In this article, we will discuss how to clean a fish tank? If you have recently bought a fish aquarium to your home and are wondering as to how to clean it, then you have come to the right place. Cleaning a fish tank is as important as cleaning your house. To keep your fish happy and healthy it is necessary to maintain and clean their home periodically. Here, we will show you as how you can easily clean a fish tank. Follow the steps accordingly to get positive result.
Steps to Clean a Fish Tank
1.) Buy a Water Changer to Clean a Fish Tank
First and foremost thing you need to clean a fish tank include buying a water changer. There are many water changers available in the market. You can go for Python water changer or Aqueon water changer or any other of your choice. There are plenty to choose from.
2.) Directions to Use Water Changer to Clean a Fish Tank
To do this task, you will be using one end of the water changer to hook up to the faucet and the other end is used as a suction/siphon cleaner. Now, start-up the water changer and start immersing the siphon end into the gravel. Make sure you do this slowly as it will create a mess very quickly. Simply dip the suction in the gravel in an upright direction. Continue moving it up and down in different spots in the gravel.
3.) Pay Attention to the Tank Bottom
Tank bottom is where you will find 90% of the waste products. This is what hampers the condition of water and health of your fish. As all the waste products tend to get accumulate at the bottom of tank which makes it most important to clean. This is the most common reason that fish die on beginners. They are not aware that they need to clean that gravel as it’s flooded with waste and debris. So, remember cleaning the bottom of a fish tank is the 90% of the task. So make sure you do it right.
4.) Clean the Glass and Decor
While you are cleaning the bottom of the tank, you also need to wipe down the inside of the glass. For this, you can either use a clean rag or a paper towel. Avoid using any cleaning chemicals such as soap to clean the glass. Such chemical cleaners can harm your fish badly. If you have a plecostomus, it is recommended to leave one side of the glass un-cleaned as you need to keep some algae for the plecostomus to feed on. You should also wipe down the outer part of the fish tank. Also, make sure that you rinse off any decor items by simply running water over them after removing them from the fish tank.
5.) Remove Water While Cleaning
While using water changer, you will notice that the water level is also going down. This is because; when you are cleaning fish tank, you are also removing the water from it.
6.) Remove Only Half Water
Adding a lot of new water to the tank will put pressure on the fish. Never remove more than 70% water from a fish tank at one time.
7.) Add Fresh Water to Fish Tank
After you are done with cleaning and removing water from the fish tank turn the switch on where your water changer is hooked up to your faucet. Now, start adding water to your aquarium. Make sure that the temperature is similar to room temperature in case you have tropical fish.
8.) Add Water Conditioner to your Fish Tank
If you are living in an area where you get “city water” then you will have to add water conditioner to your fish tank. Water conditioner helps the fresh incoming water safe for your fish. Such conditioner contains additives like chlorine which helps protect fish from the stress caused due to change of water. To know how much amount of conditioner you need to put, you can refer to the back of your packet of conditioner. You need to add conditioner while you are filling the tank with new water.
