Keeping your fish tank clean is very important as this will affect the health of your fish. Routine cleaning is the best solution as it will reduce the negative impact on your fish. It will also make it easier to keep up with cleaning the tank.
Clean The Inside Glass
The best place to start with cleaning your fish tank will be the inside glass. You will need to use an algae scraper to do this and there are a lot of them on the market. If you are going to use an algae pad, you need to get them from the pet store because those from a regular store could have soap or chemical residues.
If you have hard to remove residue on the glass, you should use a razor blade to scrape it off. You need to be careful when doing this and ensure that you do not cur yourself. If you have an acrylic fish tank, you need to use a plastic razor blade as normal ones will scratch the tank.
Clean The Decorations
Once the inside glass is clean, you should remove the decorations to clean them. You should not use any soap or detergents when doing this as traces could be left which transfer to your fish. A good scrub with your algae scraper will generally be enough to clean them.
If you have live plants in your tank, you need to be careful when cleaning them. Do not remove them from the tank as you will disturb their root systems. You should try wiping them down in the tank to clean them.
Clean The Aquarium Gravel
To clean the gravel in your tank, you will need to use a water siphon. There are several types available, but they all work in a similar manner. You will have to go to the pet store to get these vacuums.
When you are cleaning the gravel, you will need to thoroughly vacuum the entire surface. The large debris will easily be removed with the siphon, but some of the smaller particles could get through the filter. This will return to the water and is one of the reasons why you need to clean the water in your tank as well.
Cleaning The Filter
Once you have cleaned your tank, you should wait around 2 weeks before you clean the filter. The reason for this is that the cleaning disturbed the helpful bacteria in the tank. This bacteria still lives in the filter and will be reintroduced to the tank. Cleaning your filter at the same time could cause a spike in ammonia which can cause problems.
If you have a filter with carbon or ion-exchange resins, you need to replace it every 3 weeks. When cleaning or replacing the filter, you need to clean the filter tubing as well. A filter brush can be used to get to the small crevices.
There are a number of steps that you need to take when cleaning your tank. Removing algae from the inside and the decorations is important and the filter should be cleaned later. You should also perform a water change regularly to maintain the cleanliness of the tank.
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