How and how to wash a home aquarium and is it possible to clean it without draining the water?

Every home aquarium, like any ecosystem, has its own biological balance. But such an ecosystem was created artificially, and therefore this balance must be maintained artificially, that is, by properly caring for the aquarium and its contents. How often does it need to be washed? How can you clean an aquarium yourself?

How often do you clean?

In general, any of our interventions is always stressful for all aquarium animals. Therefore, there is no need to carry out cleaning unless absolutely necessary. It is recommended to clean the aquarium at least 2 times a month, but everything is individual.

What does the frequency depend on? From several factors:

• on the volume of the aquarium;
• on the number and size of its inhabitants;
• on the number and size of plants;
• depending on the volume of feed added.

Dirt inevitably appears - as a result of the natural activity of living creatures and vegetation, the growth of algae, and the decomposition of food residues. The resulting compounds negatively affect the well-being of all aquarium residents, not to mention the sloppy appearance of the decorative home oasis.

You can determine that it’s time to clean the fish’s home by the following signs:

• the water turned a dull green color;
• fish behave less actively;
• a green coating visible to the naked eye has formed on the walls of the aquarium;
• The slightest movement of the aquarium inhabitants at the bottom of the aquarium leads to the rise of a dirty suspension.

But there is another important indicator for cleaning that needs to be followed, even when everything looks great on the outside. These are readings from a special tester that records the concentration of nitrates in water. If it exceeds the norm at the next measurement, it is time to wash the aquarium, although there may be no visual reasons for this.

Before starting work

Before you start cleaning the aquarium, you need to prepare the necessary equipment. For this use:

• scrapers for removing plaque from walls - with a metal blade (simple or magnetic) or plastic (for acrylic aquariums);
• siphon for cleaning the soil;
• washcloths;
• sponges;
• bucket or large bowl;
• net (if you plan to wash and plant fish).

The processing sequence is usually as follows:

1. Clean the walls of the tank from silt, protozoan algae, and minor lime deposits;
2. Wash the existing decor (shells, pebbles, driftwood, grottoes).
3. Carry out care for existing plants (if any) - as necessary.
4. Clean the soil using a siphon - if necessary.
5. Drain some of the dirty water.
6. Clean the filter as necessary.
7. Wash the outside walls.
8. Add new water.

It should be remembered that general cleaning - with the removal of fish, a complete change of water and the use of special detergents - is carried out quite rarely: only in the event of an epidemic or the need to remove limestone in large quantities. The rest of the time, they usually carry out simple regular cleaning - without removing the living creatures, without draining all the water, and in no case using cleaning chemicals: it can be dangerous for the fish.

How to clean an aquarium from limescale?

Most often, owners are faced with a coating of algae and bacteria or a very slight formation of limescale stains. In this case, it is recommended to simply mechanically remove dirty deposits with a scraper, washcloth or household sponge, having first turned off all electrical appliances serving the aquarium, except the filter. Such manipulations can be carried out in the presence of fish.

If you can’t wash everything off the first time, you can use a scraper with a metal blade or a utility knife. But you should remember that they can leave scratches on the acrylic surface, so you need to act extremely carefully.

Do not use sponges used in the kitchen for aquarium work. They are home to many microorganisms. In addition, they are usually saturated with fats from dishes, and all this does not contribute in any way to the creation of safe microflora in the home pond.

However, it also happens that deposits of calcium salts form in large quantities. The reason for this may be:

• absence or insufficient number of aquarium plants;
• systematic excess of feed;
• use of unsettled water;
• poor filter quality (or severe contamination);
• Irregular cleaning of the aquarium.

In this case, you will have to carry out general work by moving the fish using a net to another container and draining the water.

How to properly clean your home pond from limescale? There are many industrial detergents designed specifically for these purposes. They can be purchased at specialized pet stores.

Or you can resort to the help of folk remedies, which are available to almost any housewife, and try one of the following compositions:

• lemon juice;
• a solution of a glass of water and 20 grams of citric acid;
• a solution of a tablespoon of vinegar (9% concentration) and a glass of water;
• a mixture of ammonia and water (working proportion – 1:10);
• hydrogen peroxide diluted with water (half a glass of water - 30 ml of peroxide).

It is most convenient to apply these compositions to dirt using a spray bottle (flower growers always have these). Next, the products must work for some time, it depends on the scale and density of the plaque. Then remove the deposits using an old toothbrush, a hard sponge or a metal scraper.

The final stage is thorough repeated rinsing of all internal surfaces of the treated container.

If you need to wash the decor, remove all elements and wash with a sponge or brush, without using any chemicals.

How to clean the soil in an aquarium?

The need to clean the soil arises if suspended matter rises from it when fish swim by, or if walls have been cleaned and plants have been worked with (when they are cut, weeded or completely removed by the roots). For this work at home, they usually use a special siphon for cleaning aquarium soil.

If there is a large fish in the aquarium and there is no living vegetation, you will have to siphon the soil every week. If there are a lot of plants, and the living creatures are small and do not populate the reservoir densely, such a need arises much less often. If only plants or shrimp live here, it is better not to touch the soil at all, so as not to harm small animals and roots.

How to clean? One end of the siphon tube is lowered into a large bucket, the other is brought closer to the pebbles, sand and everything that is in the lower layer of the aquarium. This is not soil in the direct sense of the word, but in everyday life these fillers are usually called that.The real soil (in which the plants are planted) is treated or changed very rarely - during general cleaning.

So, you need to carefully move the tube along the top layer of soil, while working with a pump. All garbage and sewage will be drained into a bucket. In principle, you can lower the second end of the hose directly into the sewer drain, if among the aquarium inhabitants there are no very small ones that could inadvertently get into the hose.

How to clean the bottom of an aquarium without draining the water?

To do this, you will need a special flat attachment, which allows you to stir the soil more accurately. The tube with such a nozzle must be lowered to the bottom and moved, slightly lifting the soil, while working as a pump. The dirt from the lower layer will gradually collect and merge, and the disturbed soil will fall back after some time. You need to be especially careful when going around places of floral plantings so as not to stir up the roots.

If there are no living plants and only a layer of sand is poured on the bottom, it can be cleaned without a siphon - with a regular hose. The procedure is similar (a medical bulb will do instead of a pump), with the only difference being that large quantities of sand will also drain out. It must be thoroughly washed and returned.

When cleaning, try not to actively manipulate your hands in the aquarium, because this is always stressful for its timid inhabitants.

During cleaning, some of the water is removed through a siphon. It must be topped up with a new one that has been standing for several days.

We settle in assistants

To clean less often, you can place natural orderlies in the aquarium, who help clean the water and walls of your home pond. This will be done, for example, by ordinary guppies, as well as swordtails, goldfish, platies, ancistrus, and catfish.The structure of their mouth allows them to capture and eat small algae and plaque from the walls.

But not only these fish clean their homes. Snails and shrimp can help them. True, snails are very curious creatures, and if the aquarium is open at the top, they will periodically fall out of it (so it is better to purchase such residents for closed containers).

So, to keep your aquatic pets alert and healthy, it is important to properly care for your aquarium. If you use live assistants, you will have to clean the tank and disturb the aquarium animals less often.