How do I clean My Aquarium???

Question

Ok so i went to wally world and bought a gravel pump...the directions are pretty broad tho.....do i remove the fish....do i take aut the plastic things?????HELP ME!!!!

Answer 1

you may want to take the fish out if theyre small or look like theyd get sucked up by it. take out the decorations if they are in the way. its supposed to be a siphon that sucks all the gunk from the bottom so remove anything in your way.

Answer 2

Change 25% of the water once a week and clean the filter media when you do so. You will need a few basic supplies to do this including a gravel vacuum, a mop bucket you use for nothing else, a thermometer and dechlorinator. There are lots of websites that give the few details you will need and that subject is well covered in any decent aquarium book, but basically you just siphon out the old water while cleaning the gravel and add back water that is of the same temperature (within 4-5 degrees) and has been dechlorinated. That's all there really is too it. Doing this one basic thing will almost guarantee success with your tank. it is the single most important thing to do and should be done on a regular basis. Well.... I guess feeding them is just as important, but you get the picture.

Answer 3

the beauty of the gravel vacuum is you don't stress your fish by chasing them with a net -- if you have little shrimp i suggest getting them out of the way before you vacuum though.

now the fun part --

1)take out all your decorations and dump them in a sink or somewhere where you can run hot water over them and get them out of your way while you are vacuuming.

2) wipe down the inside of your tank with paper towels

3)stick the big end in the tank and suck on the hose part until water starts coming down -- you just need the water to make it over the loop at the top and you don't need to fill the hose til you get a mouth full -- that would be kind of nasty. -- k now put the other end in a bucket. and let the water flow while you work the gravel with the big end. when about 1/4 of the water is out you are done for the week.

Answer 4

It's easy to clean your fish tank. You don't need to take out the fish. Just use the pump to get the debris out of the gravel. You need a bucket or big container for the water that suctions out of the tube. Take about 25% of the water out of the tank while using the gravel vaccuum. Just scrub off the decorations with a scrub brush and put them back in the tank.

Answer 5

No need to remove fish or anything else. Just vaccuum out any visible "dirt" and about 20-30% of the water volume weekly. Replace with room temperature tap water to which any water conditioner/dechlorinator has been added:

http://www.fishlore.com/Maintenance.htm

You can take out the "plastic things" and clean them off with a sponge & hot water (no soap!) to help keep any algae from growing on them, but this isn't necessary to do every week

Answer 6

you shouldn't have to take anything out but only do a third of the gravel at a time. if its a new tank i would wait a month minimum before you start cleaning so the bacteria levels get to where they need to be. fish stores usually offer a water test or you can buy the tests OTC and do it yourself.

Answer 7

I leave mine in, taking them in and out of the water will just cause them more stress. Usually they just swim the opposite direction of the gravel pump so you should be good. I even have ghost shrimp in mine and they've never been sucked up..they swim away.

Answer 8

Lots of bleach and other cleaners to get it really clean.. NOT..