How often to clean a tank?

Question

I have a 1.5 gallon tank with a male Betta in it, and it has a filter, and an air pump. I have some small stones that are on the bottom. In the instructions it said to change the filter cartridge once every two weeks. Is this enough to keep the tank clean? If its not, how often should I do a water change?

Answer 1

Get a gravel cleaner and every time you change the filter, clean the gravel. That will get out any extra food that may settle to the bottom also it will clean out any fish waste that settles there. The gravel cleaner I speak of is like a siphon so part of the water will be removed. Then just fill the tank back up. I never took more than half my water out.

Answer 2

You should clean (scrape) the sides, vacuum the gravel, and do change about 25% of the water evey week.

As far as the filter cartridge, unless it uses activated charcoal (like black rocks) inside, all you really need to do is rinse the filter pads in a container of tank water (you should do this every week as well). Don't use tap water because the chlorine will kill beneficial bacteria that live on the pads. You can reuse most pads until they start to fall apart. Of course the company that makes them will tell you to change them more often, because you'll buy more. If there's carbon inside, you should remove it after a month (unless you're trying to absorb medication or contaminents in the water, there's not much reason for using charcoal on a regular basis - it doesn't remove much else that a water change won't).

Answer 3

With a tank that small, you will need to do your water changes once a week, ammonia can peak quickly in the smaller tanks. The filters usually aren't exceptional in the smaller tanks, either, so just keep an eye on your water parameters with a test kit.

I have a 2 gallon with an african dwarf frog, and I have to change 100% of his water every week, the filter system is so poor in mine it is virtually non existent. I'm not sure exactly which one you have, though, yours may be leaps and bounds above mine. ;)

If you ever do decide to get another tank for him, you can usually get the 3 or 5 gallon ones for under 25 dollars, and the filter setup is a lot better.

Oh, and your filter can probably be rinsed out to prolong the life of it, but make sure you use cold water if it is carbon. I rinse mine in dechlorinated water, same as I would put in the tank.

Good luck with your tank, hope this helps!

=]

Answer 4

If you only have one fish, you don't have to replace the filter every two weeks. You could take it out and rinse it off and it would probably still look like a new filter. The water also won't get all cloudy since you have a filter, so you could probably go three weeks to a month without changing it.

Answer 5

WTH nobodys helping 75-100 gallon per goldfish every 6 hours if u ask me and 2 filter and an air pump if you dont have enough money 50 gallon per fish and no fish can live in that not even a betta bettas need 5 gallons filter and a heater and a light

Answer 6

25% water changes and vacuuming weekly are needed in every tank! Your tank accumulates waste at the bottom and even with the best filter you still have to do your water changes and vacuuming!

Answer 7

its really easy to do :) every two weeks you can clean your filter cartridges , and after the next 2 weeks do a 25 % water change while vacuuming the gravel or stones you have so not to disturb the beneficial bacteria in your aquarium by doing both at once.

All the best and enjoy your hobby :D

Answer 8

Change all of the water weekly. Even with a filter. Your betta will thank you for it and live a very long time.

Answer 9

Yes that is enough time, every two weeks is perfect. In about two weeks time the tank starts growing a bit dirty, but it isn`t disgusting. Its the perfect time to clean it.

Answer 10

if the fish is not over-fed and you keep algae from growing... you should never need to drain a well planned aquarium.

Growing plants, scavenger fish and proper maintenance allows a tank to go for many years without anything other than feeding the fish and replacing evaporated water.

In the case of a single-fish "bowl"..... whenever the rock looks bad its time to clean it out.