Other Equipment

A thermometer is needed to occasionally check the water temperature. A simple, floatable, liquid thermometer is sufficient, even though digital aquarium thermometers are now offered. Also available are thermal films that are glued to the outside body of the aquarium glass. These thermometers, which display the temperature by a different colored font, are sometimes criticized as not sufficiently precise.

Fish, along with free-floating plant compounds, are fished out from the water with a net or fishing bell. A fish bowl can be particularly appropriate when the fish are very sensitive, or you want to catch juvenile fish. Hoses and buckets are needed in order to change the water. A washed auger is helpful to remove decaying wood in the aquarium.

An automatic feeder to regularly add food to the aquarium over a long period is appropriate for a prolonged absence. This allows the supply of fish to be maintained during a vacation.

Hobbyists who attach particular importance to the care of their aquarium plants also use long-stemmed planting tweezers and scissors.

Some aquariums offer electronic devices for the determination of the water levels. There are also easy to use dip and drip tests. With these tests, test sticks are briefly dipped into the aquarium water. Values can then be measured or determined using a color scale. Diving tests are commercially available, which simultaneously determine nitrite, nitrate, total hardness, alkalinity and pH. Because their results are quite often very uncertain, advanced aquarists often heavily criticize them.

The amount of carbon dioxide dissolved in the water can be measured most easily with a CO2 continuous test. The drop tests measure the water contained in the material with a color scale. The test yields a certain number relative to (usually) five milliliters of aquarium water. These do not determine the water levels as accurately as laboratory testing, but for most aquarists the drop tests are sufficiently precise.