Keeping Your Aquarium Clean
Maintaining their tank at the same level when it was first setup is the main issue for owners. They have it up, but oh dear, there are issues arising that they just didn’t expect!
Dirty Water.
Tired of dirty water? So are your fish.
If you want your tank to be nearly completely self cleaning you should try a power filter. It filters using chemicals that get rid of dirt, odor, discoloration and even general impurities. If you can put up with changing the filter every three to four weeks then you should be very happy. The good news is that the filters are normally disposible so there’s no hard cleaning work involved.
Algae.
Algae is the blight of many tanks and our eyes are always drawn to it away from the fish.
The easiest, most practical, and quickest solution is simple. Get hold of a Plecostomus. He will keep your tank clean of algae, his nickname is ‘algae eater’, but he is no great looker. Plus, this ugly algae eater has a wonderful personality!
You will have to scrape it away manually if you don’t have the help of an ‘algae eater’. There are numerous tools you can use, and they vary by cost. Bear in mind that algae thrives in sunny conditions! If you have a shaded tank then any algae problems are going to be considerably less than if it were in uthe sun.
Strong Scents.
Change your filter more regularly to ensure that this doesn’t happen, because it can hurt your fish tank, and kill your fish if it goes untreated. They simply can’t live in those conditions.
Unclear Water.
Overfeeding is the usual cause of this. Do not feed them any more than 3 times a day and no more than they can eat in 3 to 5 minutes. This should get rid of the problem. If not then try bottled or distilled water. Most grocery stores sell it at around 60 cents a gallon.
Change The Water
At least every two weeks if not every week, only about 25% of the water has to be removed, and most people use a siphon. Essentially, you put one end of the tube in the tank, the other end in your mouth and you suck. Once the water is flowing run it into a bucket and drain some from the tank. Then just put some fresh water back in the tank. Once a month, you’re going to want to clean your aquarium tank – part of the experience many people hate.
Scrub the inside of the aquarium glass gently with a sponge, this will remove anything that is stuck on there. Some people use a scraper too, but this will scratch acrylic aquariums.
To clean the decorations soak them in hot salt water and scrub them with a sponge not forgetting to rinse them afterwards. Do not, and I repeat, do not use any soap at all. The residue will kill your fish very quickly.
Gravel can be cleaned of detritus by using the very popular gravel pump. Gravel vacuums come in various sizes for different size tanks and should always be used according to instructions.
When You Refill Your Tank.
Make sure you refill your tank when changing the water with water at the same temperature. Get the water temperature right and using the kitchen sink and a garden hose attachment go from tank to tank (if you have more than one) and keep everyone happy. But remember that tap water wasn’t made for fish keeping. A better option than tap water is often heating a 5 – 10 gallon bucket of distilled water!
John A Thomson is a freshwater aquarium maintenance expert. For more information on freshwater aquarium maintenance visit www.freshwateraquariumsecretsonline.com.
