Cleaning A Fish Tank To Keep Your Fish Happy and Healthy

Fish tanks can be a beautiful addition to any home. Buying bright and attractive fish and filling the tank with gravel, plants and decorations is the fun part, but a lot of work goes into maintaining a fish tank. Not everyone thinks about the cleaning and preparation part of owning a fish tank, therefore, a lot of fish don't survive and many people give up on having a fish aquarium in their home.

Cleaning your fish tank is key to keeping your fish healthy and happy, however, many people clean their aquariums improperly causing the fish to become ill or die. You should learn all that you can about proper cleaning techniques of a fish tank before spending money on everything that goes into it. There is no point in spending all of that money if the fish wont last but a few days or weeks.

Before putting fish into your tank, the first thing you need to do is prepare the water and make sure that it is the proper p`H level for the fish. You can buy chemicals to put into the water to prepare for the fish. Once you have added these chemicals, you should let the aquarium sit for a few days or even a week. You can purchase pH test kit to test the water to make sure it is at the proper level. Some pet stores allow you to bring in a sample of your tank water and they will test it for you.

Proper Cleaning of a Fish Tank

Weekly Cleaning

• Siphon out 1/4 to 1/2 of the water.
• Clean half of the gravel.
• Rinse ornaments off with clean water.
• Fill a clean bucket with the same amount of water that was removed.
• Add starting chemicals to the new water before adding the water to the tank.
• Change the water filter every 3 weeks.

Improper Fish Tank Cleaning 

• Do not remove all of the water and ornaments at one time to clean the tank.
• Do not remove fish when cleaning the tank.
• Do not use any kind of soap to clean the tank or ornaments.

Tips for a healthy fish tank

• Add only a few fish at a time and wait a week or so before adding more.
• Do not add too many fish to the tank.
• Algae eaters can help control algae in the tank.
• Before buying fish, find out if they require salt in the water.
• Make sure that the fish you buy will not harm other fish in your tank.
• Always keep your tank at the proper temperature. Buy a submersible heater and thermometer. 
• Do not overfeed the fish.
• If your fish develop white spots, it is most likely a disease called Ick. You can purchase a chemical to add to the water to help get rid of the ick. Follow directions on the package.