scratanut;1260402; said:
I just wanted to know about maintenance, water change, filtration for a 250-300 gallon tank with 10+ Large american cichlids.
Opinions vary on how often to do partial water changes in tropical fish aquariums. Recent data suggest water changes frequently enough to maintain a Nitrate, NO3, level below 50 PPM. This will depend in part on the size of your aquarium, the number and size of your fish, the type of food and frequency of feeding. In my situation I often do 50% water changes weekly as I have crowded aquariums and I feed frequently.
Filtration will vary and again, how many fish, what food and frequency of water changes. Basic aquarium filtration includes mechanical, getting rid of derbris and biological, cultivating bacteria, which convert harmful Ammonia (NH3) into equally harmful Nitrites (N02), which is converted by another type of bacteria into Nitrates (N03), which is much less harmful to fish. This is referred to as cycling the aquarium and can be looked up on the web for a more detailed explanation. There are many good filter systems on the market. If you want to talk to an aquarium systems expert, ask for John at
www.jehmco.com.
PH is important to consider for healthy aquarium water. Go on the web and lookup your fish to find the ideal PH. Another consideration often overlooked is aquarium water Alkalinity that can be determined with a Carbonate or (KH) test kit. Bacteria that consume Ammonia use Alkalinity in the Ammonia breakdown process and when it is depleted you have a typical PH crash. I add common baking soda from time to time in small quantities to help maintain Alkalinity. This will also cause the PH to rise somewhat.