Ask any aquarium keeper, and they’ll tell you that their least favorite part about the hobby is cleaning their fish tanks. Water always gets everywhere, the tank can be smelly, and it always takes longer than you originally planned. Yet, regularly cleaning your aquarium is key to maintaining a healthy underwater ecosystem.
Whereas you can easily wipe caked-on moss and algae from your fish tank’s glass, cleaning the decorations takes a bit more effort. Luckily, there’s a simple way to get this chore done. Keep reading to learn more.
1. Recognize What Decorations Need Cleaning
Before removing decorations from your aquarium, do yourself a favor and make sure they actually need cleaning. Some signs that your tank’s decorations need some scrubbing include:
- Cloudy aquarium water
- Discoloration of decorations, such as a green or brown coating
- A musty odor from the water
- Mineral deposits, which can manifest as chalky residue
- Slime or mucus
Take a moment to observe your fish’s behavior. Do they avoid a decoration in particular? Did a hollow log that once served as a popular hangout become deserted? The answer could offer insight into whether a decoration needs sanitizing.
2. Remove the Decorations from the Water
Remember: while you’re attempting to clean your fish tank’s décor, the goal is to keep both yourself and the fish safe. First, ensure that you wear gloves when sticking your hands in the fish tank. Not only does this protect you from any fishy germs, but it prevents any lotions, creams, or soaps you applied beforehand from contaminating the water and disrupting its parameters.
While removing decorations from the aquarium, make sure that no fish are trapped inside. For instance, if you have a plastic pineapple from SpongeBob in your tank, ensure that no small crabs, shrimp, or fish have become lodged inside. The fish will likely swim away as you start removing objects but take special care not to nick their fins or tails. Even a seemingly small injury could lead to infection and subsequent death.
3. Scrub Residue from the Decorations’ Surface
Now comes the part where you actually start cleaning. Lay the tank’s decorations on a flat surface, ideally with a towel underneath to avoid making a mess. Take a small brush (like a toothbrush) and focus on areas that have debris. Be gentle to avoid chipping the decoration or removing any of the paint. You shouldn’t have to use cleaners for this task; but if you must, use soap and warm water. Make sure that you rinse the decoration thoroughly before proceeding to the next step.
4. Allow the Decorations to Dry
If you’re not sure whether your scrubbing did the trick, you may lay out the tank’s decorations to air-dry. Afterward, you can see for yourself whether they need to be scrubbed again, rinsed thoroughly, or disposed of entirely. Here’s a tip: don’t use paper towels or napkins to dry the decorations. Small fibers or bits could attach to the decoration’s exterior and then transfer to your tank. You don’t want bits and pieces floating around the aquarium after you just cleaned it!
5. Complete Any Other Tank-Cleaning Duties
Before returning the decorations to the aquarium, complete any other tasks associated with cleaning the tank. These may include:
- Using a siphon to remove debris from between pieces of gravel
- Replacing the substrate entirely (which you rarely must do)
- Changing out the filter
- Cleaning the inside of the filter itself
- Removing any dead plants or waste
- Quarantining fish that show signs of stress or illness
The more often you clean your fish tank, the less intense these steps become.
6. Put the Decorations Back and Monitor Fish
After you’re confident that your aquarium’s decorations are sanitized, you can put them back in your fish tank. If you’re very risk-adverse, you may consider testing your water quality hours later and comparing them to your normal readings. The chemical levels will lend insight into whether you should add dechlorinator or remove certain decorations from the tank.
Returning your aquarium’s decorations doesn’t end the task of cleaning them. From here, you should monitor your fish for any signs of stress or illness. Lethargy, swimming sideways, or floating to the top of the tank could indicate unstable water parameters. In this case, you should promptly remove the fish and put them in a back-up tank, giving you time to identify the problem with the main aquarium and fix it.
Additional Things to Know About Cleaning an Aquarium
Understanding how to clean your aquarium’s decorations is just one aspect of keeping your fish tank clean. Here are some other things that can help you maintain a healthy and balanced aquarium:
- Avoid replacing substrate often. You might think that frequently changing your fish tank’s gravel keeps the aquarium cleaner. This isn’t necessarily true. In fact, the gravel could hold helpful bacteria that keeps your water chemistry stable. Experienced aquarists generally only recommend changing substrate if a disease has plagued the tank.
- Regular water changes help with tank cleanliness. Depending on who you ask, you should change anywhere from 20 percent to 30 percent of your aquarium’s water weekly. You might not have to do water changes as often with established tanks.
- A strong water filter is critical. A water filter removes toxins from the water, provides adequate oxygenation for the fish, and keeps the water clean. Your water filter should correlate with the tank’s gallonage and what types of fish you keep.
Keeping an aquarium clean is hard work, but while watching your fish swim, hide, and go about their business, you won’t even think about it.
