Tips for cleaning an aquarium
While dogs and cats remain the most popular pets, fish are also very popular. But for an aquarium and healthy fish, regular maintenance is necessary. Is there an effective method for performing optimal cleaning? Editus.lu gives you the way!
Before cleaning
Fill cans or empty bottles with tap water, and leave them open for 48 hours before pouring them into the aquarium. This will eliminate chlorine, which is toxic to fish (it may include burning their gills).
To avoid this step, you can opt for a water conditioner that will remove the chlorine, but also heavy metals.
When cleaning
Before anything else, it is of course imperative to remove the fish from the aquarium. For this, take two landing nets, one large and one smaller. Thanks to the latter, you will be able to direct your fish to the largest. Have at your disposal a jar in which they will be deposited during the cleaning of the aquarium.
Once this is done, turn off the filter and the heater on your aquarium. You can then start siphoning it. For this, take a pipe connected to a pumping system: one end is immersed in the aquarium, the other is in an empty container. Empty the aquarium about a third, never in its entirety.
With a cloth or sponge, start cleaning your aquarium. To reach the less accessible corners, opt for cotton swabs.
To clean the walls of the aquarium, give yourself a blade squeegee. Its use will allow you to remove calcareous deposits and algae deposited on windows. You can then sponge, but without detergent, because it could kill your fish.
Then proceed to cleaning the filter. However, do so only if it is really dirty because it contains many bacteria necessary for the survival of the fish. To clean the filter, use only clear water.
Concerning the decorations present in your aquarium, rinse them under water. Optionally, you can use a toothbrush to remove pieces of algae hanging on it.
The water change
Once the cleaning is complete, proceed to the water renewal stage. Pour in the water (without chlorine then) after having first checked its temperature (because the fish hate the temperature variations).
Remember to perform this operation every 3 to 4 weeks. The water changed, you can then restart the filter and the heating. Last step: put your fish back in their "house".