How to Clean a Salt Water Fish Tank

Salt water aquariums can be beautiful additions to your home or office. However, they do require some careful maintenance if the fish are going to live and thrive in their captive environment. Cleaning your salt water fish tank correctly is important to the health and safety of your fish. Failing to do some basic cleaning tasks on a regular basis could cause you to lose some of your valuable pets to disease.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Algae brush
• Siphon hose
• Bucket
• Dechlorinating drops
• One-step salt preparation
• Water testing strips

1. Wipe down the glass on your fish tank every day. Do not use chemicals, but simply wipe the inside and the outside of the salt water fish tank. You can use an algae brush on the inside of the tank.

2. Take out any food that the fish have not eaten every day. This will save you from water quality problems down the road.

3. Clean the substrate every week using a siphon hose. Consider replacing all or a portion of the substrate each month.

4. Change 10 percent of the salt water every other week. Use the siphon hose to remove the water into a bucket. This will also remove some of the waste in the tank.

5. Prepare the new salt water by adding a one-step salt mix. Be sure to use dechlorinated water. Use your water testing strips to test the salinity of the water. You need it to be close to the salinity of the water in the tank itself.

6. Add the new water slowly. This gives the fish a chance to adjust to the slight chemical changes. It also keeps the new water from stirring up any debris.

7. Clean all salt buildup and calcium deposits every other week. Check the filter and change it if needed every other week as well. Do not do water changes and filter changes in the same week.

Tips & Warnings

• You do not need to remove your fish from the water when you clean the aquarium. This will cause them unnecessary stress, so it is best avoided.
• Avoid changing much more than 10 percent of the water at a time. This can cause chemical changes that could kill your fish. Remember, the chemical balance of a salt water aquarium is much more delicate than the balance in a fresh water fish tank.

Resources

• Salt Water Aquarium Problem Solver
• Salt Water Aquarium Maintenance