How To Maintain Your Freshwater Aquarium

Regulating the water in your freshwater aquarium is the most important role in maintaining the health of your marine life. Without proper maintenance, fish can become anxious, irritable, and unhealthy. These conditions will shorten the lives of your fish and create water that is neither suitable for life nor pleasant to look at. Below you can find information on how to maintain your freshwater aquarium, how often to perform this maintenance, and tips on troubleshooting problems as they arise.

How often should I change my aquarium’s water?

You should change about 15 to 25% of your aquarium’s water every one to two weeks. When you change your aquarium’s water, you should clean the rest of the tank as well. The percentage of water and frequency of water changes depend on the volume of fish and plant life in your tank. A heavily stocked tank will need a larger volume of water changed more frequently, and a lightly stocked tank can be changed slightly less. Changing the water in your tank is the most important maintenance you can perform on your aquarium, so following a regular schedule will greatly benefit the health and quality of life of your marine life.

Aquarium Maintenance Schedule

Following a maintenance schedule will prevent your aquarium from becoming overly dirty or hazardous to your fish’s health. This schedule should consist of daily, weekly, and monthly tasks.

Daily Aquarium Maintenance

You can keep your tank’s water clean by performing these simple tasks every day:

• Ensure all pumps, filters, and lights are working properly.
• Observe fish for negative side effects. If any side effects are evident, test the water immediately. If the water is fine but the fish remain ill, check the filters and pumps for any malfunctions.
• Remove excess food from the tank
• Top off the tank with treated water
• Check the water’s temperature. Most freshwater tanks should remain between 75° and 80° Fahrenheit. However, some fish require different temperature ranges. Ensure that the temperature of your tank is suitable for all of your marine life.

Weekly/Semi-Weekly Aquarium Maintenance

Every one or two weeks, you should clean your fish tank and replace no more than 25% of your tank’s water.

How To Clean A Fish Tank

Cleaning your tank every one to two weeks will prevent any buildup of hazardous chemicals, grime, or other contaminants. While cleaning, you can keep the fish in the tank if you cautiously work around them.

What Equipment Do I Need To Clean A Fish Tank?

While you do not need an abundance of specialized equipment for a simple home aquarium, these tools will make maintenance simpler, quicker, and more effective:

• Gravel vacuum
• Algae scrubber
• Filter brush
• Acrylic-safe cleaner
• Scissors (if your tank contains plant life)
• Aquarium fertilizer (if your tank contains plant life)

Steps To Deep cleaning a fish tank

1. Wash your hands and entire forearm.
2. Unplug all filters and lights. Close any open valves if you have a sump pump.
3. Remove 15 to 25% of your tank’s water. Do not remove more than this amount of water, as it will interrupt the biological filtration inside your tank.
4. Remove non-living decor and gently rinse and scrub with hot water.

NOTE: When rinsing items in your tank, do not use unfiltered tap water. The chlorine in city-treated water will kill good bacteria on your items and cause disturbances to your aquarium’s ecosystem. Using reverse osmosis water will effectively rinse your aquarium accessories while not disrupting good bacteria.

5. Scrub the inside glass with an algae scraper. Then use an acrylic-safe glass cleaner and scrub the inside glass.
6. Vacuum the tank’s gravel. Good bacteria live in the tiny crevices between pieces of gravel, so a gravel vacuum will only pick up a small percentage of them. As a result, gravel vacuums will not compromise the biological filtration inside the aquarium.
7. Remove filter media and lightly rinse it. Cleaning your media too well will remove beneficial bacteria from your tank. When your filter media needs to be replaced, never replace more than one-third of your filters at once.
8. Place your decor back in the tank. Replace the percentage of water you took out of the tank with treated water. You can learn about the benefits of using reverse osmosis water in your aquarium on our blog.
9. Open any valves you closed before cleaning. Pour water into the base of your filter to prime it.
10. Plug in all tank accessories and filters. Ensure all equipment is working properly.

Monthly Aquarium Maintenance

Each month, you need to test the quality of water in your aquarium. This task ensures that the pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate levels in your tank are appropriate for your fish and plants.

How To Test Aquarium Water

Aquarium water can be tested using an aquarium water test kit. For most freshwater aquariums, the most important contaminants to test for are ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, and water hardness. The pH level of your water will also need to be checked. Some kits, such as this 6-in-1 test kit, can test all of these elements with a single strip. Other kits specialize in testing one contaminant and provide more accurate readings than testing strips. If you choose testing strips, ensure that they are submerged in water for the correct length of time, and allow them to sit for a short while after submersion for accurate results. If your aquarium water test shows concerning pH levels or high levels of a contaminant, you will need to perform some corrective maintenance.