Steps in Maintaining Your Nature Aquarium
Daily
- Clean aquarium glass and remove algae if needed
- Top up water level
- Add nutrients/minerals
- Check CO2 bubbles per minute output
Weekly
- Clean aquarium glass and remove algae
- Trim all tall stem plants and remove the ones that have floated
- Trim all ground cover and middle ground plants
- Change 10% water
- Top up water level
- Check water chemistry
- Add nutrients/minerals
- Check CO2 bubbles per minute output
Monthly
This might look like a lot of work. It’s not. Once you get comfortable with the equipment, the process doesn’t take too much time at all. If you want in-person instruction, or prefer to have an expert handle your Nature Aquarium maintenance for you, Miyabi Aqua Design will gladly provide this service.
- Secure/clean thermometer
- Remove CO2 diffuser and let it soak in ADA SuperGE; leave it soaking while you continue working on other things
- Clean aquarium glass and remove algae
- Trim all tall stem plants and remove the ones that have floated
- Turn off filter pumps, heater, surface skimmer
- Close filter pump in/out hose connection to prevent water flow
- Gently remove output lily pipe and place inside bucket
- Open filter pump in/out hose to allow water to start flowing into bucket
- Remove 25% of aquarium water (max)
- Save the aquarium water inside bucket (you will use this later for rinsing the filter media)
- Trim all ground cover and middle ground plants
- Remove all floating plants and discard
- Remove filter hose assembly from filter equipment to give you extra length to remove lily pipes
- Remove lily pipes from hose
- Remove filter hose assembly with hose attached to it
- Clean lily pipes using ADA Spring Washer
- If still difficult to remove algae, soak in ADA SuperGE
- Clean filter hose using a long pipe brush
- Reconnect filter hose to filter hose assembly
- Remove filter equipment and clean filter media in the saved aquarium water
- Reassemble filter equipment, lily pipes, etc.
- Add water, prime filter
- Use a syringe to blow air into the CO2 diffuser to dislodge anything that may be clogging the diffuser
- Reconnect CO2 diffuser to the CO2 system
- Turn on filter, heater, surface skimmer
- Check water chemistry
- Add nutrients/minerals
- Check CO2 bubbles per minute output
Watch this video to better understand how to clean your filter.
Watch this video to learn how to clean your Pollen Glass Diffuser.