How Often Should You Clean Your Fish Tank?
Cleaning your fish tank regularly is essential to keeping your fish healthy, your water clean and fresh, and your aquarium a peaceful and happy habitat.
But - how often should you really clean it? Is weekly cleaning going to disrupt the harmony of the ecosystem and upset your fins? Or if you leave it too long will you have to replace all of the water completely?
Here is the AllPetSolutions advice to make cleaning out your fish tank a simple, straightforward task.
Fish Tank Cleaning Essentials
First, let's make sure you have all the equipment you're going to need:
- A bucket or large bowl
- Gravel in aquarium cleaner or a gravel vacuum
- Decholrinator
- Any water treatments you need
- Replacement aquarium filter media when showing wear and tear
Just like cleaning your home, if you've got everything you need to hand, it becomes a whole lot easier!
Weekly Fish Tank Cleaning
If you have a quick refresh every week, or even twice a week, those full cleans will be much faster - and you can avoid any nasty gunk build-up that isn't good news for anyone.
All you'll need to do is:
- Give the gravel a vacuum - this removes any waste and old food.
- Take out around 20% of the water, and replace it with fresh water.
- Make sure to treat tap water with a dechlorinator and any other treatments you need, and let it reach room temperature - adding it slowly to the tank will avoid any sudden heat drops.
Monthly Aquarium Cleaning
As you've kept the gravel in aquarium pretty clean every week, this is a much easier job. Do everything you'd typically do, but also:
- Scrub the inside of the glass (an algae scrubber is best for this job).
- Vacuum any ornaments or toys.
- Clean out the filter, and check the aquarium filter media to make sure it gets switched when it becomes worn or torn.
That's it! If you keep on top of the weekly or bi-weekly clean, you'll avoid any serious deep cleans or problems associated with excess waste, and your filters and fish will thank you for it.
