I have a 10 gallon tank with 5 fishes inside along with 2 fake and real plants with stones on the bttm?

Question

my question is how often do i clean my water? it seems theres slowly becoming more and more build up of flakes and other dirty stuff. i have 5 little fishes in my 10 gallon tank and a filter what should i do to keep a tank good enuff so my fishes wont die?and when do i clean the water?

my question is how often do i clean my water? it seems theres slowly becoming more and more build up of flakes and other dirty stuff. i have 5 little fishes in my 10 gallon tank and a filter what should i do to keep a tank good enuff so my fishes wont die?and when do i clean the water? I als have a light with my tank when shuld it be turned on and does it really be bad for the tank?

ignore the 1st part please thank you

Answer 1

I never clean my entire tank. I use a "vacuum" to clean the bottom of the tank and replace the water that was taken out during the process. The "vacuum" is big enough to suck up dirt and feces from the rocks and not suck up all the water. If you have a good charcoal filter, this should suffice for a long time. I have kept one of my 55 gallon tanks this way for over 20 years. My fish are happy and healthy...but they do die of "old age" at times. I keep my pH regulated and at times add a "peat" type additive that makes the water brown and wonderful for the fish. They LOVE it. You can use these in a ten gallon tank, but use a smaller one. They do come in different sizes.

Also, I put my light on for a few hours at night. Don't set your tank near sunny windows, either...the algae build up will explode with too much light. You could also get a bottom feeding fish to help out with the food left over.

Answer 2

Clean your water once per week. This should include taking out 25% of the water and vacuuming the gravel with a syphon hose into a bucket.

Leave the fish in. No need to stress them out by moving them.

Clean out the filter once per month, or more if you find it gets clogged up. Clean it in de-chlorinated water only or you will kill all your good bacteria.

Don' use any chemicals, any additives, except basic water conditioner - it will only complicate matters. All fish need is clean water and a good diet for a long and healthy life.

If you neglect to do water changes the tank will gradually get worse and worse and it will be that much harder to clean. A little bit of work often saves a lot of aggrevation later.

And last, don't overfeed! Your fish do not need to be fed until they are stuffed to the gills every day! Feed lightly, just what they'll eat in a minute or two. If they don't eat it all, take it out of the tank with a syphon or net, and feed less next time. Overfeeding is #1 cause for a filthy tank besides neglect.

Oh, and for lights, you only need them on when you are home to look at the fish, since your plants are fake. The fish can see during regular daylight without it. By only keeping your lights on a few hours per day you'll slow algae growth big time.

Answer 3

If it's a new tank you should be doing 25% water changes at least once a week. This includes using a siphon to "vacuum" the waste and debris off of the top of your gravel. This is necessary for the health of the fish.

You should also remove all uneaten food from the bottom of the tank after each feeding. This is less necessary if you have bottom feeders, such as shrimp, catfish or plecos in your tank, and once your tank has gone through the nitrogen cycle, you can do less frequent water changes, like once a month or so, especially if you have few fish or live plants.

When you set up a tank, you should try to create a miniature ecosystem. The better of a job you do of creating a self-sustaining system (with plants and balanced amounts and types of fish) the less maintenance you have to do.

Always try to match the temperature of the water you add to the water that's in the tank and make sure you use a water conditioner and add the new water slowly - don't just dump it all in at once. Small changes more often are always better than bigger changes less often.

Answer 4

Well first off the 1" rule is a crock. It's so innacurate and full of exceptions thats it's pretty much useless. And even when it is right, it would apply to a filtered tank. Even then it doesn't take into account what sort of filter. A Wet/Dry sump will let you keep FAR more fish than say just an Undergravel filter. Anyway - you need a filter. You dont need an expensive one for a small tank like that, a sponge filter powered by an air pump will work, or one of the little power filters, even an old school undergravel filter is OK. Your fish are only surving in that tank because they are such hardy species. Get a small filter in there, and then you can think about a couple more small fish and or shrimps. Ian

Answer 5

Do you have a pump with a filter in the tank? This will help to keep it clean and also if you have a bottom feeder they help too. Bottom feeders are cat fish or other of the same type. Your tank can be cleaned about every two weeks or every week depending on how fast it gets dirty. Just put the fish in a bowl of fresh water that's been sitting overnight or use a water pH balancer, it's quicker. Then empty the water carefully til it's about two inches from the top of the gravel. Clean the sides of the tank with paper towel and clean the gravel a little at a time by rinsing it in a strainer until it's clean. DO NOT USE ANY TYPE OF CLEANER as it will kill the fish.
Then put everything back in and fill it with clean water, put the pH balancer in following the directions and wait about 30 mins. for it to stabilize then put the fish back in carefully. That should last a few weeks and do it all over again. Of course having a bottom feeder or two will keep it clean for a while. Have fun!!!!

Answer 6

HI, you don't say what type of fish you have but even 5 tiny fish in a 10 gallon tank is a potential ticking toxic time-bomb waiting to explode with or without filter. The situation is worse if the fish are going to grow huge such as Goldfish. You need to siphon your gravel & do partial treated water changes each week to have any chance of staying on top of the situation but to make it easier for yourself & your fish I recommend a large upgrade very soon-disregard the tank upgrade if you only have Neons or similar but do the cleaning. The link below tells you all about tank maintenance, click 'Cleaning your tank' at the bottom left of the page for specific info about gravel siphoning.

Answer 7

You need probably the best invention ever for aquarium keeping, the gravel siphon. It's fairly cheap (around $10-15) and available at any pet store. Use this siphon to clean the gravel as you remove about 25% of the water. Replace that water with fresh, dehlorinated water of a very similar temperature. Do this once a week and it will really help your tank will stay quite clean and healthy.

MM

Answer 8

what kind of fish are they?
little fish usually become big fish.
the bigger the bioload, the more problems you will eventually have.

you need to invest in a gravel vac. its a hard plastic tube that is connected to a longer, smaller soft plastic tube. no more than $5 at walmart.
you need to sift through the gravel while doing a partial water change. the flakes shoudlnt be piling up.
i would recommend a 30-40% water change with gravel vac. next day, 30-40% partial water change and gravle vac. continue until there is no more flake build-up.
when the flake build-up is gone, do a 30% partial water change twice a week.