Fishtank cleaning?

Question

i won't lie--i'm a total n00b when it comes to fishtanks, but i figured i'd try anyway. my friend just got one herself, and after being mezmerized by her fish i decided to get my own.

i have a 10gallon tank with 3 fish + a small plant + gravel + a filter, and i've just set it up. everything seems to be working fine, but i'm not sure about cleaning it.

(a) what's a filter's purpose if i still need to clean it?
(b) what does the little tube / syring thing do?
(c) how often should i give it a full cleaning?
(d) do i need to change / replace the water?

any other random fishtank matenence info would also be appreciated.

Answer 1

Wow I never saw so much info thats wrong in variuous statements. Ihave been keeping tropical fish and breeding them for years. Please pay attention to the following and disregard some of the nonsense... 3/4 of the tank... and where do you think the dirt goes...

(a) what's a filter's purpose if i still need to clean it?
The obvious purpose of the filter is to filter the water. It will clean things that are floating in the water, but please e aware it will not get everyting and a good quantity of dirt will fall to the bottom and be hidden in the sand, gravel and rock. When you clean the filter you throw away either the carbon or the pad, but never both, rotate them on montly basis or more if it is really dirty, but there is no reason it should be REALLY dirty. The bacteria that is in the pads, maintain a healthy environment for your fish, so removing both and doing a full clean is detremental not helpful.


(b) what does the little tube / syring thing do?

Tube / syringe? - Do not exactly know what your talking about but it can be the air hose, the filters suction tubes... But along those lines, they make a tube that sucks the dirt from the gravel and sand and strains the dirt out into the catch and releases the sand and gravel back into the tank very useful.

(c) how often should i give it a full cleaning?
Unless you are really lax - you should never give it a full cleaning, maintain the cleaning with the filter, suction tubes and sponge to clean any algae that may have grown on the glass. The reason you do not do a full cleaning is that bacteria that is in the water helps to maintain your fish and their health, you cannot remove all of it at one time, or you will get all those diseases and more that were spoken of in the other post.

(d) do i need to change / replace the water?
Water, again if done right, needs no changing. And if you are going to change some, never more than 20-25 percent, again the bacteria is very important.

A touch of salt every so often is good for the water and be sure to understand the PH levels needed for different kind of fish. The most hardy and easiest to maintain are goldfish... who can live in clean to filthy water without much trouble - amazing.

Feel free to ask away... as this is a topic I am very attached to.

Answer 2

Good tank setup.

a. The filter's purpose is convert the ammonia to nitrate and nitrite, keep the water safe for fish. Just clean the filter once a week with the water from the tank. It will keep the good bacterias which live in the filter stay alive. The bacterias function is to help converting the ammonia to nitrate and nitrite.
b.?? Where is the little tube position?
c. and d. Don't do full cleaning. Just replace 30% of the tank water with the tap water every biweekly.

I hope my answer would be helpful.

Answer 3

A plastic scouring pad works well for cleaning algae. Ammonia accumulates in the water from waste. Therefore it is nec. to do a periodic water change. Every 2 weeks or so. Changing 20-25% is usually enough. Use a good quality filter that contains carbon(charcoal) and you will have to do less maint. Buy a gravel sweeper (basically a plastic tube w/ a hose attached to it) to clean the gravel. Do not suck up all the "gunk" as it contains good bact. that helps break down waste. It is necessary to change water more freq. when setting up a new tank as there is no beneficial bact. Do not overfeed! This also causes ammonia buildup. Watch for parasites like "Ick" (looks like sugar on the fish) cotton mouth (self explanatory) and other disease. You can probably find on-line or buy a book. Water temp and low stress are key to avoiding such things. Find out the temp your fish like and try to maintain. Ask when you buy them. For instance goldfish like a cooler temp. probably around 70.(not sure) 76-78 is a good average for most tropicals. Always put non-aggressive w/ nonaggressives or aggressive w/ aggressive. And finally, ENJOY!

Answer 4

a) the filter cleans everything out of the water...but where do you think all that dirt goes? THAT'S why you have to clean it. a filter only strains dirt and muck from the water, it doesn't actually get rid of it.
b) the tube sucks the water into the filter so it can be strained and cleaned.
c) pretty much whenever it looks dirty. usually twice a month.
d) yeah need to, but only replace about 3/4 of the water. there is beneficial bacteria in the water that is good fro your fish. change it about once every two months.

Answer 5

You never do a full water change, just 25% every month.