by Christy

Created on: February 26, 2007   Last Updated: December 27, 2010

The first and most important part of maintaining a fish tank, is doing regular weekly water changes. You should change approximately 20-25% of the water once a week. This amount should be adjusted slightly higher if the fish tank is overstocked, has a messy fish like an oscar, or the water quality is poor-and if that's the case, you may need to do small daily water changes.

First though, you'll probably want to unplug your filter and heater. The best way to clean the tank is with a gravel vac/syphon. For larger tanks, there's a product called a Python. This hooks up directly to your faucet and the flow of the water automatically sucks the water out down the drain and refills the tank. It also comes in various sizes, I believe 25 and 50 feet. These are great so you don't have to mess around with spilling water out of buckets. Using the gravel vac or Python, you basically move it over the gravel bed or substrate and it sucks up the fish waste and uneaten food that's settled on the bottom. With gravel, it's a good idea to also submerge the vac into the gravel. It's amazing all the gunk that gets trapped down in between the rocks.

After you do that, you'll want to save a bucket of the used tank water for a bit. If you use the standard filter pads for your filters, you don't want to replace these every month. In fact it's not a good idea at all. There's lots of beneficial bacteria important to your tank living on there. It's also living on the gravel, other filter media like sponges, and any decorations you have. Contrary to what some people believe, this bacteria is not in the actual water. Remove the filter and put it in that bucket of tank water, and just scrub some of the gunk off with your hand. Then replace it in the filter. I recommend only changing those filter pads out maybe every 3 months. What I do and what's cheaper, is I buy a bag of filter floss. I just stuff some into the filters, and replace that once a month or so. I also have several filters on my tanks, and use sponges and bacteria bio balls. That way I don't lose the beneficial bacteria on the filter floss when I discard it.

If there's any tank decorations or plants that need cleaning, use the bucket of used tank water for those as well. You can use a paper towel to wipe them down, or use a new, never used toothbrush if they need scrubbing. You could use a solution of bleach and water as well. But, you'll be killing off any bacteria on them. If it's a well established tank, this should be fine. Just be sure to rinse it well till it doesn't smell like bleach anymore.

Next you need to refill the tank. If you're using tap water, a dechlorinator is a must to remove chlorine or chloramines from it. Those substances will kill the fish. Also, if you've used bleach to clean anything, a small dose of a dechlorinator would be good as well. If you're using a Python, a common question is when to add the dechlorinator. I just add it in the beginning when I first start adding the water to refill the tank, been doing that for 7 years with no problems. Any salt or other chemicals that need to be added should be mixed in and dissolved in a bucket of water first. Also be sure the temperature of the new water is similar to the water in the tank. Vast temperature differences can shock or kill a fish. After the water's added, don't forget to plug in the filter and heater and make sure they're running properly.

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