Aquarium cleaning and care: Anyone who has cleaned an aquarium after it has been empty for a long time knows exactly how much work is involved. Today we also had the pleasure and were able to completely clean our breeding facility. scrub the aquarium, clean roots, heater, Filter etc., scrub stones, scrape windows and so on. Hell of a job. Nevertheless, this must be done. Often especially when you had a strong algae infestation in the aquarium. String algae or beard algae usually stay on roots etc. for quite a long time. Of course, these old algae have to be removed from the furnishings before they can be used again. In the following chapter you will learn with some tips how to get rid of the old dirt quickly and easily.
However, we do not go into the recurring cleaning measures in an aquarium such as mulm suction, Water change, filter cleaning and co, but we are mainly concerned with a new setup.
Good preparation
Before you get started, you should have some cleaning utensils ready. These include the following:
- Brush
- cloth
- sponge
- algae sponge
- Bucket new and only for the aquarium
- soft pad
- cane breasts
- metal brush / wire brush
- screen
- tights
- Windscreen cleaner with razor blade
- vinegar water or oak extract
- Bleach extract 10 percent
- water hose
- Pressure Washer
cleaning of aquariums
Let's start with the glass tank itself. Who hasn't had the experience of dismantling a pool and then storing it after a thorough cleaning? Later, the pool is then rebuilt and must now be cleaned thoroughly.
Old calcifications, a water edge and also stubborn algae are still in the aquarium and now have to go. In addition, you can't just clean it under the tap because it's usually too big.
The first thing to do is to set up the aquarium safely. You have to use a soft pad for this. Otherwise the glass corners are broken very quickly and the aquarium can no longer be used.
Then it's time to let some hot water into the pool. This already loosens the dirt. Depending on the degree of soiling, it may also be necessary to work with vinegar water or oak extract. This not only dissolves the lime on the panes quite well, but also the algae. We strongly advise against household cleaners. These have no place in aquaristics.
Then there is a lot of roughing. Here you can use a sponge or the special algae sponge with a rough surface, but you have to make sure that they don't scratch the glass. We have also had good success with a razor blade cleaner. But there is also caution against scratching. Especially if the panes are curved.
You also have to be careful if fine grains of sand or stones get between the cloth / sponge. Here, too, the glass is scratched quickly.
Cleaning with a high-pressure cleaner has also proven very effective. If you have it at hand, you can use it. You should only be careful at the glue points. Do not necessarily work there with high pressure.
cleaning stones
Algae settle on stones or other furnishings. Greenish coating or thread or beard algae are usually happy about these rough objects. Much to the chagrin of the aquarist. Cleaning is not easy here. Boiling has proven its worth, and the steel or wire brush from the hardware store can also help. This can usually be used to remove the residue. Soaking in vinegar or oak extract can also help. Again and again one reads that soaking in bleach produces good results. Here, however, care should be taken to use only concentrations of up to 10%. It is important to then rinse the whole thing properly and several times with hot water.
Another note for new stones
It is best to always boil these out to dissolve certain residues. Otherwise, depending on the type of stones, it can quickly happen that your water is heavily polluted. Especially in terms of water hardness, we have had several problems.
cleaning of roots
Roots are usually very difficult to clean. Especially when a lot of old algae are still attached to the roots. Here it is necessary to scrape off a good layer with a steel brush obtained from the hardware store. In addition, the root can also be placed in vinegar water or oak extract. This will get rid of the last bits.
A root can also be boiled very well, but this usually does not remove the algae and you always have to scrape them off by hand.
Good results can also be achieved with a steam and high-pressure cleaner. Dirt milling machines are also available here. These have even more power.
Ultimately, it is very laborious to get roots that are heavily overgrown with algae clean again. If you do not dare to do this, you should at least try to kill the algae before you put them back into the aquarium. Then they will still be hanging from the roots, but they will have died and will not grow any further. To ensure that algae die off, we recommend storing them in a darkened bucket of water. Basically, it is a dark cure. The algae and other bacteria also die off when the water is boiled.
If nothing helps, then simply replace and buy new ones.
Cleaning aquarium gravel and sand
This can also be reused very well if you take the trouble to clean it. This means either boiling the sand or gravel first or at least rinsing it through with a sieve. You don't have such a fine sieve at hand?
No problem. Just take a sieve you have and pull over these women's tights. You already have a very fine sieve and can thus clean the sand and gravel. Always clean piece by piece in small amounts. This is how you achieve the greatest success.
Cleaning of filter, heating element and Co
Here you need the best cleaning accessories, especially to get the hoses and the like clean. For this purpose, the trade offers brushes with a long wire mesh, which can then be brought through the tube. As always, the other objects should only be washed under hot running water and brushed off.
Basically, the following should be observed:
In addition, it is always important to wash your hands thoroughly before doing anything with the aquarium.
Do you have any tips on how best to get the aquarium clean? Then let us know!!
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