How to Clean Fish Tank Gravel

A clean tank ensures optimum health for your fish, and provides them with a safe environment in which to swim and grow. One of the most important parts of cleaning out a fish tank is the cleaning of the gravel. Because food and waste tends to sink to the bottom of the tank, it becomes trapped beneath the gravel. Proper cleaning of your tank's gravel is essential to the health of your fish, and should be done approximately every two weeks.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A container for holding your fish during the cleaning process
• Fish net
• Plastic gravel cleaner tool with a hose attached
• Bleach
• Large bucket

How to Clean Fish Tank Gravel

1. Before beginning the cleaning process, you will need to remove any fish from your tank. Prepare a container to hold your fish by removing some of the water from your main tank and placing into a bucket or other container. Using a fish net, gently remove your fish from their current tank, and place them into the temporary holding container.

2. After draining approximately half of the water from your tank, shake the plastic gravel cleaner up and down in the tank water to create the suction needed to pull the water through the hose into a bucket.

3. Using the hose attached to the gravel cleaner, work your way around the tank, sucking up small amounts of gravel into the cleaner. This enables debris to be sucked through the hose and into the bucket, while allowing the gravel to fall back into place at the bottom of the tank. Shaking the gravel cleaner up and down vigorously in the water will stir the debris and loosen any waste caught between the rocks of your tank.

4. Once the majority of solid debris has been siphoned into the bucket, examine your gravel for a build up of algae. If algae growth is significant, soak some of the gravel and any larger rocks kept inside the tank in a bleach solution. The bleach solution should be one-part bleach to nine-parts water. Soaps and detergents should be avoided, as they can leave a residue that can be toxic to your fish.

5. Rinse the gravel and other items extremely well, and return them to your fish tank. If a noticeable amount of debris remains, you may want to consider repeating the cleaning process or cleaning your gravel more frequently.

Tips & Warnings

• Draining half of the water from your tank before attempting to clean the gravel will make the process easier.
• Do not place your fish into a container that is filled with new water. The shock could kill them! Water should be removed from their current home and placed into a suitable holding container.
• Soaps and detergents are difficult to remove after use, and may be toxic to your fish.