No matter what species are lives inside your aquariums, the Spanish dancer fish, Betta fish, golden fish, guppy, etc; the cleanness of the fish tank must be the number one priority. Fishes are highly intelligent creatures; your pet fish remember you, and fish point of view underwater is as good as our view above the surface. They couldn’t live in dirty environment especially if their body structural isn’t equipped for dirty habitat. Plus, variety of disease would arise caused by unhealthy environmental.
I’m pretty sure, that is not what you want it to be. However, as a good owner, you should commit to keep your fish in perfect state of health and habitat. That is why, today’s article we would discuss 2 easy ways to clean your fish tanks. Although labeled as “easy ways”, I guarantee you that these procedures was the proper basic guidelines for every fish owner to clean the tank. We would show you step to step, and all the materials you need to provide during the cleaning time. At some point you would realize that clean fish tank is not as hard as we thought before! So, without further do, here are 7 easy ways to clean your fish tanks!
1. Prepare All the Materials do You Need
First thing first, you need to get all the cleaning materials that you need for the cleaning procedure. Check everything on your list was complete and nothing is missed. Make sure you bring all the tools, and choose a right place to clean the tank; which is you could easily get connection to the water. Also, don’t forget to bring water conditioner, that is one of the most important material you would use.
- Prepare the same amount of clean water to replace the old one or the water conditioner as the medium to chlorinated the tap water. For the glasses, you could use algae scraper from the inside of tank. The type of algae scraps are straightedge, scrubby pad, or you could combine the two of it. You need about a five US gal (approximate about nine-teens liters) of bucket to apply the procedure.
- You need a vacuum. Most people would use a simple siphon-type gravel which the one that didn’t operate by battery. Furthermore, you need filters medias, such as carbon packets, sponges, cartridges, and etc, in time of filter’s changing. A vinegar-based or aquarium-safe glass cleaner, four US gals of water (could be adjust) and 1/4 cup of bleach, razor blade from plastic or metal (this could be optional based on the tank’s material itself).
2. Clean The Glass with Algae Pad
Start to scrub the glass of aquarium from all the sticky algae inside the tank. If you meet with some difficult areas that cannot be scrub with ordinary algae pad, use the razor blade or another sharp tools to remove all the scrape away from the tank.
- Make sure you wear gloves to apply this procedure. Some of the people do allergic on some ornaments inside the tank. It is better if you wear plastic long gloves (shoulders-length). These gloves were purposely designed for aquarium equipment. Avoid use the scrubber or sponge you used for your kitchen sink, because it already contained some chemical substances of the detergent or other cleaning chemicals which could effect the tank. Algae pad is the perfect tools, because it reduces the amount of strong chemical into the tank.
3. Change the Water
The first step you need to take is determine how much water you needed to change. Wise advice is to use the bio-load of the tank to decided the water’s proportions and the frequency of changing. The standard of water’s replacement is about twenty-five to fifty percent each week. In case, you want to reduce the amount of phosphate, and nitrate you need frequent water replacement. But, you could trick it by replace the water about fifty percent or more, and the procedure would less often.
4. Clean All the Decorations and Gravel
Make sure you clean and wipe all the decorations and gravels inside the tank. You could use algae pad or soft tool such toothbrush as the siphon. Do not ever use soap or other cleaning detergent, it could harm your beloved fishes. For the gravel, you could use vacuum to suck all debris, food leftover and other dirty materials inside the tank.
- You should clean about twenty-five to thirty percent of the gravel per month.
- To handle difficult decoration, take the particular decoration and put it inside the mixture of water and 1/4 cup of bleach approximate about fifteen minutes. The last step is rinse the decoration with the chlorine water conditioner.
- Placing otocinclus, rubber nose, and flying fox inside the tank would help to reduce algae growth excessively and uncontrollably. It is very recommended if you had a large size of aquarium.
5. Pour Out the Fresh Water
Replace the water that you took out of the aquarium and pour out the new one. Adjust the water temperature balance with the aquarium; fish was lived adjusted with their natural habitat temperature. Therefor, checking the temperature inside the tank is crucial for the living of your fishes. However, you could use infrared thermometer to verify the temperature – it’s the best way to do it.
Remember, avoid the overfilling the water’s tank, always give some empty space in the tank. Furthermore, choose the conditioner which contained ammonia detoxifier chemical to remove toxins, chlorine, and metals – do note that this procedure is a must.
6. Monitor the Water
You should monitor the water; wait about few hours as the cloudiness of water vanish, and only shown the clean sparkling water. There are some water clearing agents products out there, but mostly is unnecessary. But, still it’s all up to you.
7. Clean the Filter and Exterior
The last step of 7 easy ways to clean your fish tanks is clean the filter and exterior. Remember to clean the filter at least once a month. Use siphon and rinse it with the tank water. Make sure that every two to six weeks to remove chemical medias such as Chemi-Pure, carbon, and GFO. Furthermore, as the last touch, wipe the outside body of aquarium from the glasses, tank top, hood, and light. For the outside glass, you could use ordinary glass cleaner that sold freely, but please do make sure that the cleaner didn’t enter inside or the water. Here is a trick: use white vinegar to remove mineral deposits!