Hey, you… No not you…… YOU!………. With the fish tank………. Yes you! I’ve got a secret that it seems nobody knows….

 

Did you know you have to change the water in your fish tank? But that’s not all!! Did you know you also have to vacuum the gravel????? AND clean the filter??? I know right? Who knew? OK that might be a dramatic start, but from my personal experience it seems nobody knows about regular aquarium maintenance. And it’s usually those same same people who complain about fish loss, brown tanks, or tank smells.

Every aquarium needs regular maintenance, and the bigger the tank the larger scale. Normally I’d say minimum would be a 50% water change for a fw tank, accompanied by a gravel vacuuming. All you need is a bucket (home depot sells 5 gallon buckets for like 3 bucks), a gravel syphon (you can buy those at any pet store that sells fish… They run like 12 bucks), and about an hour once a month. That’s it. Be sure to move all of your decorations to one side of the tank while you vacuum the opposite side. That’s the trick. If you have a planted tank my tip is to vacuum whatever gravel is visible without plants.

And for cleaning your filter, please… PLEASE don’t wash it in the sink. By doing so you’re killing the bac‐ teria that breaks down ammonia and ultimately keeps your tank cycled. Fill a 5 gallon bucket with your tanks water and use it to rinse the filter media. Yes there will still be some dirt. A little dirt never hurt anybody… Well maybe it did 400 years ago, but times change.

 

As for that algae on the inside of your tank? First see if your tank is acrylic or glass, different manual algae cleaners are meant for different surfaces. A glass algae pad or scraper will ruin an acrylic tank (trust me I learn things the hard way so you don’t have to). Usually green or metal algae scrapers are meant for glass and white or blue algae pads and scrapers are for acrylic.

These few simple steps will keep your tank looking crispy as fudge. Enjoy your tank and plz clean it