How do I clean my aquarium? I am clueless!?

Question

My aquarium is dirty. I only have one goldfish on it. My three other fishes died :-(.... I have to clean it, but I have only a vague idea of how to do it.

Since my last fish died, I have been using Amquel + every other day on the aquarium, and it helped my last fish to be alive. But I think I need to change the water, right? How do I wash the rocks and the artificial plants? Do I use soap, or just water? And where do I put my fish while I clean my aquarium?

I have never done this... and I appreciate any help!

Thank you!

Answer 1

Good question :D
It's pretty easy, once you know how to do it.

You need to change some of the water every week (roughly).

Get a vacuum tube from the petstore. They look like: http://www.marinedepot.com/IMD%5C150%5CLE11554.jpg. You can create a vacuum (by sucking on the end till the water it halfway down the tube) and collect about 30% of the tank water into a fish bucket (by which I mean a CLEAN bucket that has never had cleaning products in it) and you can also vacuum the gravel (just put the end of it into the gravel and you'll see all the gunk get sucked up). Then you dump the water, and replace it with new water treated for chlorine - make sure it's the same temperature.

20-30% water change per week is recommended, but it can vary. For example, if your tank is big and you don't have a lot of fish or you have powerful filtration, you can do a 40-50% chanve every other week. If you have a lot of fish in a small tank with weak filtration, you should be doing more like 30% every 5 days or 50% every week. Buy a testing kit to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. Nitrite and ammonia and toxic and should ALWAYS be at 0. When nitrates get over 30-40 ppm, you need to do a change.

You never need to replace ALL the water, or remove the gravel or anything to clean it, so you should never have to move your fish. Sometimes your decorations might get gunky or you might get a bit of algae on the glass - you can usually just buy an aquarium sponge and wipe it off (while submerged). If need be, you can remove the dirty piece of decor and rinse it under hot water and scrub with a clean toothbrush. NEVER use soap.

Never replace the filter cartridge in your filter. You NEED the benificial bacteria that live in your filter to convert the ammonia (toxic) into nitrates (much less toxic). Only replace if they are falling apart. If they get gunky, just swish them in a bucket of old tank water.

You don't need to be using Amquel + every day. Just use some on the new water before you put it into your tank.


Edit: Do you have an actual tank with filter, or more like a bowl? Please know that goldfish need a minimum of 15 gallons of water per fish. If you have a bowl or small tank, look into upgrading. In the meantime, if you don't have a filter, you need to do more water changes because the ammonia builds up and does not get neutralized by bacteria. Get a clean turkey baster and suck up half the water (and any uneaten food or poop) every other day.

Someone suggested you get an aglae eating fish. Don't... they procude a lot of ammonia. I mean, if you have enough room for one, then by all means get one; but they won't help keep the aquarium clean, really.

Answer 2

Water is the only thing you should use to be on the safe side. Setting up: You will need a substrate (gravel), avoid the colored gravel. The colorant can come of and harm your fish. A good pet store can advise on the kind of gravel. I suggest pea gravel. Get a power filter the is sized for your tank. There are several kinds ranging from around 10-15 dollars. You will need a heater. Again Thai should be chosen based on then umber of gallons in you aquarium. A thermometer. This will help you keeps tabs on the correct temperature in the tank. You will need some decor (plants, rocks,etc.) to make it pretty. You do not have to spend a lot of money. Get basic equipment to start out until you learn a little bit more about what you are doing. Start with some peaceful community fish,like tetras. I could write a book here, but for the finer points go to the library and check out a book on aquariums. Th er are many good ones out there. Good luck

Answer 3

leave your fish in the tank
take out all of the plants...do not wash the rocks u will start a new cycle and kill your gold fish.
rinse the plants in warm water..NO SOAP,lol.
then remove UP to 50% of the water, depending on how yucky it is.I normally change about 30% of the water every week and a half or so.If you have a gravel cleaner,use that to clean the rocks,other wise,just stir them around and let loose all the yucky stuff.The filter will grab most of it while it is circulating in the water.
make sure the new water is the same temp as the water that is in the tank before you put it in.Also put something in the new water that will councel out the chlorine.I use aqua safe by tetra aqua.Most hobbist will tel u not too,but i think that if u r first starting out, this is a better idea for u.But use a product such as this in the new water before u add it to your tank.
After you put the new water in,stir it around abit.Then replace your plants.The filter/pump will pick of most of the yucky particals floating in the water and the rest will settle.Your water should look cleaner in a few hours.
If not, you made need to repeat the water change process.And you will need to repeat the process if the chemical you add affects your fish.So if you are in experienced with useing that sort of thing, you may want to keep an eye on him for a few hours and look for signs of distress.If he starts acting strange..Do a 50% water change ASAP.
I didnt want to go into exact detail on explaining the cleaning process, but you can look more information up online and possibly join a fish forum..they are very helpful.

Answer 4

Turn off the heater & filter.
I have a siphon hose I made using a round, clear plastic alcohol bottle and an old garden hose.
I put the hose into the top of the bottle & sealed it with silicone, let dry completely, then cut off the bottom of the bottle.
I put the bottle in the tank, close to the rocks, then put the hose in a bucket on the floor. I suck on the hose enough to start a stream.
I move the bottle up & down in the rocks & it sucks up the junk between the rocks. When the water level is low, you can clean the sides with a sponge or 3M pad.
I usually change 3/4 of the water each time.
Pour the old water down the toilet.
After you have cleaned the rocks, refill the tank, put in chlorine nuetralizer, let it set a while to heat properly. Then put your fish back in.

Answer 5

Take the fish out and put him in something that will hold him long enough to clean your tank..... NEVER USE SOAP!!!! Your fishy will die from the soap and since you only have one left out of three I'm sure you dont want that to happen!!! Use a sponge to clean the sides of the tank and rinse the rock with PLAIN water. Put the rocks back in and fill the tank up with water. Put the necessary chemicals in that are needed to balance the water and then out your fish back in!!!

Answer 6

first dont use soap. Im confused. If you had a goldfish and three other fish then i would assume you have a medium tank. Its not exactly easy to dump one ya know. If your fish is in a bowl thats not good. Dont keep goldfish in bowls and especially not with three other fish. If he is in a bowl just dump the water and fill it back up. Then use water conditioner.

In an aquarium buy a syphoning (sp?) tube. You'll need some buckets too or buy one that hooks up to your sink. Their much easier.

Answer 7

Never empty all your water out. For about 7 dollars they sell a siphon hose with a tube at one end. You get the water started and stick it in the gravel and suck up the waste and let it run into a pail,never take over half the water out. Never use soap. Replace the water as close to the same temp. as the tank is. Room temp. will be fine. I f you have town water with chlorine in it let it set in jugs for a few days and dissipate the chlorine. For more detailed info talk to the attendant at a good pet store. Not some clerk at wall mart or the like

Answer 8

Do water changes....take a big bucket, take out water and replace with clean water that has been conditioned with the liquid that takes out harsh chemicals (is that what the Amquel is?). Usually a 25% water change once a week or once every two weeks should help. Taking everything out and cleaning isn't always good because it can disturb the natural balance of the aquarium.

Also, try buying a catfish to eat the stuff off the rocks and buy an algae eater to eat the algae. (they are both cheap). This has helped me tremendously.

Answer 9

To wash the rocks, DO NOT USE SOAP. Just rinse them, the soap will poision the fish and kill them all. When you clean your aquarium put the fish in a mini fish bowl. Just rinse everything. And change the filters too. Again, DONT USE SOAP.

Answer 10

Do Not use soap!
Take fish out put into a pail of water
clean rocks,plants with hot water. change water (take half of water out of the tank and put new water in.
what size of tank do u have?