How to properly clean your aquarium

Cleaning an aquarium is often the subject of controversy among fish breeders. Opinions on this issue diverge to diametrically opposite ones: some believe that the aquarium should be self-cleaning with the help of some species of nurse fish, others are sure that it is necessary not only to clean the aquarium regularly by hand, but also to change the water every time.

How often should the aquarium be cleaned

In the first two months after the plants are planted and stocked in the aquarium fish, it is better not to touch the aquarium. During this period, the aquarium space turns into a special microbacterial environment suitable for fish and plants to live in it. All this time, you just need to remove dead leaves and other parts of plants from the water and replenish the volume of water that decreases as a result of natural evaporation.

The medium sized aquarium is then cleaned once a week. If the volume of the aquarium exceeds 200 liters, then cleaning twice a month is sufficient. For small aquariums with a volume of up to 30 liters, this period is once every 3-4 days.

How to properly clean your aquarium

Regular cleaning and cleaning of the aquarium starts with cleaning decorative elements and plant maintenance. Algae and seagrass scans through and removes any dead or damaged plant parts. If the need arises, you need to fill up the soil. Then they take out all the decorative elements and rinse them well with running water, removing dirt and plaque.

After that comes the turn of the walls of the glass house. They need to be cleaned of green plaque using a special scraper sponge with a long handle.

Then the bottom of the container is cleaned. Most of all dirt accumulates there - this is also the remains food, and waste products of the inhabitants of the aquarium, and particles of algae. For greater convenience, soil cleaning is performed using a special hose with a narrow tip attached to it. Inside, the soil is cleaned with a special funnel with a conical aluminum tube. Simultaneously with cleaning, water is also saturated with oxygen and useful microelements.

Having finished cleaning, you need to renew the water in the aquarium For this, it is not necessary to completely change the entire volume of water. Drain about 20% of the water and add new water.

For high-quality cleaning, they must pay attention to the filtration system, which is now equipped with most roomy aquariums. The device is pulled out and disassembled in order to gain access to special layers of foam rubber. They must be thoroughly washed with running water. To get to all the curves, it is convenient to use an old toothbrush. Do not use any special cleaning agents for cleaning. It will be difficult to completely wash them, and after starting the device, chemical residues can get into the aquarium and harm the fish.

To a certain extent, you can keep your aquarium clean with the help of some fish. We are talking about cleaning fish that feed on plaque on the walls of the aquarium and algae. These fish include mollies, guppies, pecilia, ancistrus, or armored catfish.

Changing the water in the aquarium

To carry out the process of replacing water, you need to stock up on a special siphon, you can buy it at a pet store. If it is not possible to purchase a siphon, then an ordinary PVC tube is also suitable, one of the ends of which is wrapped in gauze.

Place a bucket next to the aquarium so that it is below the level of the bottom of the aquarium. The end with gauze is dipped into the water, and air is drawn in from the other end until the water flows. Then this end is dipped into a bucket. While the water is pouring from the aquarium into the container, the second end is used to remove dirt from the soil and the walls of the vessel.

After the required volume of water has been drained, a fresh portion is poured into the aquarium. Do not fill the aquarium with tap water, there are too many harmful impurities in it. It is necessary to let the liquid settle for a day so that all possible impurities fall out in the form of a precipitate, and the dissolved gases evaporate.

You should not completely change the water unless absolutely necessary. This is justified only in case of mass death of the inhabitants of the aquarium or with strong water bloom. Then all the water is drained, the aquarium itself is disinfected and started again.