How to clean an aquarium

Many of us have an aquarium in the apartment. Someone has it big, some have a small one. But, regardless of size, any aquarium requires careful care of it. And before you start a fish house, it is useful to learn how to take care of an aquarium and fish. It must be remembered that the aquarium should always be kept clean. But here, too, you need to know the limit - a too clean aquarium will bring its inhabitants even more harm than dirty.

Ideally, in order to understand how to care for fish and how to properly clean the aquarium, you need to buy a special book, which describes in detail all the subtleties. But if you do not have time or desire to read books, you can do without reading this short article, where it will be told how to clean the aquarium. In addition, to clean the aquarium you need to prepare the necessary equipment for this:

• A traditional net, which should be for every aquarist;
• A tube with a hand pump and a socket for cleaning the ground;
• Scraper for cleaning the walls (magnetic or on a long holder);
• A container for draining the water.

Before cleaning the aquarium, it is necessary to prepare a clean filtered, or even better, stand-by water. Water is necessary, because together with cleaning, some water in the aquarium is replaced.

To begin with, you need to clean the walls of your home pond. This is done very simply if there is a special scraper available. To clean the walls of a relatively small aquarium, a scraper on the holder is quite suitable. It is necessary to remember that putting your hands in water during cleaning is highly discouraged, because fish can experience shock and soon die.

If the aquarium is large and the scraper on the holder does not reach the bottom, then a slightly different method is needed here. For cleaning the walls of a large aquarium a special magnetic scraper is used, consisting of two parts. One part of such a scraper is applied to the inner side of the wall, and the other to the outer side. Thus, the outer part holds the inside due to the magnet. Cleaning the walls with such a scraper is very easy and simple. Therefore, before cleaning the aquarium, it is strongly recommended to purchase a magnetic scraper.

After the walls are cleaned of plaque and algae, you can start replacing water and simultaneously cleaning the soil. For this, as already mentioned, a special tube with a pump and a socket with a mesh at one end will be required. The funnel descends to the very bottom of the aquarium, and the other end of the tube needs to be kept above the bucket below the bottom of the pond. A few clicks on the pump - and the water will begin to drain into the bucket. At this time, it is necessary to immerse the socket in the ground, so that due to the flow of water, all sorts of dirt is washed from it.

In no case can not drain all the water from the aquarium. The maximum amount of water for substitution is a third of the volume of the aquarium. The fact is that in the aquarium water there are certain bacteria and microorganisms, without which fish can die. Therefore, the composition of the water should never change drastically. It is even better to change just one quarter of the volume, so the inhabitants of the aquarium will be traumatized least of all.

Now it's time to clean the filter element of the filter pump (if there is one). This is done in the last place, because, while the walls and the bottom of the aquarium are being cleaned, the pump actively filters all the rising turbidity. In addition, it is necessary to remember the safety precautions. Since the pump-filter works from 220 volts, it must be de-energized at the time of contact of hands with water. The filter element of the pump (most often a sponge) must be rinsed in clean water, or even better in the water that has merged from the aquarium.

As you can see, nothing is complicated in how to clean the aquarium, no. After the filter is washed, it is possible to assemble it and add the necessary amount of water to the aquarium. Water should be added very carefully, so that it does not begin to wash the soil. And on this procedure the cleaning of the aquarium is over. Now you can again admire its inhabitants in crystal clear water.