HOW TO KEEP AN AQUARIUM CLEAN?

Buying and decorating a new aquarium is a very exciting activity. However, once you have completed the job, you will have to keep the aquarium clean. After all, you do not want all your work to go to waste when the interior walls of the aquarium and the decoration are covered in algae and dirt after a few months or even weeks.

Keeping the aquarium clean is not only a matter of aesthetics, but also of the well-being and health of all its inhabitants. Remember that an aquarium is a closed ecosystem, so any problems that occur in it may progress and worsen over time if they are not corrected in time.

Cleaning an aquarium is really not that difficult a job and with a little time each day for preventative measures, you can keep your aquarium looking great.

Try these 10 tips to get your aquarium looking its best.

Although keeping your aquarium clean is important, you should avoid cleaning it drastically. Remember that not only fish live in the aquarium but also colonies of beneficial bacteria, without which the biological equilibrium in the aquarium will never be established.

So where does the line between careful and preventative cleaning of an aquarium lie?

Here are a few tips you can use on a weekly or monthly basis to keep your aquarium clean and avoid drastic measures:

1. Once a week, monitor the water parameters in the aquarium with a test kit. After testing, write down the test results in a notebook so that you can compare them after one week. If you notice any significant differences, it is a clear sign that there are problems which need to be corrected as quickly as possible before they get out of hand.
2. Change 10-25% of the water every fortnight. Some aquarists carry out small weekly water changes with larger changes once a month. You can save time and nerves by carrying out a small water change every fortnight.
3. Carry out ground treatment. One of the main purposes of water changes is to remove accumulated toxins and waste from the water. Solid waste tends to accumulate on the surface of the ground, so when you change the water, siphon the ground to remove all accumulated debris.
4. For those with a very large aquarium, in order to make water changes easier, you can consider running a water line directly to the aquarium. Instructions on how to do this can be found on the Internet.
5. Use a special magnetic scrubber to clean algae from the inside of the glass.
6. Plant live plants in the aquarium as an easy way to increase the oxygen level in the water, which has a positive effect on the health of the fish.
7. Decorations overgrown with algae significantly lose their decorative appearance. Instead of spending a lot of time cleaning them by hand, immerse them in a 10% bleach solution for 15 minutes beforehand - this makes it much easier to clean them afterwards. Afterwards, rinse the decoration thoroughly under running water.
8. Replace carbon filter elements every 3-4 weeks. The carbon environment of such filters helps to neutralise dissolved toxins in the water. The ability of the carbon to absorb toxins decreases significantly after a few weeks, so the filter element must be replaced.
9. Many aquariums on the outside of the glass over time forms a white lime scale, which can be cleaned as a razor blade, and using for this purpose special chemicals, before the application of which should be made sure that they are safe for the aquarium.
10. Always disinfect the net after using it for preventive care for one reason or another. This will prevent the transfer of bacteria and other pathogens later if the aquarium has been infected.

These simple tips only really work if they are actually applied. It is far better to carry out preventive care of the aquarium more frequently than to spend a whole day cleaning it thoroughly. Try to make a weekly aquarium maintenance schedule so you know exactly which tasks you will perform and when.

Found an error or a dead link?

Select the problematic fragment with your mouse and press CTRL+ENTER.
In the window that appears, describe the problem and send to the Administration of the resource.