Aged Water For Aquariums

Water is the most fundamental part of all aquariums from the very first setup and through all following refills. 

I've been using aged algae- rich water for refilling all my aquariums. 

Viewers of my videos often wonder why I use algae rich water instead of plain dechlorinated water.

One picture is worth a thousand words - so, let's take a closer look into that matter together. 

Here I pick a chunk of aged common green algae from the refill jar. 

You may think that is a lot of algae for a less than 2 gallon cube aquarium without any filters. 

True! Normally, I put much less algae into aquariums in the monthly refills I do.

Nevertheless, that huge chunk of algae should do fine for the presentation. 

Common green algae plays a couple fundamental functions in all aquariums. 

To the most obvious point - fish feed on common green algae.

 You can see here toothless adult Endlers and baby fish alike, eagerly devour algae. 

Algae has very high nutrition value. 

That's something bodybuilders can tell you in much more detail -speaking of spirulina - which is a type of algae.

 The chunks of aged algae sink down as fish tear them apart. 

And that is where many different bottom feeders get their turns feasting on algae. 

A time-lapse recording is a great way to observe life in action. 

Fast-forward a couple hours and...there is nothing left of that huge chunk of algae. 

I also use the aged algae rich water for refilling aquariums without fish.

 This plastic bottle aquarium garden is populated with Ramshorn snails - they feed on algae. 

So, refilling any size aquariums with aged algae rich water is a way of providing food for aquatic pets.

You may know or have already noticed that I don't use any man-made filters in my aquariums.

 Plants, and algae and bacteria found in aged water are the best filters, because they feed on ammonia, nitrite, etc found in aquariums. 

So, I add aged water with algae into aquariums to feed pets and to keep the water clean.

 Making aged algae rich water at home is very simple. 

Fill a glass jar or whatever (preferably) clear container with tap cold water. 

And let it sit for a couple weeks exposed to Natural sunlight. 

I put two cups of water on a windowsill on June 4th, 2022. 

The cup on the left is filled with just water. 

And let's add a couple fish food flakes in the cup on the right.

Adding fish food or any organic matter, you may spit in the water if you wish, boosts algae growth.

You may notice the difference in the water by the end of the day. 

The growing bacteria and algae already removed most of the air bubbles that were trapped on the walls of the cup on the right.

And there are visibly more air bubbles still trapped on the walls of the left cup.

 By the next day, chlorine evaporates from the water making it already safe to use for aquariums. 

Four days later on June 8th, I add cold tap water to the level. 

5 days since the initial setup, I notice deposits of algae on the walls of the right cup.

 No algae is visible in the cup on the left. 

Also notice that fish food flakes are still floating on the water’s surface in the right cup. 

Here is a closeup view of the first algae deposits. 

So again, it took five days to grow algae in a cup with a food boost. 

The greenish water discoloration is more noticeable at night. 

June 13th. 

Adding tap water again. 

June 19th. 

It's been two weeks since the initial setup. 

Here you can see nice green deposits of algae in the cup on the right. 

It is already aged algae rich water. 

And the water in the cup on the left is aged too but without algae...yet. 

A couple days later on June 22nd, I use the aged water from the right cup to refill my aquarium.

Here it goes. 

I use only the top part of the water from the cup for refilling aquariums. 

And now let's refill the cup with tap water as usual. 

And so it goes week after week for making aged algae rich water. 

Here you can see green algae builds up in the left cup finally on June 27th. 

And from that point on both cups have about the same amount of algae and look all the same.

I am going to use all water from both cups to refill my aquariums on July 16th. 

Let me show to you again the jar I use to age water and grow algae in it all year around. 

As you saw,  it is very simple to make aged water with algae. 

And aged water with algae is very effective in keeping aquariums clean and fish happy. 

Have fun and happy aquariums :)