Cleaning the aquarium at the lowest cost at home

How often do we hear: “I love fish”, “I want to get fish, it’s so reassuring.” And how many times our children ask us to put an aquarium at home with these colorful, bewitching creatures! But no one usually thinks that cleaning the aquarium is also ahead, and this activity is definitely not for the lazy.

You can not particularly bother yourself, but order a cleaning at home. But there are not always means for this - the aquarium itself, and even more so the fish, is an expensive pleasure. In fact, cleaning the aquarium seems difficult only at first glance, and having examined this process in parts, you can see that everything is not so complicated, even sometimes exciting. In our review, you will learn how to clean an aquarium at home without even having to remove the fish from it.

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When just bought

To begin with, we will analyze the situation when you just purchased an aquarium - you need to know how to wash the aquarium immediately after the store (they just didn’t wash it there, so you can’t run pets there).

You don’t have much time-consuming work, you just need to follow this algorithm:

1. Before washing a new, only purchased tank, let it stand for a while so that all odors that are removed disappear for several hours.
2. Then wash the aquarium with warm water and a little soda.
3. Let it dry well. Then fill only half the capacity of the infused water.
4. Put at the bottom of all the scenery, algae, interior, leave for two to three days.
5. After this, add the required amount of water, install all the necessary devices - a filter, a cooler (if necessary) and so on.
6. Only now put fish there.

Important! Remember that you need to pour water either filtered or settled, because there is chlorine in the running water, which is added to remove harmful bacteria. It is also recommended not to wash the aquarium for a month and a half after settling the pets, to establish an internal balanced climate.

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Regular care

Now a few words about how to take care of the tank with fish so that it is not cleaned so often, namely once a week. You can safely do this twice a week, so as not to wonder how to clean an aquarium with fish, when there is such a lack of time and effort, if:

• You will leave a little space between the water and the aquarium lid - then the air will circulate correctly, helping to preserve the freshness of the water;
• you’ll start to make the water temperature no higher than room temperature, even cool a little, because warm water can also become polluted faster (and it’s good for the fish to be cool)
• you won’t overfeed your pets, because the excess food is deposited at the bottom and also stains water faster;
• after each cleaning, thoroughly wash, clean the tools;
• you will not light the aquarium with too much, as bright lighting contributes to the flowering of water;
• buy a few fish-cleaners, for example: guppies, swordsmen, molinesia or pecilia - this will help keep the aquarium clean longer, plus these fish are pretty cute.

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Aquarium Cleaning Instructions

How to clean the aquarium at home yourself, correctly, and then do it with enviable regularity so that the process does not take a lot of time, plus so as not to remove the fish? At first glance, there are too many “how's”, but! Nothing is impossible for a person with intelligence. So, to make your beloved waterfowl feel good, you need to perform basic simple steps, cleaning sector by sector in each individual part of the tank.

Important! Ideally, waterfowl should be caught, placed in a separate container with that dirty water, so as not to scare them with the cleaning process. But these methods, described below, can be used with fish in the aquarium, although they will still experience stress.  

Wall cleaning

According to the many years of experience of “fish farmers”, we can safely say that the first to clean the glass. Dirt settles to the bottom, which you clean after the walls of the tank.

What is most convenient for washing aquarium glasses - these are specialized scrapers that are designed specifically for this purpose:

1. Carefully walk around the tank, remove all grown algae that interfere with the review.
2. Use normal blades to remove dirt from the corners.
3. Try to clean everything, do not leave any imperfections, otherwise - the next time you wash, you will find that the dirt is not so easy to wash.

Important! Move the scraper from top to bottom, very smoothly. Then the dirt will settle to the bottom, and you can easily remove it when cleaning this area of ​​the aquarium.

Bottom cleaning

You need to take a previously purchased siphon - a special device for pumping garbage from the bottom. How to clean the soil in the aquarium with a siphon correctly is not difficult to understand, and so too. When buying and installing a tank, sellers in the store will certainly tell you and show you. Do it yourself once and then it will be very easy.

Begin cleaning the bottom of the device, gradually deepening a little. Proceed gently and carefully so as not to agitate the dirt.

Important! As a rule, along with pollution, water is also siphoned. Therefore, make sure that you do not take more than half of all the liquid - to maintain the microclimate in fish, this is important. Then, after cleaning, add exactly the same amount of fresh, settled water as you removed.

Filter cleaning

Rinse the filters, and the so-called sponges inside, it is best with the water that you siphoned. Use the one that came out last - it has less dirt and debris:

1. Disassemble the filter, focusing on the instructions for the equipment.
2. Rinse all parts thoroughly.
3. Reassemble and reinstall.

Now it remains only to add water, which you either filtered out or previously defended for plus or minus six days.

Important! Your pets do not have enough vitamin that they would consume, being in a natural environment. Therefore, add, if not at every cleaning, at least through one, special vitamins and minerals for fish. Do it just with a flood of new water.

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Why clean the aquarium?

1. In order to remove waste from pets, from food and from other species of animals, if it is there.
2. To maintain the health and quality of life of the inhabitants.
3. To reduce the risk of infection in the tank.

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Total cleaning

It happens that your fish suddenly begin to die, which is very undesirable. This means that a strong infection has started up in the aquarium, and it is necessary to apply capital measures and wash the container, pour out the water completely and replace it with a new one.

How to wash an aquarium for fish, if such a nuisance occurs, and how to use suitable tools and means:

1. To begin, move all the fish and other inhabitants to another container with infused water.
2. Carefully check that infected people are not present with healthy fish. You can distinguish them, because you know what a healthy individual looks like. Already sick without regret, remove, for example, flushing them in the toilet.
3. Then drain all the water and fill the usual, flowing, to the brim, adding a fair amount of chlorine-containing product.
4. Hold it this way night and morning, removing all bleach water with a sponge.
5. In especially polluted places, work with a toothbrush, clean all the interior details.
6. Wash the pebbles in a chlorine solution - wear gloves.
7. Rinse thoroughly with all that was washed with bleach.
8. Be sure to replace the sand and algae with new ones.
9. Rub the walls and bottom of the aquarium with non-scratching materials.
10. Rinse with running water and let the tank dry in a ventilated place.
11. Submerge the pebbles, the new sand and algae, the decor, pour the new standing water.
12. Place the fish and other animals inside again, checking again for diseased individuals.

Important! You should always have prepared water, especially for such cases. Forewarned is forearmed.

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We clean the aquarium correctly - useful tips:

1. To avoid force majeure, plan your cleaning in advance.
2. If there is no settled water and there is nothing to filter, then skip the procedure and do it later.
3. When siphoning the bottom, do not go deeper where the roots of large plants are - vitamins and minerals useful for residents accumulate there, and also plants do not like to be moved and disturbed once again.

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Stock footage

Now you are convinced that cleaning the aquarium at home is not too time-consuming and difficult, especially if the whole process is properly organized. Follow the tips above and taking care of the fish will always be pleasant and quick for you.