Cleaning your fish tank can be a daunting task. Everyone has their own opinion on how to best clean a fish tank. Below we’ve outlined our thoughts on the best way to do it – hopefully it helps you!
Why is it important to clean your fish tank?
A clean aquarium doesn’t only look great, but it also helps to preserve the health and happiness of your fish. This is because over time, nitrates and metabolites can build up, which can affect the appearance of your tank and the wellbeing of your pets. Although most fish tank owners purchase filters to help keep the water clean, even the very best versions on the market aren’t sufficient to keep your tank perfectly clean and healthy.
How often do you need to clean your fish tank?
It depends…
How often you need to clean your fish tank depends on a number of factors, such as:
- The size of your aquarium
- The number of fish in your aquarium
- The maturity / size of the fish in your aquarium
- The type of fish
- How good your filter system is
Ok, so that is a lot of factors to consider, but a general schedule could look as follows:
Daily
There shouldn’t be a need to conduct extensive cleaning work on a daily basis. In fact if there is, then your setup is likely poor. However, by stopping to check a couple of things on a daily basis you can help make sure your tank is in good condition. Take a couple of minutes, perhaps before of after feeding, to check that your fish are behaving normally and aren’t sluggish or otherwise lacking in energy. This is a great first indicator that something isn’t quite right and you may need to move up the time of your next water analysis or water change.
Weekly
Most tanks benefit from a partial water change on a weekly basis. This timing can be extended slightly if you have a larger and less inhabited tank. Similarly, if you have a small, busy tank you may need to change the water more often. In order to change the water simply remove approximately one quarter of the water and replace it with fresh treated water. It is best to turn off your filter and any other electrical equipment before you do so and they are designed to work when submerged and you are about to reduce the water level!
Use a thermometer to ensure that the water being added is the same temperature of your tank to avoid temperature shock for your fish. This will often be all you need to keep your tank healthy between your deep cleans.
This weekly water change is a good opportunity to take a closer look at the tank to ensure that there is no buildup of dirt or debris within the tank. If there is, you may want to use an aquarium vacuum to clean the gravel or other areas. This is a key process to ensure that poisonous nitrates do not build up in your tank.
Monthly
For established tanks, monthly is a good timeframe to test the water to ensure that pH, ammonia and nitrates levels and within the desired parameters. These readings should be relatively constant from month to month. If you’re finding that the pH and chemical levels begin to fluctuate you may wish to make this a weekly process so that you can keep a closer eye on the levels and adjust if necessary.
Your monthly fish tank clean is a good opportunity to check and change the filter pads / cartridges in your filter. Take the opportunity to clean the inside (and outside if necessary!) of the glass on your tank. Also remove any debris or algae that is building up on your ornaments. Avoid the temptation to deep clean everything as you’ll also be removing the good bacteria that has build up on these ornaments, and you risk throwing the aquarium out of balance / experiencing a temporary spike in ammonia.
Every 3-6 months
The above should be enough to make sure that your tank remains clean and healthy. However, it is worth taking the time every 3-6 months to closely examine the equipment in your tank during your cleaning process. Check the wiring, connections, seals and other components of your light, heater, filter and other electrical devices
So, what is the best way to clean your fish tank?
Above we’ve outlined the processes for ensuring that your fish tank remains clean and healthy. However, if your cleaning schedule lapses, or something unexpected happens, you may end up having to clean a rather dirty fish tank. So…
How to Properly Clean a Dirty Fish Tank
Any time that you “start again” with a fish tank you’ll lose all of the beneficial bacterial colonies and need to start your aquarium balancing from scratch. Good news though – it is usually possible to get even a very dirty fish tank back to normal without starting over. How? Well….
- Test the water quality in your aquarium. The most important components are nitrate levels, ammonia levels and water pH level. Note the levels for future reference.
- Turn off your filter along with any lights, heater and any other devices in your aquarium
- Remove any artificial plants on ornaments
- Clean the inside of the glass. A normal cloth can be used. There are also a number of algae scrapers available to buy. For very stubborn algae you may have to use a razor blade or equivalent. If you go this make sure that the item you use is appropriate for your tank (e.g. is your tank acrylic or glass?)
- Use a siphon to clean your gravel. This is particularly important to remove any debris and uneaten food which can rot, building up unhealthy levels of nitrates.
- Clean any of the plants and ornaments that are visibly dirty or have algae buildup. It is usually possible to do so with water only (avoid using any soaps which can be harmful to your fish). Any item which appears to be clean should be left as is (to avoid removing any good bacteria).
- Cut back any living plants which are overgrowing in your aquarium
- Change out a quarter of the water in the tank, as per partial water change discussed under weekly tasks above.
- If you didn’t have to fully scrub your artificial plants and ornaments you can also go ahead and change the filter media in your aquarium. If you did have to fully scrub them, wait a couple of weeks before changing your aquarium filter media. This is to avoid removing too many good bacteria at the same time.
- Return artificial plants and ornaments to your tank.
- Clean the outside of your tank along with the lid (if appropriate)
- Turn your filter and any other electrical equipment back on.
- Retest your water and make any adjustments if required.
- The last, and perhaps the most important step is to schedule regular testing and cleaning so that your tank remains clean and healthy for your fish!
Hopefully this gives you all of the information that you need in order clean your fish tank and ensure that your aquarium remains clean and healthy. Good luck..