Hi guys,
Here comes a new episode of JBL Aqua Myths. This time we’re looking at the following 3 myths:
1. The dirtier the filter, the better - sludge is good for bacteria
There is no general answer to this statement. The resulting mulm is an important source of food for your bacteria in the filter and in the aquarium – this much is true.
However, if you notice the performance of the filter decreasing, you need to clean the filter. Important: never clean the filter completely, just roughly clean the dirty patches in it. After about half an hour without active filtering, the bacteria in the filter will start to die, so it’s advisable to re-inoculate the aquarium with new bacteria (e.g. JBL Denitrol ) after such cleaning work in order to maintain the tank’s biological balance.
The more dirt collects in the filter, the higher the germ density. The circulation of the aquarium water through the filter slows down and the water environment deteriorates. This can have an enormous impact on the health of your aquarium inhabitants.
More about beneficial bacteria in the aquarium: Bacteriële startfase
More about filtering in the aquarium: Aquariumfilters & Toebehoren
2. You don’t need water conditioners
This is plain wrong. Water conditioners are absolutely necessary to turn tap water into aquarium water. Depending on the quality and location, multiple substances can be present in tap water that are harmful to your aquarium inhabitants.
We are talking here, for example, about chlorine or heavy metals such as iron and copper. Even nowadays public utilities still use chlorine for cleaning purposes at times. Shock chlorination is a good example of this. And if you use well water for your aquarium, heavy metals can cause a problem.
To prevent these substances from entering your aquarium in the first place, it makes sense to add a water conditioner such as JBL Biotopol to the new water before changing it. This will bind and neutralise any dangerous substances and your fish will be protected.
You can find more about water treatment here:
JBL TV #4: Why do we need a water conditioner for the aquarium?
3. Fish have not fed for a long time - feed a lot to catch up
First of all, it’s safe to say that your fish can manage without food for a few days without any problems. Over time, enough microorganisms will collect in your aquarium for your fish to feed off. And there are also ways to bridge the time away from home. An automatic feeder, such as JBL AutoFood BLACK , which takes over the feeding, is suitable here.
If you feed too much, you’ll pollute the water, the pollutants will increase, your fish can get sick and algae problems can also occur.
The rule of thumb in aquaristics is to feed only as much as your fish will eat in a few minutes.
If you are away from home for a longer period of time and do not have the opportunity to feed your pets, it is a good idea to feed them more often than usual, but in smaller daily doses, on your return.
As we’ve already said, if you know any myths or fairy tales about aquaristics, please write them in the comments. We’ll add them to our list and go into more detail in one of our futures episodes!
