Keep your fish healthy and happy by cleaning the aquarium and adding fresh water once a week. It's not a difficult job, because if you do it regularly, you don't give the algae and other weeds time to form. This article explains how to clean fresh and salt water aquariums.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Freshwater Aquarium
Step 1. Make sure you have everything you need
Check the list and verify that you have all the necessary tools and the right workplace ready.
- Water in the necessary quantity.
- A seaweed sponge to clean the inside glass.
- A bucket of at least 10 l, dedicated only for cleaning the aquarium.
- A siphon aspirator (NOT a battery operated gadget!).
- Filter media (cartridges, sponges, carbon packets and so on…), if you need to replace the filters.
- An aquarium-safe glass cleaner, or a vinegar-based solution.
- 10% bleach solution in a separate container (optional).
- Metal or plastic razor blade (optional) - be careful with acrylic aquariums, they scratch easily.
- Also, if your fish are picky about food, be sure to put in a substance to clean the water while using the siphon. A week sucks in half of the aquarium water, and then the other half 2-3 weeks later. It will help the fish adapt to a cleaner environment.
Step 2. Before removing the water, clean the inside glass of the aquarium with a sponge to remove algae residue
If you're dealing with very stubborn dirt, use a razor blade to scrape it off the glass. If the aquarium is acrylic, use a plastic blade.
- Use rubber gloves to do this job. Make sure they haven't been treated with chemicals.
- Do not use a sponge for dishes or cooking, and / or one that has come into contact with chemicals. Buy a specific product for the aquarium and use it only for this purpose.
- This operation can also be done after removing 10-20% of the water.
Step 3. Decide how much water you need to change
If you clean the tank regularly and the fish are healthy, 10-20% should be sufficient. If you have a sick fish, it will be better to change more, between 25% and 50%.
Step 4. Remove the water
Turn on the siphon and direct the water into a container, possibly a 10-liter bucket (or larger, if necessary). It is best to buy a new bucket and use it alone to clean your aquarium; residues of soap or detergents could be harmful to fish. So avoid those that you also use for laundry or dishes.
There are aquarium siphons that can also be attached to a sink. If you have such a model, read the instructions carefully. These siphons also prevent splashing from the bucket. You can also adjust the water intake and temperature when refilling the tub
Step 5. Clean the gravel
Push the siphon towards the bottom of the aquarium. Dirt, excess food and other debris will get stuck in the vacuum. If you have small, delicate or weak fish you should put a safe filter, to avoid unintentionally sucking them (but make sure that they can pass the debris to be removed).
If you have a layer of sand, don't use the vacuum as if it were a shovel. Use only the siphon pump, not the plastic tube, holding it an inch below the surface to suck up residue without stirring the sand. You can use your fingers to move it around a bit to make sure there are no hidden animals, and to lift debris to vacuum
Step 6. Aquarium decorations also need to be cleaned
Algae are formed due to an excess of nutrients in the water. You can clean the decorations with a sponge or a new toothbrush inside the bucket you sucked in the water.
- If you have trouble cleaning them, soak them for 15 minutes in a 10% bleach solution. Then remove them and rinse them with boiling water until the bleach is completely gone, and let them dry in the open air.
- If the decorations are covered in algae, you may want to feed the fish less, or change the water more often.
- If you have a large aquarium, you may want to consider keeping a Hypostomus plecostomus, which prevents the formation of too many algae.
Step 7. Replace the water you removed with the clean and treated water at the aquarium temperature
Get a thermometer to check the aquarium temperature. Respecting the right temperature is imperative for the health of your fish! Remember that lukewarm water is too hot for most of them.
- If you use tap water, take a softener to get rid of heavy metals and other toxins your fish may not tolerate.
- If the nitrate level is too high, you can make a special change and replace up to 75% of the water (which is not usually recommended, because such pure water does not contain enough nutrients for the fish). You can also use bottled drinking water (without softener) because it is neutral in terms of both harmful and beneficial elements.
Step 8. Consider adding freshwater aquarium salt
Many fish (including Poecilia, Guppy, and Platy) live longer, healthier lives like this. Salting fresh water also helps prevent diseases such as ichthyophthiriasis (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis)
Step 9. Check the water
Wait a couple of hours until it is no longer cloudy and perfectly transparent. Even if there are special products to "lighten" the water, do not use them: if it remains cloudy there could be an underlying problem that this additive will not solve. Don't forget that your fish needs space between the surface of the water and the top of the aquarium so that there is enough oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange to breathe.
Step 10. Clean the outside, including the glass and top
Ammonia emissions from normal detergents could be harmful, so use only specific solutions for aquariums. If you prefer to make a solution yourself, you can use a vinegar-based one.
Step 11. Change the filter about once a month
Contrary to popular belief, the charcoal inside the filter can become harmful to your fish's health if it is not changed. There are not many beneficial bacteria inside the filter, most of it is found in the gravel, so changing it will not change the biological filtration in any way. The filter can be rinsed every week when you change the water if it is dirty. However, rinsing it is not the same as replacing it and it still needs to be changed every month.
Method 2 of 2: Saltwater Aquarium
Step 1. Prepare everything you need
Saltwater aquariums need a few more products, in addition to those used for freshwater ones:
- Water prepared in the necessary quantity.
- A seaweed sponge to clean the inside glass.
- A bucket of at least 10 l, dedicated only for cleaning the aquarium.
- A siphon aspirator (NOT a battery operated gadget!).
- Filter media (cartridges, sponges, carbon packets and so on…), if you need to replace the filters.
- An aquarium safe glass cleaner or vinegar based solution.
- Salt mix.
- Strips for pH control.
- A refractometer, a hygrometer and a salinity probe.
- A thermometer.
- A 10% bleach solution in a separate container.
Step 2. Clean the inside glass of the aquarium with a sponge to remove algae residue
If you have difficulty, use a razor blade or a plastic blade.
Step 3. Vacuum the water
Change about 10% of the water every 2 weeks. It should be enough to eliminate the nitrates. Turn on the pump and drain the water into a large bucket.
Step 4. Clean the gravel
Push the siphon towards the bottom of the aquarium. Dirt, excess food and other debris will get stuck in the vacuum. If you have small, delicate or weak fish you should put a safe filter to avoid accidentally vacuuming them (make sure it allows the debris to be removed, however). If you have a layer of sand, don't use the vacuum as if it were a shovel. Use only the siphon pump, not the plastic tube, holding it an inch below the surface to suck up residue without stirring the sand.
Step 5. Clean the decorations
You can brush them with a sponge or an unused toothbrush. You can also soak them in a 10% bleach solution for 15 minutes and then rinse them with boiling water. Let them air dry before returning them to the aquarium.
Step 6. Check for salt residues
When the water evaporates on the upper edge of the aquarium, salt deposits remain which you can remove with the sponge.
Step 7. Prepare the salt water and add it to the aquarium.
This is a bit more delicate process than that required for freshwater aquariums. You have to check the temperature, salinity and pH to make sure they are within tolerance limits of the fish. Start preparing the water the night before cleaning.
- Purchase water that is distilled or purified by reverse osmosis. You can find both in supermarkets or pet stores. Put the water in a plastic bucket that you only use for this purpose.
- Heat the water with a special tool that you can find in pet stores.
- Add the salt. You can find all kinds of them in aquarium shops, follow the instructions on the package respecting the proportions. It usually takes half a cup of salt for every 4 liters of water.
- Let the water "breathe" all night. Check the salinity in the morning. The ideal range is between 1021 and 1025. The temperature should be between 23 ° C and 28 ° C.
Step 8. Check the temperature every day
Saltwater fish live at a relatively constant temperature, so if you want them to stay healthy, you need to check the value every day.
Advice
- Letting the new water sit for a couple of hours will neutralize the chlorine in the tap water but will not be effective with chloramines, which are more harmful. Do your fish a favor and use a water softener. To check the chlorine level check the color of the gills, if they are bright red then it is still too high, because the chlorine burns them.
- The larger the aquarium, the less maintenance will be required, as the chemical changes in the water are slower.
- Get a suitable sized vacuum cleaner for your aquarium. If it is too small it will take you all day; if it is too big, you will remove too much water before the job is done.
- Try to get used to cleaning the aquarium without removing the fish. If you absolutely have to remove them, add products to the water to make the trauma less burdensome. This will help them recover lost or damaged flakes during removal. These products may be needed to quarantine new fish.
- Clean your vacuum cleaner with boiling water after each cleaning. This way you will kill any bacteria or diseases that were stuck in the aquarium at that time. Plus, it'll make you feel confident if you need to start vacuuming next time.
- If you have a motor filter, you need to remove it periodically and clean all moving parts and mechanisms from encrustations. Do not clean the bio-wheels.
- Do not use tap water to clean the filter, chlorine and chloramines can harm fish.
- There is no need to remove the fish from the aquarium during cleaning.
- If you buy a safe rubber hose for drinking water, water changes will be easier and you can do them near the window you ran the hose through. You can buy these tubes in DIY stores.
- You can put an algae killer along with the softener to make cleaning decorations and glass less tiring. It's also a great chance to add a liquid plant nutrient (fish safe of course).
- Do not use any soap as you will poison the fish.
Warnings
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Never put things in the aquarium that may contain soap residue.
These also include hands, pumps and nets.
- Always wash your hands thoroughly before and after putting them in the aquarium or touching the equipment. Hand sanitizers are fine too.
- If you haven't changed the water in a long time, start slowly. Change a small amount every week. Changes that are too fast or too large can have negative effects on the chemical balance of the aquarium and the fish could suffer a shock.
- Never put fish in a net as you will put unnecessary stress on it and disturb the scales. If necessary for any reason, add Stress Coat®, or equivalent, to the water immediately afterwards.
- If there is charcoal in the filter, replace it every two weeks. After that time the charcoal starts releasing toxins into the aquarium. To replace it, remove it from the filter and put on a new one. Do not throw the cartridge away!
