How often should you clean your aquarium tank?

Answer 1

Depending on fish population and tank size, a freshwater should be cleaned anywhere from every day to once a month. If you have a lightly stocked aquarium, monthly 25% waterchanges will be fine. If you are very overstocked, then you should do waterchanges weekly or more. If you have just the right stocking level for your tank, every 2-3 weeks will suffice. You may have to do it more often if your aquarium is overstocked or if you have very messy or larger fish. General stocking guide is 1 inch of TROPICAL fish for every gallon of water and 1 inch of COLDWATER fish for every 3 gallons. This is because coldwater fish get much larger than tropical fish so they need more room and they create more waste. The reason you should do a partial water changes even if you have a filter system is because your filter contains bacteria that change ammonia (fish waste by-products that are harmful for the fish) into nitrItes (ammonia by-products that are just as harmful to fish) and there is another bacteria that changes nitrItes into nitrAtes (nitrite by-product that is not as harmful to fish). These nitrAtes can be removed and diluted with a partial water change. Simply replacing water that has evaporated isn't enough as the water that evaporated is pure and these harmful chemicals cannot be dissolved into a gas form. When you do a water change, never replace the filter at the same time as this can remove some of the beneficial bacteria. Be sure to clean your gravel at least every 1-4 months so that your tank doesn't look like a mudslide hit it.

Answer 2

you should just clean a fish tank when you see it is growing algae or getting murky and dirty. dont forget though, when you clean out a fish tank you need to have some other tub or fish tank to put your fish's in other wise they will die!

Answer 3

it depends on the size of your fish tank, the smaller it is the more often you have to clean it out. Try to 'vacuum' the substrate every 3 days or so and do a water change whenever you have lost about 2cm of water from evaporation. you will also have to rinse the filter sponge occasionally under lukewarm water to remove some of the solid waste. if you have lots of live plants then you won't need to clean as much. I have a small 20litres which is heavily planted and i only clean it once a week.

Answer 4

4 maximum.

Aquarium cleaning needs another name, like aquarium kind-of cleaning. Too clean and you'll have problems. An aquarium should be cleaned by scraping the glass or using an algae tool to remove unsightly algae as often as needed. Caution is advised if you have an acrylic tank as it may scratch easily. Usually algae will not harm fish, but does show signs of a chemistry problem in the aquarium. A properly setup aquarium will only need water changed 10% of total once a week and 50% once a month. During the 50% water change you can use a siphon tool to gently remove organic matter buildup from the substrate. Many fish can adapt to local water conditions so don't use a lot of water adjusting chemicals like pH up or pH down. These will likely cause more problems then they are worth unless you know what you are doing. An exception to this is tap water conditioning chemicals that remove chlorine/chloramines and should be added carefully to tap water. Side affects can leave ammonia behind from the chemical breakdown of chloramines and the water should let stand 24 hours before adding to the tank. Aerating this water is helpful. Remember that stable is better than matching origin habitat parameters in almost all beginner and intermediate cases.

Items to keep away from an aquarium

• Ammonia based cleaners (Windex)
• Petroleum based cleaners (Pledge)
• Antibacterial anything (including hand soap on your hands)
• heavy metals (example: lead, iron that rusts, nickle..)
• soapy hands, lotion hands
• Baby wipes
• Items you wouldn't put in your mouth or swallow is a good rule of thumb. (once it goes in the tank then use it for the tank only. Don't put stuff in your mouth especially after it goes in the tank.)

Cleaners that are okay for aquarium parts before storage

• All of the chemicals mentioned here are not for general cleaning, but for take down or pre-setup cleaning. Standard water and aquarium use only cleaning materials should be used for removing algae and other fish waste.
• Bleach (10% to 2% or less solution, NOT FOR FISH OR ANY PART OF HABITAT, thoroughly rinse before use)
• Lime Juice (not for habitat, thoroughly rinse)
• Vinegar (not for habitat, thoroughly rinse)
• Clean Cloth
• scratch proof scrubbers with no chemicals
• anything that does not contain or leave behind the things listed to keep out of aquarium.
• when in doubt use room temperature water only.

*Do not clean your filters, glass, and ornaments at the same time as this may cause your biological filter to stop converting deadly nitrites (look up nitrogen cycle)

**Simply vacuum your gravel during monthly tank maintenance and try not to disturb it heavily.

***Fish rely on what we consider a dirty environment to survive. Take away that bacteria and all the grime and it would be like taking clothes away from you. Balance between aesthetically pleasing aquarium and what "dirt/grime" is good for your fish is what a beginner clean freak should be worried about.

Answer 5

Depends on if salt or fresh, size of tank, number of occupants, type of occupants and several other factors including filtration, tank placement, lighting, etc. A base good rule is 10% weekly to minimize stress and funkiness.

Answer 6

when the water starts to get murky, you should start to clean it out.

Answer 7

Your aquarium should always be cleaned at least every 2-3 weeks.

Answer 8

i would say 2 times a week or 3 matters how big your tank is

Answer 9

Depends on aquarium size, Bio-Load and filtration running. On average it is best to do one at least once a month just as a preventative..