How do you clean your tropical fish tank?

1. Prepare

- Gather supplies. You will need a bucket, a siphon hose, a sponge, a gravel vacuum, and a water conditioner.

- Remove all fish from the aquarium and place them in a temporary holding container.

- Turn off the filter and heater and unplug them from the outlet.

2. Clean the tank

- Clean the decorations and plants.

- Do not use soap, detergent or other harsh chemicals. Rinse them thoroughly in clean water.

- Use a turkey baster to suck up any debris from the bottom of the tank.

- Replace decorations in tank when finished cleaning.

3. Clean the substrate

- Clean gravel or sand with a gravel cleaner. Use the siphon to clean the substrate by vacuuming up any debris. Be careful not to suck up any gravel or sand.

- If you have a sand substrate, you may want to replace the sand entirely every few years.

4. Clean the filter

- Rinse the filter media in a bucket of old tank water.

- Do not use soap, detergent or other harsh chemicals.

- Replace the filter media if necessary.

5. Clean the glass

- Use a sponge to clean the glass of the aquarium.

- Rinse the sponge thoroughly in clean water.

- Wipe the glass with a clean cloth to dry it.

6. Reassemble the tank

- Refill the aquarium with clean, dechlorinated water.

- Do not fill the aquarium all the way to the top. Leave about an inch of space at the top for air circulation.

- Turn on the filter and heater.

- Add the water conditioner.

- Let the tank run for at least 24 hours before adding the fish back to the aquarium.