Keeping fishes alive in a saltwater aquarium is not an easy task. It requires a lot of work, dedication, and skill. Not all people are good at being an aquarist especially when it comes to maintaining a saltwater aquarium. This may be the reason why not so many individuals indulge with saltwater aquariums.
When you have an aquarium, there are times when certain emergencies with saltwater aquariums occur. You must never panic in such a situation if you want to save your precious pets. Some of the most common emergency situations are power outages or failure, overheating, pollution, and water leaks. Emergencies with saltwater aquariums often come unexpectedly and you must not be caught unprepared. You should know what to do in any of the emergency situations mentioned earlier.
You have to check your aquarium everyday and see if your fishes are stressed or if they look sick.
One of the emergencies with saltwater aquariums is power failure, which often comes without notice and you can’t do anything about it. You should aerate the aquarium if there is power failure. Having a handy air pump that is battery powered is a good idea to maintain the oxygen levels in the tank. Since the filters are not functioning, don’t feed your fishes and wait until power resumes. Wrap the aquarium with a sleeping bag or thick blankets to keep the temperature at a normal level for the fishes. An expensive option is purchasing a generator especially if your area is prone to power failure.
Overheating is one of the emergencies with saltwater aquariums. This happens when the heater is broken. Saltwater fishes can handle temperatures up to 86ÝF but they are already uncomfortable with such heat. Don’t use a large heater and instead, settle for at least 2 small heaters. Monitor the water temperature everyday if you don’t want to end up with boiled fishes. However, if the situation does happen, turn the heater off at once and remove 20-50% water from the aquarium. After that, you need to place ice bags in the aquarium. Keep the water you removed and simply allow it to cool down; later on, you can pour it back gradually to the tank.
Pollution is one of the rare emergencies with saltwater aquariums but it can happen especially if the filtration system is not working properly. Pollution takes place when there is a high pH and ammonia level. Do something about it and you must do it quickly.
Leaks sometimes happen with saltwater aquariums and if it does, you should be equipped with the right knowledge so that you’ll know what to do. Purchase a new aquarium; it’s the best solution.