how often should i clean out my fish tank?
by Aquaboy on Saturday, April 17th, 2010 | 7 Comments
i have a tropical tank with 8 guppies and a sucker fish it has started to look a dirty a the bottom whwere the stones are should i clean them out ?
it all depends on your tank size, for tanks 5-20 gallon you need to do a complete water change every week cleaning gravel and all decorations each time
for 20g and larger it is recommended that a minimum of 25% at least every other week by using a vacuum system you can clean substrate as you remove water
a good site to learn more is freshaquarium.about,com/od/fishqa/fishqa/f/faq0110.httm
It depends, is it’s a bowl or tank. Filter or no filter? With filter in tank, clean it once in 2-4 weeks. If it’s a bowl, clean it 3-5 times a week. ( or you can do it anytime it gets cloudy!) Remember, you have to clean it out when it gets dirty! It can cause suffocation!
You should clean out the gravel with a syphon to get all the crap out and do a 25% water change at the same time once every week to keep your water quality good.
You should also take a clean cloth (rinse it) and wash the inside of the glass to keep the algae growth under control. If the sucker fish you have is a pleco then you probably won’t need to do this very often.
I have had my tanks for 20 years and I rarely have to clean them at all aside from filter changes and cleaning the filter system. My trick is in the fish you have. I always have a pleco or 2 depending on tank size but also at least one or 2 scavengers. Catfish and sharks are great, they eat all the food and stuff off the bottom of the tank. One major tip though, buy these when they are small. If you get a shark or an agressive type of catfish that is bigger than your guppies, they will eat the guppies quickly. If you buy them small though you shouldn’t have any problems.
It depends on the size tank you have and whether or not you are understocked, fully stocked or overstocked. What do you mean it’s looking dirty? Is there uneaten food, waste from the fish or is it brownish looking algae? If it’s uneaten food &/or waste then get a gravel vac and clean the gravel and take out around 20-25% of the water and put in fresh and dechlorinated water. I do this on my tanks every week. My water quality stays good and all my test results come out in the good range. I just take out some of the bigger decor that food and waste gets trapped under and vac under there weekly and then monthly I take out all the decor and silk plants and vac the gravel. I never take out the gravel and clean it though. Good bacteria lives in the gravel so unless you have a disease issue that would require you to take out the gravel and clean it, just leave it in the tank. Also never change more than 50% of the water at one time unless you have a disease problem that requires that. This advice is based on the fact that you have a filtered tank. This is the only advice I can give since this is what I do and it works for me and my tanks.
Do a quick clean (with a gravel vac) and a part water change each week. There is no need to empty the tank and fully clean it, it should be able to stay set up for years.
The ‘Sucker fish’ will not keep the tank clean, they do eat some algae , but they quickly grow into a large messy fish about a foot long.
Ian
yes, if you are planning to use a water vacuum / hose you should do a 20% water change every week. If you are going to do a big all water change then change the water about every 5 weeks or until the water gets dirty or cloudy. A water vacuum/hose works best for not stressing the fish out.
Good Luck!