Useful equipment
Useful and practical tools
You can, of course, drag a water bucket for a partial water change, scratch out the algae inside from the glass panes with wet arms, individually collect snails by the thousands etc. But there are really useful aids which we would like to introduce to you:
Maintenance every 2 weeks
We explain everything that needs doing in a 2-week rhythm and show you how to do it properly: the important water change, how to react when water evaporates and how to treat the water after a partial water change.
Cleaning of aquarium
Carry out a partial water change (1/3) every 2 weeks which ideally should be combined with the cleaning of the bottom. For that you need a mechanical substrate cleaner (gravel cleaner).
JBL PROCLEAN AQUA EX 10-35
JBL PROCLEAN AQUA EX 20-45
JBL PROCLEAN AQUA EX 45-70
JBL PROCLEAN AQUA IN-OUT COMPLETE
JBL PROCLEAN AQUA IN-OUT EXTENSION
Pane cleaning
Your panes will show an algae coating after a while. There are many glass pane cleaners to remove the algae. Just always take care that stones/sand/gravel NEVER get between the tool and the pane as this causes irreparable scratches in the glass! Ideal are glass pane cleaner magnets you can move from outside, whereas the internal part removes the algae (JBL Floaty range). If the internal element falls off because of too strong movements, it will float to the surface and can be retrieved using the external magnet.
For plastic panes (plexiglass/acrylic), please do not use any of the pane cleaners mentioned. They all scratch the pane. The JBL FLOATY acrylic/glass was specially developed for plastic panes! This FLOATY can be used the other way round on glass without any problems and is especially popular in small aquariums with glass thicknesses up to 4 mm.
With curved front panes, the pane magnets or blades are naturally only in contact when they are applied vertically. The JBL FLOATY BLADE and the JBL Blanki in particular are ideal for curved front panes.
Cleaning the aquarium pane
We demonstrate how the incorrect cleaning of aquarium panes leads to scratches and how you can avoid it. How do you clean curved panes? How do you avoid damaging the silicone bonding? Why should household cleaners not be used? We talk about and demonstrate all the types of pane cleaners for your aquarium.
JBL FLOATY II
JBL FLOATY Shark
JBL FLOATY BLADE
JBL Aqua-T Handy
JBL Blanki
JBL Blanki Set
JBL WishWash
JBL Spongi
JBL PROSCAPE CLEANING GLOVE
JBL PROCLEAN AQUA
JBL FLOATY acrylic/glass
Catching snails and planaria
If snails or planaria (flatworms) become a nuisance the two traps shown can help.
JBL LimCollect
JBL PlaCollect
Inserting plants
Of course you can press the plants into the substrate with the tips of your fingers. But from experience it is far easier and also better if you use long pincers. Before inserting the plants you should also shorten the roots with scissors.
JBL PROSCAPE TOOLS P STRAIGHT
JBL PROSCAPE TOOLS P SLIM LINE
JBL PROSCAPE TOOLS P CURVED
JBL PROSCAPE PLANTIS PINS
Cutting plants
At some point stem plants will grow to the surface and need to be shortened. With special scissors this can be done very precisely in just a few minutes. For rosettes you need to remove unsightly leaves or to cut off offshoot. Long scissors are very helpful for this too.
JBL PROSCAPE TOOLS S STRAIGHT
JBL PROSCAPE TOOLS S CURVED
JBL PROSCAPE TOOLS S WAVE
JBL PROSCAPE TOOLS S SPRING
Hose installation
As soon as you install water-bearing hoses, this can quickly lead to kinks at the edges which can reduce the water flow tremendously. Hose guides help you to prevent this problem easily and effectively.
If hoses have a kink and JBL AntiKink does not fit for some reason, heat the hose or the hose part in hot water until you can press out the kink. Allow the hose to cool down and then re-route it without creating kinks or then with JBL AntiKink .
JBL AntiKink
JBL ClipSafe Vario
Hose cleaning
Measurements have shown that biofilms can reduce the filter performance in the hoses by 25 %! We therefore recommend you clean the hoses with a hose brush about every 3 months.
JBL Cleany
Hose installation
With suction cups and clips you can position and fix the suction and outflow pipes of the filter correctly.
JBL FixSet
JBL suction cup with clip, 12 mm
JBL suction cup with clip, 16 mm
Maintenance of technical items
Seals and filter impellers also need a bit of maintenance and cleaning.
Rubber seals and O-rings lose their suppleness in the course of time and with that their ability to seal something 100%. The suppleness can be regained with the help of silicone grease to ensure the sealing function or the flexibility, (needed for levering etc) is still adequate. It is not important to apply a huge amount of silicone grease but it is important to lubricate each side completely.
Tip: Never use silicone spray near latex!!! Latex does not even tolerate traces of silicone spray mist. It damages it.
JBL SILICONE SPRAY
JBL CristalProfi Pulling Aid Impell. Bearing&Brush
Fry rearing
Since many fish species regard their offspring as food you need to protect eggs and fry from their parents.
JBL BabyHome Oxygen
JBL NBox
JBL BabyHome pro Air
Attachment of technical and decorative items
There are 100 situations where you need a non-toxic adhesive: from the resealing of an aquarium to the fixing of a plant to the decoration. For each situation we have the right adhesive for you.
Inserting aquarium plants and adding the water. Here’s how!
How are aquarium plants correctly inserted? What can you do about plants that won’t stay in the soil and keep floating up? What types of plants are there and how can you tell what demands plants have? How do you add the water without disturbing your arrangement?