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55 Gallon Aquarium

By Trish The Aquarium Lady

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A 55 gallon aquarium as with any other size of aquarium, needs to be maintained properly if you want to ensure that you build the right kind of environment for the fish in it to thrive. Certainly when it comes to changing the water in your 55 gallon aquarium, this is essential as it not only helps to remove more of the waste and debris that has accumulated in it, but also helps to replenish some of the nutrients which have been lost.

When you change the water in your 55 gallon aquarium, will largely depend on the kind of aquarium that you have, such as cold water, tropical or reef tank. Plus it will also depend on whether you are using tap or purified water in yours.

What is essential to remember, is that even the best filtration kit you can buy isn’t going to be able to remove all the unwanted nitrates and debris from your tank. Plus these filtration systems certainly will not be effective at helping to replace those essential minerals and other nutrients in the water that your fish need.

How Often Should One Change The Water In A 55 Gallon Aquarium?

You should on average be changing around 25% of the total water in a 55 gallon aquarium every week, as this will help to keep the levels of nitrates that can build up in such tanks low. Also if you intend to use tap water to replace the water you have removed, make sure that you check the pH levels and hardness of the tap water prior to putting it into the tank. There are kits available both online and at your local aquarium supply store, that will enable you to see if this is okay, or if you need to add some chemicals to get the levels right for the fish you have in your aquarium.

It is crucial that you also check the levels of nitrate in the water to make sure that these are low enough. If not then they could actually be contributing towards the levels of nitrate rising above the normal ones in your 55 gallon aquarium. Certainly if the nitrate levels in the tap water are exceeding 40 parts per million, then you need to consider using an alternative water source or a purifier.

What Equipment Does One Need To Use For Changing Water In A 55 Gallon Aquarium

You need to have a couple of clean buckets along with a siphoning kit, which again can be purchased online or through your local aquarium supply store. These you should only use when you are changing the water in your 55 gallon aquarium and for nothing else, such as washing your car.

If you are going to be storing water for your 55 gallon aquarium in large containers then make sure that you keep them in ones that are made from a food grade plastic. Unfortunately other forms of plastic may actually let chemicals leach into the water and these can be extremely harmful to your fish.

Also you must always store the water in a dark location as this will help to prevent the growth of algae in the water. Plus you should also run an air stone into the containers where the water is being kept, as it will help to ensure that oxygen is getting into the water keeping it fresh, and such accessories can also help to maintain the pH levels in the water as well. You need to be aware that if you don’t aerate water often, then over time when left to stand it can become acidic. Again adding acidic water to a 55 gallon aquarium when changing the water, can be very detrimental to the health of the fish in it.

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