference to how hard or soft your water is. If freshwater contains lots of dissolved minerals it is described as hard, and if it is low in minerals or devoid of minerals altogether it is known as soft.Seawater contains huge amounts of dissolved minerals, so is always hard. Reverse Osmosis water has been stripped of minerals, so is always...
Filters and bacteria are the life support systems for aquariums. Filters trap physical waste and oxygenate water by agitating it. Beneficial bacteria then develop within the biological section of the filter, and break down harmful fish waste. It's actually the bacteria that keep fish alive, by first converting ammonia, then nitrite to nitrate. Without bacteria conventional aquariums would not be ...
Black beard algae (BBA) is a horrible, tenacious algae which is unsightly and hard to get rid of. It typically grows on the edges of the leaves of slow-growing plants like Anubias and Java fern, and once on the leaf, it’s difficult to eradicate it completely. It grows on rocks and bogwood too.Black beard algae may be caused by a number of factors including too much light, no CO2 or fluctuat...
The pH of freshwater varies around the world, and most fish have adapted to live and breed in a narrow band of pH values. Some fish prefer low pH, some neutral, and some high, and if your fish need a high pH, like Lake Tanganyika cichlids, you need to know how to raise it, if it’s too low.Test firstThe first thing you need to do is establish the pH in your tank, and in your tap water. D...