How often should an aquarium be emptied & cleaned?

Question

I have a fantail goldfish in a small aquarium (1 gallon). I just got it yesterday, so I'm not worried about it yet.

The fish is NOT in a bowl, as someone stated, but in an aquarium with an aerator. I was also advised by a salesperson at the pet store that 1 gallon was adequate for 1 small fish but no more than that. I will, however, upgrade to a larger size as the fish grows or when I get more fish.

Answer 1

Some people never change the water at all if you have a good filter, but my experience is in salt water where you also have live rock to help filter and harbor the good bacteria too. Clean the sides of the glass as needed. You will need less if you keep it out of direct sunlight. Just be sure that you never change the water and clean the filter in the same day or else the loss of all the bacteria to break down the ammonias and nitrates will cause a spike of those in the water, and the water will become toxic and kill the fish. There is such a thing as having it too clean. Never change more than about 1/4 of the water at a time. The more fish in your take, the more they pee, the more often the water needs to be changed. There isn't an exact time period to go on. In you only have one fish, the water will become toxic a lot less often than if you have 3 in a one gallon container. I suggest getting an ammonia, a nitrogen, and a pH test kit and test about once a week. Change as needed.

Answer 2

Over cleaning the aquarium can be just as harmful as not cleaning it all... a good number is once a week if you don't have a water filter.

You should do a partial water change. There are bacteria that build up on the gravel that clean up most of the feces.... if you take out all the water or scrub the gravel, you can be harming these bacteria.

You can buy a syphon hose that will suck the feces from the bottom of the aquarium, leaving the helpfull bacteria alone.

When you add new water, make sure that you treat it. Tap water can have chlorine and other things that are harmful to fish. Try using the product in the yellow bottle.... you can get it at any petstore.

Good luck

Answer 3

If possible, do the fish a favor and get a bigger aquarium, at least a 5 gallon, otherwise you are abusing the fish. I'm sure you were not properly educated or you wouldn't have purchased a bowl. Goldfish get very large and the best way to keep the water clean is to use filtration. Use a 10 gallon tank. Don't even have to get a hood if you can't afford it. The fish will be so much happier and the tank will be so much easier to maintain. Feed the fish once a day, only what can be consumed in 3-5 minutes. Really important to keep the water clean. If the water smells, it is too dirty. Have been in business for 11 years and never sold a goldfish bowl. Please consider and sorry if I offended you.

Answer 4

Without filtration, expect to clean an aquarium with goldfish at least once or twice a week. With filtration, once a week is probably sufficient. The various toxins could easily rise to unsafe levels if an aquarium this small is cleaned less often.

A slightly larger aquarium (perhaps 2 gallons), even without filtration, could safely go a full week without cleaning (with filtration, a little longer).

In addition to removing toxins, a change of water also gives the goldfish fresh air, in the water, to breath. Since goldfish are indeed fish, they would probably appreciate that gesture.

A change to less messy fish would increase the time between cleanings.

Answer 5

In a tank that small you could literally change it daily without too much worry. The problem is you do that though might be the Nitrogen cycle peeking about every 12 to 24 hours, but again - if changed daily - no worries.

If you have a water testing kit I would test your water parameters after chaning the tank over the period of 7 days each day, and see what you Ammonia/Nitrites/pH are looking like. If you do not have a kit I would highly recommend getting the Freshwater Master Test Kit from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. You can find them on nearly any consumer products website like nextag.com

Good luck!

Answer 6

Once a week, pour the goldfish and half of the water in a bowl. Swirl the remainder of the water around the bowl to suspend most of the particles and pour it down the drain. Refill half of the bowl with water that has been standing for a day and pour the goldfish and old water back in. There may be some particle left in the bowl but they will settle back down. Them main problems from a dirty tank are over feeding. Always leave your goldfish a little hungry.
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Answer 7

A gold fish requires a much larger tank than a 1gal container. Minimum 30gal for these notorious waste producers if you want to keep this fish alive for any amount of time (they live for many years if cared for correctly, or several days if cared for poorly).

If kept in the 1gal do near 100% water changes daily. Your tank won't necessarily 'cycle' but with that volume & frequency of water changes it won't have to.

In a larger tank (30gal+), you'd normally do 30-40% weekly for a goldfish (10-25% weekly or bi-weekly for a less messy fish).

Answer 8

At least once a month. Make sure the water is room temp and don't drain all of it. Also make sure you get drops for the water to take out the chlorine.

Answer 9

I would not empty it but do weekly water changes or maybe twice a week

Answer 10

oooooo! i had a question sorta like this (well i got the answers for it) , they said to clean it once a week and your gonna need a wayyyy bigger tank, but you only have to clean it, i dont think you empty it every week, empty it like once a month though.....