What are the step by step directions for cleaning my home aquarium?

Answer 1

Turn off the filter while cleaning, and NEVER use any kind of soap on tank surfaces or decorations.

I usually go in this order on my tanks.

1- clean inside glass with scraper.
2- remove any deco with excessive algae and scrub with toothbrush (dedicated for this purpose and used for nothing else) rince in clear water and reinstall.
3- while deco is out I vacuum the gravel, this serves to clean the gravel and removes 20% of the tank water to be replaced at the end.
4- disassemble filter and clean-especially the tubes (flexible tube brush) reassemble and replace filter media. I also have a sponge filter in the tank that is strictly for biological filtration I swish this one in the water I removed from the tank to remove any goo, this one never go's near tap water.
5- replace water with declorinated fresh water, and reinstall filter's and deco.
6-clean light fixtures and reinstall on tank.

That's it.

Good Luck.
E.

Answer 2

first you need a gravel vacuum, aquarium safe cleaning sponge/scrubber,a new 5 gallon bucket, and tube brushes.

what i usually do is.
1. shut off my filters
2. siphon some water into the bucket (about 1 gallon)
3. check my decor for algae if they need cleaning i wash them in the bucket.
4. clean the inside glass with the scrubber sponge.
5. clean filters, i take the inlet tubes off and give them a good scrubbing with the tube brush.(wouldn't believe the stuff that comes out sometimes) take the whole unit remove filter pads and scrub the in side with the sponge. put it back together and put back on the tank.
6. clean the gravel, take the gravel vacuum, start the siphon and put right into the gravel. move it side to side and you will see when all the junk is out. do this to the entire tank. be shure not to remove to much water. 20% i use a python that hooks up to my sink for this.
7. Refill the tank,be sure to treat the water with cholrimine/chlorine remover and try to make the water about the same temp.
8. put back any plants and decor. restart filters.
9. take aquarium safe wipes and clean the hoods lights and outside glass and it is done.

Answer 3

Mine is about 4 years old now. I have never completely emptied it. I NEVER put any chemicals in it. I do not have any gold fish as they are very dirty fish. I have an assortment of fish and a couple of sucker fish and a snail. They keep the glass clean. Once in awhile, I take my water sucker thing (don't know the real name of it, it's a big hose, tube thing) and you bob it up and down on the stones and it sucks out extra poop and stuff. I never go over 1/3 of my tank water. But I only do that about 1 time every 3 or 4 months. I let the water evaporate about an inch and refill with fresh water. This happens all the time. Other than that, I don't do anything and have a beautiful clear tank with fish that have babies all the time. Only feed once a day too. More than that makes your water dirty. ............. I started out doing all the "proper" things with chemicals and such, and all that did was kill all my fish all the time. I started doing what I'm doing, and my fish live and have babies. Hope this helps. About once a year, I get new plants too.

Answer 4

One thing not mentioned yet is that before cleaning, you need to unplug your tank heater (if you use one in your tank) and let it cool a few minutes. If it's plugged in and is exposed to air rather than water, there's a chance the glass portion of your heater could shatter (if this should ever happen, always unplug the heater before trying to retrieve any glass from the tank - water and electricity don't mix!).

While you're waiting for the heater to cool, scrape any algae from the glass, filters, and tank decorations.

Once the heater has cooled (about 10-15 minutes), unplug the filter.

Follow any of the others' directions from this point, but don't forget to plug the heater back in after refilling the tank!

Answer 5

do not ever use any soap or cleaning substances! it will harm the fish.
always dechlorinate the water.
once it is set up no need to completely clean it.
get a gravel vaccum and suck out 20% of your water once a week, while cleaning the gravel at the same time.
change the carbon in your filter whenever it gets clogged.
maybe get an algae scraper to clean the inside walls of your tank, they come on a stick, or one that is magnetic.
clean out the filter's parts once or twice a month.

Answer 6

The first thing you need is a gravel cleaner.You should never take apart your whole tank to clean it instead use the gravel cleaner to remove about 20% of your water about once a week and replace it with room temperature tap water you have treated to remove the chlorine.

Answer 7

Water quality, especially proper oxygenation, is the most important aspect of the aquarium when caring for tropical fish. However, there are many factors that can influence their health.
Instructions

* STEP 1: Use a home water-quality test kit to measure the temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen content, ammonia levels, nitrate levels and salinity of water. Adjust these properties as needed.
* STEP 2: Avoid adjusting water temperature abruptly. Tropical fish have narrow optimum temperature ranges and do not usually tolerate sudden changes in environment.
* STEP 3: Regulate an airflow rate of 2 liters per hour, per liter of water. Control airflow with an aerator.
* STEP 4: Provide a proper diet that has 30 to 36 percent protein, 10 percent fat and low amounts of carbohydrates. Be sure the fish food also contains required essential amino acids.
* STEP 5: Feed your fish appropriate amounts based on the amount and type of fish in the aquarium. A general formula is to feed 10g flake food to 50 adult tropical or freshwater fish per month, but check with experts.
* STEP 6: Avoid overfeeding, which results in poor water quality because of surplus food floating around in the tank.
* STEP 7: Store food in moisture-resistant containers and place in a cool, dry area.
* STEP 8: Keep food frozen for no longer than three months.
* STEP 9: Equip aquariums with proper lighting to avoid heat accumulation and excess algae growth. Use a light recommended for aquarium use. Use dimmer devices to avoid startling fish when turning on lights.
* STEP 10: Cover the aquarium to prevent contamination of water and to minimize temperature fluctuations.
* STEP 11: Change 20 percent of the water every 30 days.



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Answer 8

hey to get clean ur aquarium u should 1st take out ur fish in a small pot wt water.then just wash tat aquarium n put fresh water n reintroduce fish by taking out 4m pot