The indoor aquarium serves not only as an interior decoration, but also as an excellent means of relaxation. Few things can also calm and relax a person, as observing the leisurely smooth movements of aquatic inhabitants. But in order for the glass fish house to remain aesthetically attractive, he needs to provide competent care. So every novice aquarist should know how to clean the aquarium properly and how often this procedure should be performed.
Detergents and tools
What detergent is best to clean the walls from plaque? None. Using any chemistry will be extremely detrimental to any fish. The use of household detergents is contraindicated for any items that have contact with the aquarium, since a large amount of harmful substances remains on them.
If you still used a chemical detergent, then the container must be washed many times in running water.
However, baking soda can be used. But even after it, the aquarium must be rinsed at least 4-5 times.
If the flora or fauna is infected with any disease, then disinfection should be carried out by means purchased in a specialized store.
Also, for cleaning you will need: a sponge or scraper, an aquarium cleaner - a siphon, a net, a tank for jigging fish.
How often do you need to clean the aquarium
Tanks with a volume of less than 60 liters need to be cleaned more often, while large aquariums require care about 1-2 times a month. Small home ponds, in which only 15-20 liters of water are placed, are recommended to be washed once a week. But in fact, it all depends on how quickly the glass house for water residents is covered with a coating consisting of waste products. As a rule, the denser the aquarium is populated by different inhabitants, the faster it loses its attractive appearance.
New tanks, just populated by fish and other residents, do not cloudy for a long time. If this happens, it means that the launch of the entire system was incorrect and it needs to be finalized. For example, add beneficial microorganisms (sold at the store) or replace the filter with a more powerful one.
Filter
Aquarium care involves regular cleaning of filters, both external and internal. Norms for the frequency of their washing does not exist, everything will depend on the particular case. After all, each home reservoir is unique - it has a complex ecosystem with its own species diversity, living conditions and diet.
In order to establish how often the filter needs to be flushed, it is necessary to remember how much water pressure the device had during the initial installation. Its weakening indicates that the time for cleansing has come.
The filter is washed in water drained from the siphon with a soft brush, without the use of detergents. All this is done in order to preserve the valuable microorganisms involved in the process of water purification.
Now we will determine how to clean the aquarium at home. There are several types of this procedure: partial - 1-2 manipulations are carried out, general - the entire container and all elements are carefully processed, regular - procedures that are given at more or less constant intervals, urgent - the inhabitants are affected by the disease and immediate washing and disinfection is required.
But any of these species consists of a combination of the following steps.
Soil cleansing
Regular cleaning of the bottom is carried out using a siphon. This device is simply irreplaceable. How to clean an aquarium with a siphon? Lower the hose of the mechanical device into a container closer to the bottom - it will begin to pump out small particles together with water. So you can get rid of a large number of waste products and feed residues. At the same time, you need to make sure that there is not too much water pumped out: experts recommend draining no more than 20% at a time, a maximum of half.
There are also electric siphons - small compact appliances. Their plus is that all pumped water passes through a special pocket and leaves all unnecessary garbage there. After that, the liquid returns to the aquarium.
Getting rid of soil from excess organic matter is not a quick procedure and takes about 1 hour. In this case, it is necessary to carefully carry out processing near the roots of plants, since they can be damaged.
Washing the walls
How to clean the aquarium of limescale and greens that stick to the walls? The procedure is carried out either with the help of a regular household sponge (its hard side launders a mixture of calcined deposits and algae from the glass well), or with a special scraper.
Scrapers rid the walls of plaque much better than sponges. In stores you can find standard scrapers with a metal blade and magnetic.
Cleaning decorative items
Caring for the aquarium involves cleaning the various ornaments that are in it. As a rule, these are stones of different sizes, anchors, decorative chests, ships and other attributes of a marine theme. An aquarium with such elements turns into an interesting interior detail, it is more attractive, and the added details give it an almost fabulous look. But all this can be lost if all these ships and chests are covered with a gray-green bloom.
Therefore, all the decorations need to be regularly washed without the use of chemistry: for this they are removed, and after all the manipulations are installed back.
Water change
Now that you know how to clean the aquarium, it remains to figure out how to correctly replace the water. And first of all, it needs to be prepared. Normal tap water contains many impurities. Chlorine is particularly dangerous, but various salts and metals can also harm fish. Distilled water, on the other hand, is too sterile and has no beneficial components.
Therefore, for the aquarium, use filtered tap water or settled for a day, which can be diluted with distilled water - this will soften the water. Also, to reduce hardness, tap water is boiled (then defended) or frozen.
For marine life, salt is added to the liquid (special, according to the instructions).
At one time, not less than 1/5 of the volume, but not more than half, changes, otherwise the water inhabitants will feel bad.
What contributes to pollution
It’s not enough just to know how to clean the aquarium. One must also understand what contributes to pollution. Turbid water, algae and stones in a dirty coating, through the glass you can hardly see the inhabitants - all this speaks of the wrong conditions. So, pollution is enhanced by the following factors:
- excessive lighting;
- overpopulation of the aquarium;
- excess feed;
- lack of filtration;
- diseases and fungi.
If for a long time it is not possible to determine the reason why the containers require frequent cleaning, then the aquarium is "restarted" - washed, disinfected, calcined stones, changed soil, etc.
Aquarium snails and other beneficial inhabitants
Why find out how to clean the aquarium, if you can find out which residents to inhabit, so that you have to do it as little as possible.
Cleanliness in a glass house helps maintain fish cleaners. They have an interesting coloring, they are characterized by calm behavior. The lower part of the mouth in these little helpers resembles a bucket, in some other varieties it resembles a suction cup. It is with them that they collect plaque from algae and food residues from the walls and decorative elements.
Catfish of different types will help with cleaning in the aquarium, but some of them are large in size and do not get along with other residents. Many live-bearing fish also eat up the raid, the most famous representatives of this family are guppies.
Shrimp fight well with dirt. But they need a lot - 1 individual per liter of water. At the same time, they are too defenseless, and they are often eaten by neighbors.
You can also settle in a glass house of snails - universal cleaners.
Aquarium snails: which are better to clean?
Why are snails good compared to other cleaners? The fact that they are really omnivorous. And if the fish are selective in food, for example, they eat only a certain type of algae on the walls, then the gastropods eat everything - the remains of food, excrement of all living inhabitants, decaying remains of the dead, rotting plants, mucus and other organic substances.
Snails can be either specially bought in the store or accidentally brought into the aquarium with new fish, soil, plants or water.
There are negative consequences of the presence of snails in a water house. They procreate very quickly, and their numbers are difficult to control. With an excess of gastropods, there is more harm than good from them - they stain everything with mucous secretions, eat healthy plants.
Which snails clean the aquarium best? Here is a list of the most common:
- Ampularia. Large, up to 10 cm gastropods with brown and yellow color. They are unpretentious in food, but they can eat up young shoots of plants.
- Melania. Small dark gray soil snail. Often they become inhabitants of the aquarium by accident. Adults 3-4 cm in length, and almost do not show out of the ground. Viviparous. Omnivores and very useful.
- Neretina (black, brindle, hedgehog). Medium-sized, up to 3.5 cm gastropods with interesting colors. They feed on the walls and plants without damaging them. Can get out of the aquarium. The disadvantages include the fact that they leave unattractive masonry on the walls.
- Septaria (tortoise snail). Interesting yellow-striped color and flat shell. Slow, but well cleans plaque. The same minus - ugly masonry.
- Corbicula. Bright yellow snail, 3 cm long. Living water filter - the mollusk passes and filters up to 5 liters of water per hour. Cons - can damage plants with a weak root system.