Five Most Important Steps in Freshwater Aquarium Maintenance

!±8± Five Most Important Steps in Freshwater Aquarium Maintenance

One of the most important things that you can do for your freshwater aquarium is maintain it and keep it clean! Of course, with our busy lives, we want to know what's most important in maintaining our freshwater aquarium, and how do we do it quickly. Following is a list of the top 5 most important things you'll need to do to keep your tank in tip-top shape. Write these down on your calendar. It's really not that hard, especially if you do them at about the same time every month.

Vacuum - Weekly

Use a gravel vacuum to suck out the waste, toxins and old food at the bottom of your aquarium. Aquarium vacuums are really great for cleaning up waster material and come in all sorts of different sizes and shapes depending on the size of your tank. They all operate a little differently, so check the instructions that come with them. They are all really easy to use. Use the dirty water that you've vacuumed from the bottom of your tank and put it on your garden. There's nothing like fish fertilizer to give your garden a boost.

Change Water - Weekly

Change your aquarium water every week if possible, but you can even go every other week. You'll only need to replace about 20% of your tank's water. The best way to do this is to siphon the water out. Get a hose or aquarium tubing, put one end of the hose into your tank, and suck the air out from the other end of the hose. Be sure to have a pail ready, because the water will come flowing out. Just let the water from the hose flow into the pail until you've got about 20% of the water removed from your tank. Then add new water. Check with your local fish store to find out what you'll need to add to the new water that you put back into your tank. Depending upon your area, you may want additives to remove chlorine and other chemicals from your tap water. Some people let the new water sit for 24 hours to remove chemicals from it before they add it to their aquarium.

Remove Algae - Monthly

Nothing looks worse than algae growing on the sides of your tank. And nothing looks better than a clear aquarium, the better to see your fish through. You can buy algae scrapers and other tools to remove the algae from your tank. They're really easy to use. Just find one that you like the best and use it religiously. But, my favorite algae remover is the "algae eater". It's a special kind of sucker-type fish that looks really neat and he's really good at cleaning up the algae because that's what he eats! His real name is "plecostomus" and you can find him at lots of fish shops. They're really fun to watch, too.

Test Water - Monthly (after first two months, when established)

When your tank's first set up, be sure to check the pH of the aquarium water every few days. Get a test kit at your local fish store. After that, check the water weekly for the first two months. After two months, you can check the water monthly, unless your fish are showing abnormal behavior. Then check again.

Change Filter - Check filter instructions

There are so many aquarium filters on the market today. So the only advice here is to check the instructions and they will tell you how often to change your filter. Sometimes it's every 3 to 4 weeks for disposable power filters. And sometimes it's every 6 months. Some you can clean yourself, so just keep an eye on them and clean them when you see they're dirty.

Five Most Important Steps in Freshwater Aquarium Maintenance

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The DIY Way To Sharpen Lawn Mower Blades

!±8± The DIY Way To Sharpen Lawn Mower Blades

Is your lawn mower tearing of the lawn grass blades instead of cutting it? Does your lawn look like it has been eaten by a goat, in spite of being cut by the lawn mower? Wait; do not pull your hair by the root. Help is at hand. We will teach you how to sharpen the lawn mower blades at minimum price and effort.

Your Manual Lawn Mower - The Faithful Walk Behinds

Tools: The tools that your will require for doing this job are

You and your time of about 2 hours or less

A bastard file of about 12" long

A small crow bar to prevent movement of rotor of lawn mower.

A worktable will be useful for dong the job comfortably.

Procedure: You can use the following procedure as a general guide and make changes to it to suit you. Remember the procedure is not sacrosanct. The results are important, not the procedure.

If possible, remove the handle of lawn mower and place lawn mower on the table.

Secure it if possible in the clamps. If you do not have clamps, do not bother, secure it against any block, so that the movement away from you is restricted.

Fix the crowbar in the blades so that it will not rotate

With the help of the bastard file, file the edges of blades so that they look sharp. Work at an angle of 45 degrees

When one blade is sharpened, remove the crowbar and turn the rotor to work on another blade. Repeat the procedure until all blades are sharpened.

If you have a flexible shaft grinder in your DIY workshop, you will be able to complete the work within 5 to 10 minutes per blade. Make a template of blade profile before you start your work and compare frequently. This is necessary to ensure that you do not over cut at a place.

Safety Tip For You

While sharpening the blades ensure that the stroke is not too long otherwise, you may injure yourself.

Sharpening Blades Of Power Mower

Depending upon the lawn mower the procedure may vary. We have included general statements in this procedure; you would have to change the procedure slightly. Keep the maintenance manual of lawn mower handy if you have one.

Tools required.

Siphon hose and clean container

Heavy work gloves and goggles

Double-cut (medium-rough) flat file

Lumber scrap

Socket wrench set

Rubber mallet*

Bench vise or C clamps

Rotary blade sharpener accessory

Electric drill*

Screwdriver, or 1/4-in. rod or bolt*

Blade balancer

Replacement blade*

* Only if required

The list may look formidable, but tools are generally available with every DIY enthusiast.

Procedure:

The procedure is given for the simple single blade lawn mower, but the same will apply to all types of blades, whether single or double

Wear hand gloves and clean the engine and the gasoline tank from outside

Remove spark plug from the engine

Remove all the fuel from the tank of the gasoline engine. Use the siphon hose so you do not spill gasoline on floor.

Completely empty out the oil from gearbox if you have one

Invert the engine and have access to the blade.

Clamp the engine so it does not move and clean the blade area thoroughly

With help of a box spanner, remove the nut holding the blade. Usually the nut will be unlocked in the reverse to direction of rotation of engine. You may engage the screwdriver in the cooling fan of engine to stop rotation of engine.

If you find that you are using too much force to unlock the nut, put one or two drops of rust removing chemical, and try after 30 minutes

After you remove the blade, clamp it in the bench vise and sharpen it with a file or a grinder. Sharpen only the outer 2 to 3 inches. The area to be sharpened will be known if you see the blade.

Sharpen only to the required extent. Too much sharpening is not necessary. This is not the knife. It works at the speed of the engine

After sharpening, check with your thumb. Be careful not to cut thumb. If you have done sharpening before, or seen some one doing it, you will know what we mean by this.

Balance the blade with help of a small balancing tool on VEE blocks, or even on two foot rulers placed side by side

Refit the blades, refill engine oil and gasoline and test the sharpness of blades on uncut portion of your lawn

Safety tips:

Always use safety goggles and hand gloves when working with power tools.

Be sure to remove the spark plug before starting. Serious accidents can happen if you do not do this.

The DIY Way To Sharpen Lawn Mower Blades

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!±8± JohnDow Fuel Chief JDI-RP12-KIT Universal Two-Way Rotary Pump Kit With 10-Foot Hose

Brand : John Dow Industries | Rate : | Price : $99.00
Post Date : Dec 13, 2011 15:00:36 | Usually ships in 24 hours

JohnDow Fuel Chief JDI-RP12-KIT Universal Two-Way Rotary Pump Kit With 10-Foot Hose

• Pump for siphoning and dispensing fuel.
• For use with Fuel Chief 25 and 15 gallon gravity fed gas caddies.
• Heavy duty cast-iron construction
• Includes a 10-foot hose and tube assembly.

More Specification..!!

JohnDow Fuel Chief JDI-RP12-KIT Universal Two-Way Rotary Pump Kit With 10-Foot Hose

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How to Clean Saltwater Reef Aquariums For Nitrate and Phosphate Reduction

!±8± How to Clean Saltwater Reef Aquariums For Nitrate and Phosphate Reduction

Everyone who has owned an aquarium knows the importance of water changes. Although, what needs to be removed with the old water is often misunderstood. Many people set up saltwater aquariums and have a balanced ecosystem for several years with simple water exchanges. At some point however, the organics (fish waste) accumulate to the point of depleting oxygen and causing algae growth. This is solved by removing as much waste as possible with the water.

Algae doesn't use fish waste as fertilizer immediately. Fish waste is fertilizer in it's organic form. This organic form of waste must be broken down by bacteria and microbes, and converted into its mineral form to be more readily used by algae. This is the form that test kits are able to detect nitrogen (nitrate) and phosphates in. A test kit might show a low reading, but there could still be a reservoir of fertilizer seeping into the water. Therefore, if a balanced reef aquarium is created, these chemicals might stay under control through live rock and skimmers, but if the accumulation of waste becomes too great, problems arise.

One of these problems is oxygen depletion. The bacteria that break down nitrogen are aerobic, meaning they consume and bind oxygen during their processing. The more waste in a tank, the more bacteria feeding on it. This is important because the fish and corals we love come from an oxygen saturated environment. These bacteria can use up too much O2 and cause stress, then disease and death of our inhabitants. One way to intercept this process is using a properly functioning skimmer. A protein skimmer removes these wastes before they are broken down. Also a skimmer raises the oxygen levels between cleanings.

Cleaning the sand or crushed coral is important for long term health of fish and corals. The simplest way of doing this is buying a siphon with a tall tube and vacuuming the sand as you would an aquarium with gravel. The tall tube allows for the finer sand to swirl high without being removed with the water. You can clean a small section of the reef aquarium thoroughly with a water change, while leaving the majority of the sand untouched for bio-diversity. This will control the build up of organics over time that cause algae.

One more tip before I go. Use a siphon that attaches to a sink or garden hose (Python) to clean out the detritus in the sump. This siphon is able to create suction without gravity feeding, and is perfect for cleaning the sump on the ground level. Thanks for reading, Wes.

How to Clean Saltwater Reef Aquariums For Nitrate and Phosphate Reduction

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Slide-N-Pump (TM) - The accessible & affordable way to move baptize anywhere.

!±8± Slide-N-Pump (TM) - The accessible & affordable way to move baptize anywhere.

At one-third the price of electrical pumps, the versatile Slide-N-Pump (TM) makes short work of pumping or siphoning water anywhere, all without the need of or danger associated with electricity and water. Easy to Pump The Slide-N-Pump is so easy to use. Simply attach a standard garden hose to both ends, insert the open hose-end into any volume of water [or other liquids] and Slide-N-Pump it away. Easy to Siphon The Slide-N-Pump is the only product of its kind on the market because it also acts as a siphon initiator. Attach a standard garden hose to both ends and use the Slide-N-Pump to initiate the siphon. Once water starts flowing, it will continue. You may, but are not required to, remove the Slide-N-Pump from the hose during the siphon. Tons of Uses The Slide-N-Pump is great for professionals, homeowners and hobbyists. Visit www.slide-n-pump.com for more information or to place an order today. Retailers welcome.

Slide-N-Pump (TM) - The accessible & affordable way to move baptize anywhere.

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Gravity powered soaker corrupt absorbed to 55 gallon barrel.

!±8± Gravity powered soaker corrupt absorbed to 55 gallon barrel.

Simple way for us to water our blueberries. Our tap water is far to alkaline for blueberries so I fill a 55 gallon barrel full of water and pitch in a gallon of 9% vinegar. This brings our 8.5 - 9.0 pH city water down to around 6.0 pH. I suppose I should add even more to bring the pH down closer to 5.0. Opinions? I just use gravity and a hose to create a siphon from the barrel to the blueberry bed. The barrel is only about a foot higher then the blueberry bed but it seems to be enough. Easy way to get amend 55 gallons of water and soak it in slow.

Gravity powered soaker corrupt absorbed to 55 gallon barrel.

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Lose Excess Weight To Protect Against Diabetes, And Heart Disease - Learn How You Must Diet

!±8± Lose Excess Weight To Protect Against Diabetes, And Heart Disease - Learn How You Must Diet

We've all heard, time and time again, that overweight and obesity are potentially harmful to our health. We are in danger of heart disease, diabetes, fatty liver...and all sorts of dreadful sounding conditions.

What exactly are these conditions? Let's take a look at two of them: (diabetes, and heart disease)

1. Type 2 Diabetes. This is probably the disease we hear about the most frequently. Some of the older folks still call it "sugar diabetes". The word "diabetes" originated in the second century when a Greek physician used the word meaning to "pass water like a siphon". This is because of excessive urination which often characterizes diabetes.

Our bodies typically produce a hormone called insulin. Insulin regulates glucose (sugar) processing (metabolism). Symptoms develop when either the insulin or the sugar is out of control. Insulin may be thought of as a "key" which unlocks the cell so that sugar can enter and be used for energy. In diabetes the cell is resistant to the effect of insulin so rather than entering into the cell, the excess sugar floats around in the bloodstream (high blood sugar). The body, sensing that the cells are not getting nourished, reacts by over-producing insulin.

The symptoms of insulin-sugar imbalance may be excessive thirst and increased urination, fatigue, un-wanted weight loss, and blurred vision. Complications of long-standing diabetes include loss of vision, impaired circulation to feet (which may lead to ulcerations and even amputation, if untreated), damage to blood vessels which may lead to heart attack or stroke, and wounds that don't heal.

Since the vast majority of people diagnosed with diabetes are obese, it is easy to assume that there is a connection. There are many speculations about the relationship. There is no need to explore them all. Let's just know that since there is a link, we would be well advised to minimize our risk of diabetes by losing extra pounds.

2. Heart disease (also called coronary artery disease). Think of the heart as a pump and the vessels as the pipes, or hoses, through which blood travels bringing food and oxygen to every cell from the brain to the toes! After the vessels have unloaded their supply of good "stuff" (food and oxygen), they go the extra mile and pick up wastes Sounds like an important job, and it is.

When you develop coronary artery disease, or heart disease, it means that something has happened which keeps the blood from doing its normal jobs of "pick-up and delivery". This interference may be the result of high blood pressure. (Imagine the garden hoses filling up with minerals which make the opening smaller. Water passage is reduced and the hose itself may split under the pressure). Overweight and obesity increase the likelihood of high blood pressure and the accumulation of fats which make the vessels brittle and more likely to leak. Pieces of fat can also break off and block the passage of blood. Leakage and blockage are responsible for conditions such as heart attack and stroke.

You can see that it is important to do whatever we can to minimize the likelihood that we will develop diabetes or heart disease.

Lose Excess Weight To Protect Against Diabetes, And Heart Disease - Learn How You Must Diet

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How to Implement a Greywater System for Your Garden

!±8± How to Implement a Greywater System for Your Garden

Google Tech Talk May 12, 2010 ABSTRACT Presented by Laura Allen and Gregory Bullock. Laura Allen and Gregory Bullock describe how Greywater can green an increasingly parched California, and what Googlers can do to help. Are there such things as waste, or just resources that are currently misplaced? Greywater (water that comes from sinks, showers, and washing machines) turns wasterwater and its nutrients into irrigation water, saving time, money, and fresh drinking water. Whats more plants love it, especially fruit trees, berries and vines. Last year California rewrote its greywater code, making simple greywater reuse legal and affordable. Learn the why and hows of greywater reuse, and how to transform your household plumbing into a greywater irrigation system. Laura is a founding member of Greywater Action and has spent a decade exploring low-tech, urban sustainable water solutions. She has a BA in Environmental Science, a teaching credential and a masters in education from New College of CA. She is a co-editor of the anthology Dam Nation: Dispatches from the Water Underground. Laura leads classes and workshops on urban ecological sanitation technologies of rainwater harvesting, greywater reuse and composting toilets. Laura also works with the Greywater Alliance to help remove institutional barriers to sustainable water use. Greg is the founder of Bang for your Green Buck, an environmental enterprise that designs sustainable, productive landscapes that grow food through ...

How to Implement a Greywater System for Your Garden

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Hot Water Tank Problems - How to Solve Odors and Bad Taste

!±8± Hot Water Tank Problems - How to Solve Odors and Bad Taste

Often during the year especially during the hot summer time homeowners will often phone either their water utility or their plumbing heater tradesman or contractor complaining of foul smelling water which also tastes bad. 99 times out of a hundred it's usually a case of hot water tank sediment. Coupled with the symptom of putrid water taste and odors may also be low sink and shower water pressures and output.

While distasteful smell of the home water supply may sometimes in the summer time be due to algae blooms at the waters source, it's not that frequent an issue. Winter time seasons of course it can be almost ruled out on the spot in terms of plumbing diagnostic workups. The heating and plumbing store or the water utility may recommend that you need a hot water tank replacement - yet in most cases this is both premature and a highly aggressive approach seldom warranted both in terms of costs, and actual needs.

In most cases simply draining the sediment from the hot water tank will be the simple fix. It's so easy to do that most home and property owners can do it as simple as 1, 2, and 3 with minimal supplies, tools and expertise with little fear of damage or mistakes what so ever.

Here is a simple sequence to follow to flush the hot water tank unit:

1) For electric (non -gas) hot water heaters begin by shutting off the power from the circuit breaker. If you have a gas (natural gas / propane / butane) hot water heater shut the valve providing the gas supply

2) Next shut (turn off) the cold-water supply to the tank. It should be easy to spot. It will be a valve near the bottom entry to the water tank in most cases. In other cases you may find it as a water valve near the heater itself. If you are concerned it is the wrong valve (there is usually a hot water valve as well), trail the pipe the valve is attached to. Feel the pipe for cold temps as opposed to the hot water outlet pipe which will be hot or at least warmer to the touch.

3) Near the bottom of the water heater you can spot a drain valve. In most cases it looks similar to a faucet. Or it may be a simple round dial with an outlet to attach a hose in the middle of it. If there is such an outlet with a hose attachment- attach a simple garden hose to it, make sure it's tight so there is no leakage. Open the spigot and stand back to drain the effluent into a safe place where it can drain away. Either a nearby sink or basement drain, or perhaps the house can snake outside via a door or window. In other cases of some older hot water units the faucet will have an outlet - it's not meant to attach to an actual garden or utility hose. In these situations drain the water into a bucket or series of containers, ensuring that minimal spillage occurs. Have some towels nearby to mop up spills. It's good to have two or more buckets (that are small enough in height to fit under the lip of the drainage faucet outlet). This way as one bucket fills, you can swap in the next and empty number one. It's sort of like an old fashioned fire brigade.

When the tank is good and empty you can start the process of refilling the tank. Very important do not turn power or gas back on until the tanks are fairly full. Otherwise you risk great damage to the tank unit - gas or in the case of the electric heated unit - to burn out the dry uncovered electrical heating element in one brief second. It happens all the time with careless amateur and novice plumbers who all said would pay less in total had they called in a professional plumbing tradespeople to begin with.

Two other tips from experts. First when emptying the tank you may have to pinch open the pressure relief valve to get flow started - not unlike a gas siphon. Secondly as you start to refill the reservoir again with cold water slightly open up the taps around the home slightly to allow air to escape as the water displaces air in the canister and lines. Otherwise once filled up your guests and family may have a gasp as they turn on taps and burst of noisy compressed air emanate out of the pipes. Just remember to turn off all faucets tightly once the procedure is underway or completed.

Lastly when and only when the hot water tank is good and full (you will be able to hear the sound of rushing water into the unit itself stop), do you turn on power or gas to the unit to allow the heating function to come back on.

It may take some time to fully and completely heat your home's hot and warm water supply up to optimum temperatures. Especially if you are dealing with cold well water, or its winter season this may take an extended time period to complete. Be patient you will be rewarded with sweet smelling and tasting water, and as well may experience faster water flows and clothes cleaning cycles, showers and baths.

Hot Water Tank Problems - How to Solve Odors and Bad Taste

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