by Ethel Smith

Created on: May 23, 2007

What you need to do to clean your aquariums sand and gravel is filter it . This can be done a few different ways .

You can scoop out most of it and filter it through a sieve giving it a really good rinse at the same time .

The murky remains at the bottom of the tank will need syphoning out of your tank . You can buy fancy and somewhat expensive equipment to do this or make your own . Using thin , clear plastic tubing , syphon all the dirt etc from the bottom of your tank . When you have finished top your tank up with fresh water . You could have some ready which you had treated over the last few days .

If you buy a tank cleaner it will work like a vacuum . We used to have a basic one which would clean a fair amount of debris from the bottom . Of course most aquariums especially tropical ones will need , and have , an electric powered filter working constantly to keep debris to a minimum .

Better still make sure you stock your aquarium with a wide range of fish and water creatures . We always had at least one large apple snail in our aquarium . Our longest liver was called 'Speedy' by us . He or she would travel across the side of the tank at a fast rate cleaning the glass at the same time . Similarly we had certain catfish and loaches which would also clean the aquarium glass and bottome of the tank .

If you stock your aquarium with a good variety , and not too many fish for the size of tank , you should only have to clean the sand and gravel occasionally .

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