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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