Today an aquarist has a high level of knowledge.
But in the beginning (40s / 50s) it wasn't like that.
The goldfish had come from China, and the first warm water fish was Makropodus opercularis. The paradise fish:
The aquarist should let his water sit for a while until it was pale yellow. Then fish could be used. Most of the time it was successful. But there were also cases where blue-green algae or vinegar bacteria developed on the surface.
Nothing was known about the breakdown of nitrogen compounds.
They talked to one another about such difficulties at the pond in front of the city.
pH and water hardness were already measured at that time. (Wagner aquarium chemistry.)
There was a lot of fighting against blue-green algae. Unsuccessful. Years later there were clubs.
During the discussion there it was found that when setting up a new aquarium the water should be inoculated from a good aquarium. (Something from the filter; some gravel or old water). So it is no longer a coincidence what develops, but the majority of the useful organisms are fixed.
There were many methods of obtaining soft water. Ion exchange columns with special synthetic resin (Permutit / Wofatit) for anion exchange and cation exchange.
The synthetic resins could then be regenerated
Conductivity meters were used. The water then had to be blended with raw water again. The osmosis method came much later. It has been used in space travel.
The fishless cycle method has only been around since the 1990s
There are only a few germs in clean water. But they are different. By adding ammonium, those who can consume this substance are encouraged. This creates nitrite in the water. It is poisonous. But the nitrite that is present gives an advantage to those bacteria that need it as food. They change it into nitrate. This makes it less.
Plants use nitrate as a nutrient. There should be from 5 to 20 mg per liter.
From the old days
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When I was little, I kept guppies in the 3L glass jar for pickles at one point had red Betta in there too. No filter, no heater, no light, just river sand and some plants ( can’t remember which ones exactly, maybe vallis). When “tank” turned green, get all the water out wash everything and replace with tap water that was in the bucket for about 24hrs. I kept same fish for years..
my dad keeps laughing at me now doing all this maintenance on my tanks, saying I’m wasting time and money
my dad keeps laughing at me now doing all this maintenance on my tanks, saying I’m wasting time and money
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Fishless cycling has actually been around since the late 1960s.