How to Clean a Fish Aquarium
It's essential to clean your pet's habitat on a regular basis to maintain their optimal health, and fish are no exception. Cleaning an aquarium top to bottom should be done about once a month, with more frequent water changes only on a weekly basis.
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Things You'll Need
- Algae scraper
- Gravel vacuum
- Container for taking out water
- New filter cartridge
- Bucket to collect water in
- Aquarium salt
Instructions
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How to clean your aquarium
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1
Start by removing some of the water from the tank.
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2
Remove and rinse with warm water any statues or artificial plants you are using for decoration.
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3
Gently remove any algae growth that has accumulated on the sides of the tank with a special algae scraper designed for aquarium use.
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4
Using a gravel vacuum, clean out about 25% of the dirty water from the bottom of the tank. To use the vacuum, place one end in the tank all the way below the gravel level and one in a bucket on your floor below the surface of the water. To create suction, quickly move the vacuum up and down at a slanted angle. You will know the vacuum is working when dirty water starts to drain out into the bucket.
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5
Replace clean decorations.
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6
Collect water from your sink and combine with water conditioner made especially for aquariums. Typical dose is one drop per gallon of water. Add back into your aquarium until full.
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7
Unplug your filter and use a special aquarium brush to clean out any accumulated algae inside the chambers. Rinse out in your kitchen sink.
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8
Remove old filter and replace it with a new one.
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9
Put cleaned and reassembled filter back into the fish tank and plug back in.
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10
Add water cleaner, such as Stress-Zyme to water per dose recommended on bottle. This will help keep your filter running properly and will help keep the water clean.
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11
Add some aquarium salt to the cleaned tank to help gill function and prevent disease.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have an underwater heater it's a good idea to unplug it while cleaning out the tank and adding fresh water back into it. The sudden change in temperature can cause some of the less sturdy brands to shatter. Once the water reaches room temperature it's safe to plug it back in.
Be careful not to harm any of your fish during the cleaning process.
Never use soap to clean a fish tank or anything that goes into one.
