The Best Way To Clean A Fish Tank

Improvement

oi-Anwesha

By Anwesha Barari

Wednesday, November 30, 2011, 16:32

You want to have an aquarium at home then you have to keep the fish tank clean. Fish cannot survive in dirty water and they will eventually die out due to infection if you neglect cleaning your aquarium. Most often we have a tendency to look at this cleaning process only from the cosmetic point of view; how it looks from outside. But the main point here is to give your aquatic pets a hygienic medium to live in.

Here are some easy tactics by which you can clean fish tank thoroughly and effectively.

Tips To Clean A Fish Tank:

• Get rid of this misconception that throwing out the stale water is an instant way of doing fish tank maintenance. In fact it might do more harm than good. Every time you throw out the water the good bacteria or self cleansing bacteria are washed out with it.

• You are replacing it with water that may have chlorine and chemicals more harmful than the dirty water. So you should try to keep the water clean instead of changing it every now and then.

• Firstly fish out the fish and keep them in a bucket of water and then you need to clean the fish tank algae which is such a bother. Scrub the green swabs out with algae pads. Some look like plastic cleaners and others like kitchen wipes.

• You need to remove all the gravel and stones from the fish tank to give it a thorough wash. It is the gravel that accumulates the maximum amount of dirt. The left over food and the potty of the fish gets stuck in them. Wash the gravel under running water while cleaning aquarium.

• Once you are done with the gravel, clean the pump, shells and any other decorative articles you have kept in your fish tank. You must never keep anything with harmful colours in the water as it may poison the fish.

• Your next step of fish tank maintenance is getting back to the tank. Now cleaning the algae is only a preliminary step. The tank is still full of loads of dirt. If possible dip the tank in a tub of warm water and then clean it.

• You must always use a mild disinfectant while cleaning the aquarium so that it gets sterilized while washing. Lather up and scrub the glass walls thoroughly. It is vital to clean the corners of the tank if it is an rectangular one.

• If sediments and algae have settled in white patches and corners of fish tank then scoop it out with a razor blade because it won't come off otherwise. You can use a gloss or glass shiner on the outside but not on the inside of the fish tank.

Use these cleaning tips to clean your fish tank at least once a month.