Interpet

If there is something wrong with your fish; they look ill or are dying, or there are water quality problems, we strongly advise that you test your aquarium water.

Use the images and descriptions below to determine what's wrong, then click through for treatment advice.

What is the Nitrogen Cycle?

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Before adding fish to your aquarium there are some important things you need to understand about how the aquarium water remains clean and healthy enough for fish to live in.

The short video below talks you through this process, or read on for more.

The breakdown of fish waste; too much food and dead plant matter will cause toxic compounds – namely ammonia – to build up in the water and kill your fish. As an aquarium is a ‘closed’ environment it means harmful waste can build up quickly because there is not enough water to dilute it or to wash it away, as would be in a pond or river. Thankfully, there is a natural process called the ‘Nitrogen Cycle’, which we can recreate in the aquarium, to convert the toxic waste into safer compounds (The image below explains how this process works).

Nitrogen cycle, inforgraphic, aquarium

This Nitrogen Cycle is carried out by ‘Nitrifying’ bacteria that establish in the biological media of the aquarium filter. These bacteria generally take about eight weeks to grow and reproduce in the filter to large enough quantities to carry out their role in the Nitrogen Cycle.
During this early period, when there are few bacteria, fish keepers often experience fish deaths caused by the build-up of invisible toxic compounds: this is referred to as ‘New tank syndrome’.

Ways to prevent New Tank Syndrome and encourage the Nitrogen Cycle:

  • adding a bacteria based filter starter product speeds up the cycle process
  • starting with a few, hardier fish varieties, and only add new fish over a number of weeks, if not months
  • feed only little amounts in the early days to reduce the amount of waste
  • measure how much of the invisible toxins are in your aquarium with an aquarium test kit
  • for the first six weeks do weekly water changes (20% of your aquarium water volume) to dilute and remove waste and toxins

What is New Tank Syndrome?

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“New tank syndrome” is commonly experienced in the first weeks of a new aquarium and is caused by an immature filter.

New Tank Syndrome is a term used to describe problems that occur due to the build-up of invisible, toxic compounds in an aquarium. It gets its name as the issue is most likely to occur when your filter is maturing when starting a new aquarium. The full population of friendly bacteria can take up to 2 months to establish in your filter to a level where they are able to process all the waste being produced by your fish.

New tank syndrome is extremely common and can be a very frustrating and upsetting start to fish keeping as it often results in the death of your lovely fish. However, understanding its causes can help you to minimise or avoid problems completely.
Understanding the role of your filter and particularly the chemistry of the biological filtration bacteria driven “Nitrogen cycle” before you start your aquarium is the best way of stopping new tank syndrome starting in the first place.

The Nitrogen Cycle is a natural biological process that which occurs in your filter and helps to maintain a healthy environment for your fish. The image below explains how the Nitrogen Cycle works, bacteria living on the biological media in your filter change very toxic Ammonia excreted by fish and the breakdown of waste into less toxic Nitrite and then to relatively safe Nitrate.

Nitrogen Cycle

However, this Nitrogen cycle process takes a while to establish in a new filter you can help avoid toxic waste build up causing New Tank syndrome by:

  • Adding a product like Fast Filter Start with your first couple of fish which will help your filter bacteria mature faster.
  • Introduce fish gradually starting with a few “hardy” varieties which can cope with the waste levels in a new aquarium. Once the filter is mature (the whole Nitrogen cycle is established so that there is no Ammonia or Nitrite) slowly add a few fish at a time until you reach the advised maximum stocking level for your aquarium, this allows the friendly bacteria to grow to match the waste being produced by the fish.
  • Feed sparingly to begin with, fish need a lot less food than many people think and are used to going long periods in the wild without food. It is crucial in the first few weeks to feed sparingly once or twice a day removing any uneaten food after 5 minutes. More fish die of over feeding than underfeeding and the excess food will make the filter’s job a lot harder.
  • Monitor your water quality! Many water problems are invisible to us so don’t just sit back assuming everything is ok in there. Test the levels and make a note of the results, it’ll make it much easier to fix a problem later.
  • Carry out regular water changes – 25% once a week in new aquariums- this removes and dilutes toxic waste compounds (ammonia and nitrite) to help whilst the filter matures. Later you will be able reduce water change frequency to once a month.

Just remember that patience and vigilance are key. Don’t rush, enjoy your aquarium.

What does my filter do?

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Your Filter is the most essential piece of equipment in your fish tank. Like every other household pet, fish need a healthy environment. Because dogs and cats have largely the same environmental needs as ourselves, we are much more aware of conditions that could be upsetting our pets. A fishes “watery world” is completely different from our own and so we need to work actively to understand and maintain their environment. Filtration plays a crucial role in making that job a lot easier.

Aquariums are a closed system and any waste or dirt produced by fish and plants remains trapped in the water, so if you do nothing about it the aquarium rapidly turns into an unhealthy sewer.

That’s where your filter comes to the rescue by acting like a mini sewage treatment processing plant. The filter creates a healthy environment by:

  • Mechanical Filtration – Trapping dirt and physical waste to make the water crystal clear
  • Biological Filtration – Beneficial bacteria living on the filter media process fish waste, creating healthy water
  • Chemical Filtration – Removing algae food to prevent algae growth; harmful metals and toxins; nasty odours and organic dyes for crystal clear water
  • Circulation – aerating water to maximise oxygenation and remove Carbon dioxide

 

The video below shows how our CF filter carries out these functions:

 

 The filters biological filtration replicates a natural process called the Nitrogen Cycle, breaking down toxic waste to help maintain a healthy environment for your fish. The image below explains how the Nitrogen Cycle works, changing the very toxic Ammonia excreted by fish and the breakdown of waste into less toxic Nitrite and then to relatively safe Nitrate.

Nitrogen Cycle

In short, your filter is an essential life support system which makes the aquarium habitable for your fish.

Here are a few top tips to keep your filter working properly and the aquarium water perfectly balanced.

  1. Filter bacteria take a long time (up to 8 weeks) to get established on their own you can speed the process significantly when setting up a new aquarium by adding a bacteria and enzyme product like Fast Filter Start with the first fish to get the process started
  2. Check daily that your filter is running properly, check the flow and remove any blockages.
  3. Top up any evaporation in your aquarium, treat the new tap water with a de-chlorinator like Bioactive Tapsafe plus.
  4. Every month
    1. maintain your mechanical filter this is easily done in a cartridge filter by simply replacing your cartridge, otherwise clean or replace other mechanical filter media.
    2. Replace chemical media – carbon and algae pads as these become full up and need refreshing.
    3.  Dose with Fast Filter Start to boost bacteria levels which may have been lowered by filter maintenance.
  1. Biological Filter media, only needs a very occasional rinse every 6 months and should only be washed in aquarium water as tap water contains chlorine which will kill all of the bacteria you have spent months maturing
  2. Most of the toxic chemicals are completely invisible to the naked eye so you need to test your water regularly to check for chemical irregularities. This way you can catch problems early before they have severe effects on the health of your aquarium.

Measuring Interpet Treatments

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The new and improved Interpet treatments are easy to use and even more effective. Interpet Treatments have been improved with new formula’s and striking new packaging, with even more tools to make sure you get the right treatment for your aquarium problem.

Use our Diagnose What’s Wrong page to identify your fish and aquarium problems quickly, simply and confidently or browse through the range using the product drop down menu.

Remember that you can also use our dosage calculator to make sure you’ve got the right dose for your tank.
Use the videos below to confidently measure your treatments

 

Interpet Water Treatments

 

Interpet First Aid Treatments

Syphoning_Water

How to do a water change and clean your aquarium

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What will I need?

  • Bucket
  • Gravel cleaner
  • Fish Net
  • Service pack for you filter media
  • Magnetic algae cleaner
  • Dechlorinator – Bioactive Tapsafe
  • Test Kits

Step 1:
Start by testing your aquarium water for Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite and the pH level. Follow the instructions on the testing kit and make sure to keep a record of your results. By testing your water now you can then address any issues you may have as part of the water change and you have a record to come back to when you test in the future.

Step 2:
Turn off all power to your aquarium including your heater if installed. This is for the safety of both you and your fish.

Step 3:
Put the gravel cleaner into the aquarium with the tube end pointing into your bucket. Start the water syphon following the gravel cleaner instructions and begin to remove water from the tank. As the water is sucked out you can push the gravel cleaner into your substrate this will remove any waste that has settled on the bottom of the aquarium. Do this throughout the whole aquarium but keep an eye on the water level as you only want to remove around 25% of your water.

Step 4:
Once you’ve removed 25% of the water you can begin maintenance on your aquarium, this may include:

  • Removing any dead leaves
  • Trimming plants
  • Clearing algae by sliding the magnetic cleaner over the aquarium glass
  • Removing rocks, plastic plants and ornaments and cleaning them using the Interpet plastic plant and ornament cleaner .

Give your aquarium a general spruce up, trying not to disturb your fish too much.

Step 5:
Whilst the water level is still low you can replace the filtration media in your filter. Replace the cartridges using the right service packs for your filter. Some media, like sponges, may need rinsing through to clear any small blockages. NEVER clean your filter media in tap water always use the water that you’ve removed from your aquarium (that’s why we suggest collecting it in a bucket). Cleaning in tap water will kill all the clever bacteria you’ve spent months harvesting in your filter.

Step 6:
Once you’ve finished all the maintenance tasks you can dispose of the old aquarium water (perhaps use it to water the garden) and refill your bucket with tap water. Before you can add this water to your aquarium you need to treat it with a dechlorinator like Bioactive Tapsafe to remove any harmful minerals. You also need to be aware of the temperature of your aquarium; if you have a tropical tank you need to heat your water to a similar temperature as the aquarium and for a cold water tank let the water settle to room temperature.

Step 7:
Carefully fill your tank back up to the suggested volume (never higher that the maximum fill line of the aquarium). Make sure you do this carefully to avoid disrupting your fish, substrate or clouding your water.

Step 8:
Make sure to continue testing your aquarium water regularly (at least monthly). Water issues are invisible to us most of the time so regular testing is a must to keep your fish and aquarium healthy. You should be testing for levels of Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrate as well as the level of pH. You can do all of this using an Interpet Test Kit.

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