It’s very important to do regular water changes in your aquarium. Regular water changes in your aquarium will not only help improve your fish’s quality-of-life, but it will also keep your aquarium looking immaculate which makes everyone happy. In this guide, we’re going to talk about how you can easily perform regular aquarium maintenance.
In this guide, we are going to hit the following bullet points and talk about each one.
- 25% – 50% Water Changes
- Glass Cleaning
- Gravel and Other Decor Cleaning
25% – 50% Water Changes
First were going to talk about doing 25% to 50% water changes. Water changes are very important to maintain the health of your aquarium and your aquarium fish. Most people will recommend that you do a 25% water change on your aquarium every week. Depending on your setup which includes how many fish you have and how much aquarium filtration you have you may need to do an even larger water change. For example, if you treated your tank with some sort of medicine then you will need to do a large water change that week compared to a smaller 25% change. I personally do a 25% water change on my small 10-gallon shrimp tank and a 50% water change on my 55-gallon community tank.
Glass Cleaning
Cleaning your glass is also important to maintaining a clean looking aquarium. Certain fish such as a pleco will do most of the cleaning for you. Personally, I can recommend having a few Bristlenose Plecos assuming that your tank is big enough. If your tank is small, you could easily get away with one of them. There are other ways to clean your tank glass other than relying on a fish to do it. For example, you can use a glass cleaning wand that you can usually find in any pet store. They usually have a gray colored handle and a blue colored scrubbing pad. Be sure to pick up the right one though as some of them are designed for glass aquariums and the others are designed for acrylic aquariums. Usually, you can find these in the aquarium section of your local pet store.
If you have any gravel in or sand in your tank be sure not to get any in your scrubbing pad on your cleaning wand otherwise you will scratch your glass!
Gravel & Decor Cleaning
Occasionally you will need to clean your gravel and other decorative items in your aquarium. To clean your gravel, you can simply pick up a gravel vacuum, and this will do a wonderful job and cleaning it. To clean your other decorations such as fake plants you may need to take them out of your tank and scrub them under some warm water in the sink. Be sure not to use any soap or detergents while cleaning your decor items. Soap and other chemicals can be deadly to your fish!
Also be sure to check our homepage on a regular basis as we plan on releasing more detailed posts on performing maintenance on your tanks, understanding fish aggression, fish breeding, clear water tips, and product reviews. View our guides section here.
