By How to clean an aquarium? – A complete guide !
If you want the fish to be healthy in the aquarium, then it is important that you clean the fish tank on a regular basis such that it is in an optimal condition.This would perhaps need routine cleaning and maintenance such that the eco system in aquarium tank can be maintained in a right way. On the contrary, if the aquarium is not maintained properly, then it can indeed be harmful for your fish.
So, to make your life easy, it is recommended that you opt for Aquarium cleaning services in Ghaziabad, Noida, greater Noida , Gurgaon, Faridabad , Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Dehradun, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad.
One such organization that you should think of hiring is Safaiwale as they have been into industry for over a decade. Further, they are have the right equipment and crew members to get the job done for you. So, in this blog, we would talk everything about how you can clean an aquarium. So, without wasting any more time, let us have a look.
What are the things that needs to be cleaned in an aquarium?
In order to clean the aquarium, there are three things that you preferably need to keep in mind. They are:-
1- Nitrates concentration needs to be lowered
The nitrogen cycle is considered to be a process in which first bacteria is converted to nitrite and further the nitrite is converted to nitrate. You should be aware of the fact that both nitrite and ammonia are quite toxic to fish and thus it is important to convert such harmful compounds into nitrate.
Further, nitrates tend to be less harmful to fishes and you can easily deal with them with regular water changes.
So, before you put any fish into the tank, make sure that it is properly cycled. There are different approaches that you can use to cycle your tank.
One of the best way to do is by adding artificial ammonia into the tank such that bacteria colony build up which further breaks down nitrates and ammonia.
2-To remove particulate and dissolved organic compound
Organic matter are segmented into particulate organic matter and dissolved organic matter.
If any organic material can easily pass through 0.2 0 1.0 um filters, then it is known as dissolved organic matter. On the other hand, if it doesn’t pass through, then it is known as particulate organic matter.
Organic matter houses any waste which occurs as a natural by-product of having fish which are fed regularly in the tank.
For instance, ammonia is segmented by colonies of bacteria and in the similar way organic matters and food wastes are broken down in the tank.
Organic matter can be used by plants that are present in fresh water tanks. Further, you can control the rest through regular cleaning and water changes.
3-Mineral replenish
If you keep fish in water tank without the required minerals ( Either low or high), then it can cause osmotic stress and finally death.
Often it is seen that the fish keepers use RO water that is obtained through reverse osmosis process. In this way, the impurities that are present in tab water is removed. But, in this process, the essential minerals that might be needed by your fish is removed as well.
Hence, in order to deal with this, a product needs to be used such that essential minerals are added back into the fish tank.
What is the maintenance cycle of a fish tank?
In the paragraph below, we would be covering the daily and weekly maintenance that needs to be done to ensure that the tank is perhaps in a healthy condition.
Let us have a look:-
Daily maintenance of tank
Daily maintenance of fish tank will only take about few minutes but at the end you will have a healthy tank. Here are the things that you need to cover:-
1-Feeding of the fish should be done twice in a day. Further, remove any left over food that the fish did not eat after a span of five minutes. The reason is that the food can break down after the interval of five minutes and in the process water quality can be affected.
2-Daily check the fish that is present in your tank. Look out if they are behaving normally and perhaps they are free from any kind of disease and injuries.
3-Specific gravity and water temperature should be checked daily and based upon that the changes can be easily and quickly adjusted.
Weekly maintenance of tank
Here are the things you need to cover in weekly maintenance of tank:-
1-Water checks such as pH, nitrite , nitrate , salinity and ammonia levels should be performed. You can perhaps get them tested at your local fish store or you can either purchase a home testing kit. These kits are easy to use. They are basically color coded paper that assist you in water checks.
2-All the equipment such as lights, filters etc. should be checked on a weekly basis. This will ensure that everything is working in the right manner and the rest of the things can be performed during the fish tank cleaning.
How regularly the fish tank should be cleaned?
The time frame of cleaning the fish tank boils down to the number of fishes that you are having as well as the size of the aquarium.So, about 10 -20% water should be changed in the span of 2-3 weeks.
Just in case, you have a saltwater tank, then you should remember of change 10% of water on a weekly basis for the first year. Later, you can switch to the guideline of freshwater that we have mentioned above.
Also, you should keep in mind that the more the number of fishes that you have, then you would have to change the water on a lot more regular basis. The same condition applies even if you have smaller tanks.
For the initial few months, the water conditions of the aquarium should be monitored on a regular basis.
How to clean the fish tank?
Cleaning the fish tank is segmented is segmented into five steps. They are:-
Step 1 -Preparation
In order to clean the fish tank, you need access to a number of supplies such as large bucket, new filter media, siphon gravel vacuum, algae scraper, water testing kits, used clean cloth and prepared water.Most of the fish tanks are quite heavy and thus you need to take assistance of siphon through which water present in the tank can be removed. Further, bucket can be used to put in water back into the tank.
Another thing that you need to do is perhaps remove any large ornaments or decorations. Additionally, all the electrical elements such as filter, heater or pumps needs to be unplugged.
You also need to make sure that you follow this step slowly such that the debris that might be present at the bottom of the tank doesn’t stir up.
Lastly, if you have any artificial plants, then try to remove them just in case you want to clean them. On the contrary, live plants should never be removed as the root growth can get disturbed.
Step 2-Water Removal
About 20% of the water that is present in the fish tank needs to be removed in the span of 2-3 weeks. Also, siphon gravel vacuum can be used for cleaning the gravel and perhaps water needs to be removed.
Siphon needs to be used to suck up little gravel at a time. Further, by the assistance of tube waste will get sucked up alongside some water and then the gravel would again fall back into the right place.
In order to minimize the siphoning process, thump can be used such that the tube end is blocked. You should also keep in mind that gravel doesn’t reach out into the tube.
There are some siphons that comes with in-built regulator through which the water flow is controlled. Moreover, you will also get some options that come alongside with longer hoses such that you can use the water directly from the sink.
Through this step water is removed and perhaps gravel is cleaned by removing the waste.
Step 3-Algae Removal
One of the best ways to clean the glass of the fish tank is through magnetic algae cleaner.
In magnetic algae cleaner, two magnets are presents having a soft felt covering. In this, one magnet is placed inside the aquarium while the other is placed on the outside of aquarium.
Further, outer magnet can be dragged across the aquarium glass followed by the inner magnet. Further, remove most of the algae gently.
In a scenario, if you have acrylic aquarium, then a cleaner should be selected through which the surface is not scratched.
On the contrary, if you want to clean any large decoration items, then a bucket full of siphoned out water needs to be used by the help of soft-bristled toothbrush.
You should make sure that various cleaning products or soap should not be used as it can be quite deadly for the fish.
You might also use clean-up crew that would potentially help to remove the algae that might be present in the tank.
Step 4-Filter Cleaning
Depending on the quality and type of the filter that you use, you would have to clean it accordingly.
One of the most common type of filter that is used in the fish tank is sponge filter. In order to clean it, you would have to remove it and perhaps rinse it in the water that is taken from the aquarium.
You should also keep in mind not to use the filter under tap water as beneficial bacteria can get removed which is necessary for the fish tank.
Additionally, any other filter that acts as a mechanical filter should be rinsed properly and perhaps put back immediately such that bacteria colonies are not lost.
Besides this, any other part of the filter should be cleaned using filter brush.
Step 5-Water Replacement
In the last step, water replacement needs to be done in the aquarium. The type of water that you would use would be dependent if you are having a freshwater tank or saltwater tank.
Before cleaning the tank, leave out the tap water for a span of 24 hours such that the chlorine present in the water is evaporated.
Further, water conditioner needs to be used in order to remove chlorine, heavy metals and toxins that can indeed be harmful for the fish. Also, if the water is prepared in advance, then water can be reached to room temperature quite easily.
You just have to make sure that the salinity and temperature of the water is the same as it was before. In this way, sudden changes happening in the water tank would be avoided.
Another couple of things you need to check is the water parameters as well as that the water is not cloudy at all.
Lastly, the tank exterior can be cleaned using an aquarium approved glass cleaner and the cloth.
Hire us now for aquarium cleaning services
Aquarium cleaning should be done on a regular basis and just in case you want to save your time and efforts, then it is important to hire a reputed organization that can help you out with Aquarium cleaning services in Ghaziabad, Noida, greater Noida , Gurgaon, Faridabad , Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Dehradun, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad.
Safaiwale exactly does the same and they have great experience under their belt. They strive in satisfying their customers with their top class service.
So, it is recommended that you contact them right away through call or email to book your aquarium cleaning service.
