Saltwater Aquarium Basics

- Basic to advanced information about marine fish & reef aquariums. A growing resource with set up, aquarium lighting, chemistry, filter information too.


Freshwater Aquarium Basics

- A growing resource with information from filtration to smelly water problems with links to more specific top notch information such as the Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

Read this FIRST before treating any aquarium/pond fish for disease:
Fish Diseases | How to Treat Sick Fish


A Clear Pond: Information

- Proper pond filtration, cleaning, care, chemistry, & basics for maintaining a beautiful garden pond


Aquarium UV Sterilization

- Use of TRUE level one or higher UV Sterilizers in an aquarium or pond

Monday, November 01, 2021

AAP Million Air Pump for Aquarium; Only Authorized Seller

American Aquarium Products of Grants Pass (AAP) are the original online seller of the Million Air Pump & one of only a couple of AUTHORIZED online sellers.
Amazon nor other discounters ARE NOT!
So keep this in mind if you need help with your purchase or need warranty help. Our AAP/Via Aqua Million Air Pumps are simply the best pump for your dollar. Superior design and state of the art technology creates a strong, reliable, safe and quiet yet economical air pump that lasts as long as many pumps triple their cost.

Only place to purchase your Authroized AAP Million Air Pump:
Million Air Pumps from AAP

In fact with the Million Air Pump, our aquarium maintenance company has been using these for over 25 years with results comparable or even better than pumps that often sell for much more such as the Hagen, Aqueon, & Whisper line of aquarium air pumps.
What is noteworthy, is our aquarium maintenance company provided free return visits to contract customers if equipment was purchased from the service, so if equipment had problems our maintenance company would have to go out for free to fix/replace and equipment problems. What this meant is our company would not have been too profitable with air pumps that caused regular issues and these "Million Air" pumps were among the most reliable at any price! In fact we have found longevity of often well over a decade when many comparable pumps last a few years and often cost 25% more!!

In fact these pumps are so low in cost when compared to their durability, the cost of repair parts (& your valuable time spent repairing the pump) makes these pumps more economical to dispose of when they finally wear out in a few years.

Be assured when you buy a Million Air Pump from American Aquarium you are getting it from a company that actually uses and services this product, not a company that simply sells over stock with no product experience or customer service after the sale!!

*The ORIGINAL AAP/Via Aqua Million Air Pump, NOT the Chinese knock off.
Why purchase from a company in China when you can purchase the original product? (from Via Aqua of California, USA

*Simple installation
*Easy to maintain
*Compare to Whisper, Hagen & others in quality
*As quiet as Whisper pumps, but a better value

*In tests we have performed; ALL these pumps maintained good aeration down to 48 inches with a four inch air stone attached and only one outlet used in the case of dual outlet air pumps!

Thursday, May 06, 2021

Aquarium & Pond UV Replacement Bulbs/Lamps from AAP

UV Bulbs from AAP | UVC Replacement Germicidal Lamp | Aquarium & Pond

Recommended Compact G23, G7, G11 & G24 'H' Series, PLL & PLS Base UV-C Replacement Lamps/ Light Bulbs for Sterilizer, Clarifier, More from "American Aquarium Products".

UV Replacement Bulbs, Lamps from AAP

These are NOT the "LOW-END" Medium Pressure UV Lamps (often with as 7% UVC or in other words 76% less UVC output) sold elsewhere at prices less than the cost to produce the Hot Cathode, Low Pressure Mercury, Highest Output Germicidal UVC Lamps/Bulbs we sell!!!
So when you purchase a 9 watt UV replacement bulb via eBay/Amazon for $10 or less instead of AAP, you just reduced the output of your UV device by 75%, making it a pretty blue clarification at best device!!

Low versus medium pressure UV Bulb Comparison

True Optimum 254nm High Output UV-C Low Pressure, Hot Cathode Quartz Germicidal Bulb/Lamps; 4 TIMES the UVC output of those typically sold by discounters!
Including Patented Low Heat/HO Technology NOT Sold Elsewhere.
Premium Germicidal Ultra-violet-C Replacements for sale AT Competitive Prices;
Guaranteed 6 Months!!

Why purchase from a discounter via Amazon or Ebay and get a low output UV lamps with only 25% of the UVC energy as these UV Bulbs from "American Aquarium Products" (AAP)?

More about high output UV lamps/bulbs:
Actual UV-C Emission from a UV Bulb

UV Replacement Bulbs, Lamps from AAP
Aquarium, Pond UV Replacement Lamps from AAP

Wednesday, March 03, 2021

Wonder Shell Aquarium Mineral Block

Genuine Aquarium Wonder Shell Aquarium Mineral Blocks - from AAP | Disease Preventative

Patent Pending Medicated Version By "American Aquarium Products". Exclusive Aquarium and Pond Water Conditioner.

AAP Weco Wonder Shell

AAP is THE ONLY Online seller with In Depth Aquarium Chemistry Information and 4 Decades Hands on Experience Using the Wonder Shell, both regular and medicated versions.

Why purchase from parasite retailers including Amazon and get incorrect usage information (the packaging is INCORRECT), as well as possibly less fresh product (which loses its Cation charge over time), inability to get the full line including the Medicated version, and MOST IMPORTANTLY why not support the ONLY seller that has true professional experience and brought this product to market and has done all the "leg work" and without whom, 99% of persons would not know that this product even exists!
Of course this exclusive seller that any honest person should be purchasing from is "American Aquarium Products"

Wonder Shell, mineral cations, medicated

More from the American Aquarium Products (AAP/Weco) Selling Page:
EXCLUSIVE INFORMATION ABOUT WONDER SHELLS
(may not be used without permission from AAP)

• Useful for Important Mineralization/Electrolytes, Calcium Carbonate, Water Hardness Control, & more.
Our FRESH Regular AAP/Weco Wonder Shells Contains Calcium Carbonate/CaCO3+ cations (a VERY important element for proper Osmotic Function in fish as well as Redox Balance, more important to fish health than parameters such as exact pH!).
ALL minor and trace elements in the exact ratio (with the exception of calcium) as found in the ocean.

A few other elements found in minor & trace amounts include: Magnesium, Chloride, Sodium, Sulfate, Potassium, Bicarbonate, Bromide, Borate, Strontium, Fluoride.
Based on our extensive experience with 1000s of aquarium in our decades of professional aquarium maintenance, the use of AAP Wonder Shells (often at only fractional doses) is superior to other methods of minor & trace element/GH maintenance including over SeaChem Equilibrium (which is still an excellent product, it simply does not provide the continuous mineral Cations to battle oxidative stress)!

Calcium and magnesium have been proven to help fish (and humans) during stress and to help prevent disease due to acid buildup in the brain/body. Important for the prevention (& treatment) of Columnaris and Saprolegnia/Fish Fungus.
These positive mineral ions play a part in prevention of Columnaris by lowering oxidative stress and improving osmoregulation.

Can aid in prevention and treatment of Livebearers/Molly Disease such as "shimmies" and "wasting away" (not from Fish TB) whose general cause is the lack of these important elements.

Thursday, February 18, 2021

USA Made Aquarium Sponge Filters

Aquarium Sponge Filter | AAP-ATI | Replacement Hydro Sponges

COMPLETE Line of THE BEST, Patented HydroSponge Filters (Originally from Lustar) Superior to ALL OTHERS for Biological and Mechanical Aquarium Filtration.

AAP USA Made Hydro Sponge Aquarium Filter

AAP is THE Online seller with In Depth Sponge Filter Information and 3 Decades Hands on Experience Using these Filters.

Why purchase Chinese made rip offs of this sponge filter often sold under different names and often without the full line when you can purchase the ORIGINAL USA made AAP Hydro Sponge Filter?
Sadly, may of these rip offs only come in one type, often the coarse sponge which in 2/3s of aquariums is the wrong choice over the regular/fine sponge (often both is best).

It is also unfortunate that social media along Google/YouTube promote information/videos that make the claim "all you need to know about sponge filters" where by these videos & articles clearly have no long term practical experience with actual sponge filter use, otherwise they would note that most aquariums are served by a mix of coarse and fine and if it comes down to one or the other, again fine is more often than not the better choice.
As well these same videos promote the inferior Chinese know offs over the USA made AAP Hydro sponge filters that come in vastly more options!!

Hydro Sponge Aquarium Filter