What are the key aquarium parameters for freshwater tanks?

Freshwater aquariums require careful monitoring and water quality adjustment to ensure all fish and plant life is healthy. A wide range of different parameters are key to balancing the water in fish tanks, from pH to ammonia and alkalinity.

What should you use to measure water in aquariums?

As experts in aquarium monitoring testers and meters, Hanna has the instrumentation you need to accurately measure the water in your freshwater fish tank. Our easy-to-use aquarium Checkers range is purpose-built for testing the most important parameters with clear, digital results on a screen, removing the guesswork and personal perception required with traditional testing trips and chemical kits.

What are the key parameters you should measure?

Freshwater tanks in general require a consistent and accurate monitoring process to prevent the build-up or reduction of certain parameters within the water, allowing for a fast response to parameters outside the acceptable range. Maintaining balance using filtration, chemical additions and reduction of waste all helps to keep the aquarium water in balance.

The key parameters to measure in freshwater aquariums include:

• pH: the pH level of an aquarium determines its acidity or alkalinity. In most cases, freshwater aquariums should be between 6.0-7.0 pH.
• Ammonia: this parameter is produced by waste within the aquarium, and should be as low as possible to prevent harm to fish and plant life.
• Nitrite: this parameter is a product of the nitrogen cycle, and is highly toxic if not properly monitored and managed.
• Nitrate: this parameter is also produced in the nitrogen cycle, and while it is less toxic increasing levels can cause algae bloom, reducing oxygen in the fish tank.
• Carbonate hardness: this parameter indicates whether the water is able to buffer acidity effectively, which helps to maintain balance within the aquarium.

Other, less standardised parameters such as chlorine and copper may also be useful to monitor in freshwater aquariums, particularly when performing tank water changes using tap water that may need to be appropriately treated to remove chlorine and metals.

What is the ideal range for my freshwater tank?

The requirements for your freshwater tank will vary according to the fish, invertebrates and plant life you keep within your aquarium, as well as the stages in the life cycle of your fish and maturity of your plants. This table offers a general guide to some of the most popular aquarium types and the parameter ranges that are most suitable to them in theory: