Aquarium cleaning is not difficult to do and there are a number of products available to make it even easier. The most important thing to remember is never to completely clean out the aquarium and start over as novices tend to do. This will, of course, remove all the beneficial bacteria that are crucial for processing the waste from the fish and which you worked hard to encourage when you initially cycled the tank. Another important point is to ensure you do not use any chemicals or products that can harm the fish by introducing toxic chemicals into the tank.
photo credit: nttrbx
Some equipment needed for aquarium cleaning includes algae scrapers or magnets, water siphons or vacuums and soft clothes to clean the outside of the tank. First clean the inside glass, then the decorations and gravel, the outside glass and fittings and lastly the filter. You should also keep a bucket especially for use in aquarium cleaning that has never had any chemicals or soap in it.
This is probably the most time consuming part of the job so make sure you buy a suitable algae scrubber or magnetic cleaner. Don’t be tempted to use products from the hardware store or supermarket as they can contain chemicals that are toxic to your fish. Always buy a product intended to be used in aquariums. I prefer a magnetic algae scrubber that can be manipulated from outside the tank but any of the available scrubbers will do a good job. If you still can’t remove all the algae a razor can be used on glass tanks but don’t use one on acrylic tanks as you will scratch the surface.
If these are dirty or covered with algae remove them and scrub take them out of the tank and scrub them with the scrubber. Never use any soap as traces can be lethal to your fish. If they are really dirty they can be soaked in a 10% solution of bleach for 30 minutes and then thoroughly rinsed with water and dried.
Now you can clean the gravel by using the siphon or a vacuum pump. It is particularly important to do this regularly if you are using under gravel filtration as it’s efficiency can be impaired by dirty gravel. Siphon the water into a bucket until the gravel is clean and you have removed about 15% of the water in the tank.
.Lees gravel stretch vac for designer aquariums
List Price: $5.09
click here for more information on the Lees gravel stretch vac for designer aquariums
The outside glass can be cleaned with a soft cloth and the external fittings carefully.
If you removed the decorations and artificial plants and cleaned them thoroughly it is not a good idea to clean out the filter at the same time. This will remove too much of the bacteria and cause stress to the fish. If you have not cleaned the decorations and rocks go ahead and clean the filter but do not change all the filter material at once. Rinse any new filter material in clean water before placing in the tank. Make sure the tubing to the filter is clean and replace any that is clogged.
You can now replace the water you removed while siphoning with water that is the same temperature as that in the tank and has been treated to remove chlorine and chloramines. A 15% water change is necessary and remember that you should not just top up the water as it evaporates but remove at least 15% of the water on a regular basis. This is to prevent the buildup of nitrates and heavy metals. A good way to top up the tank it to use the siphon and allow water to flow slowly into the tank until it is filled. Do not overfill as there needs to be a space between the water surface and the hood to allow gas exchange.
Perform aquarium cleaning regularly to avoid the neccessity of having to do a major clean which can be stressful for your fish. Clean the glass every week, do a partial water change at least every two weeks and clean the gravle at the same time. The filter should be cleaned monthly and the decorations as soon as they start to look dirty or begin to accumulate algae.
Tags: aquarium cleaning, Aquariums, removing algae
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.