How to clean a small aquarium. How to clean an aquarium at home? Aquarium Care Tips

In aquariums, the soil at the bottom is usually the most polluted place. Excrement of the inhabitants of the aquarium and uneaten food accumulate in the soil. These waste products must be removed periodically. The aquarium soil is cleaned using a special device - a siphon.

Siphon for aquarium- This is a special device for cleaning the aquarium soil by sucking out dirt, silt and fish excrement.

Types of siphons for an aquarium and their design

Siphons are of two types: electrical (powered by batteries) and mechanical . Models of siphons for an aquarium differ slightly from each other. Siphons consist of a hose and a glass. The way they are used is also the same. The siphon sinks vertically to the bottom of the aquarium, dirt, silt, food residues and excrement gradually begin to be sucked into the glass along with water by gravity, then go through the hose and drain into the water tank. After the water flowing into the glass becomes light (clean), the siphon is moved to the next contaminated soil area.

standard model mechanical siphon for aquarium consists of a plastic transparent cylinder (glass) or a funnel with a diameter of at least five centimeters and a hose. If the glass is too narrow, and the height of the aquarium is small, then the siphon will suck in not only dirt, but also stones that, rising in a spiral, will fall into the hose. The siphon must be transparent in order to observe the cleaning process in time to move the glass to the next section of the aquarium bottom. You can buy an industrial siphon at any store for aquarists, since any self-respecting aquarium company will certainly produce them.

Manufacturers of aquarium siphons produce several models that do not have a hose. The cylinder (funnel) in such a siphon is replaced by dirt collectors like a pocket or a trap. There are models that are equipped with an electric motor. The electric model of the siphon works on batteries like a vacuum cleaner, without draining the aquarium water. In this model, water is sucked into the siphon, dirt is retained in the pocket (trap), and the purified water immediately flows back into the aquarium. Typically, such a siphon model is used to clean the soil in aquariums with intense silting of the bottom, but undesirable frequent water changes. For example, when growing certain types of cryptocorynes that need acidic old water or when keeping fish that love acidic old water and do not require its regular replacement.

Electric siphon for aquarium very convenient to use. The pocket trap traps dirt, fish excrement, silt, passing water through the nylon walls. At the same time, it is not necessary to drain dirty water into a container, as well as to engage in its subsequent filtering through a rag or gauze and to maintain the necessary acidity in the aquarium. It is also convenient that the drain hose cannot jump out of the bucket, because the electric siphon does not have a hose. The intensity of the water flow in such a siphon model is regulated by the impeller-rotor, which is located inside the apparatus. However, the electric siphon has a drawback - it can work in aquariums in which the height of the water column does not exceed 0.5 m, otherwise the water will enter the battery compartment.

When choosing a siphon, aquarists are advised to opt for a model with a high glass (at least 0.2 m), so that when cleaning the soil, the device does not suck up small stones. The principle of operation of a siphon immersed in the ground is similar to the operation of a mixer - the pebbles rise and mix, but since they cannot rise higher than 15 cm, they again fall to the bottom of the aquarium. You should also pay attention to the edges of the glass, it is desirable that they have a rounded shape, since, firstly, this shape will make it easy to immerse the cylinder in the ground, and secondly, it will not damage the roots of plants. The most convenient shape of the glass is oval, such a siphon is easily immersed in the most inaccessible places of the aquarium bottom (between decorations, driftwood, large stones and ceramics).

Before buying a hose, measure its required length, and purchase a transparent hose with an inner diameter of 0.8 - 1.2 cm. The siphon hose should have a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the pebbles in the aquarium, or be transparent in order to notice the resulting congestion. It is worth considering that the thicker the tube, the greater the flow of water. When buying a hose, pay attention to what material it is made of. Reinforced, corrugated and other reinforced structures for an aquarium hose are not suitable. It is better to buy a PVC hose, which is light, flexible and compact. It is necessary to store such a hose in a folded form, without creases, otherwise cracks may form in their place.
Experienced aquarists are advised to provide special brackets, brackets or clamps for the hose so that it is securely fixed and does not fall off the drain spout. For this purpose, you can use a small piece of plastic pipe a couple of millimeters larger than the diameter of the drain hose. The trim must be carefully bent and secured so that there is no squeezing of the drain hose. The corrugated connection of the drain hose with the siphon for the aquarium is very convenient, since the hose is not pinched when trying to clean the farthest corner of the aquarium or siphon the soil in a tall aquarium.

It is very convenient if dirty water from the aquarium is drained directly into the drain pipe of the bathroom. To do this, you can install or use an existing V-shaped corner designed to drain dirty water from an automatic washing machine. If it is impossible to drain the water from the aquarium into a special pipe, then you will have to install an adapter on the side of the bathtub or toilet bowl to securely fix the hose.

However, most often aquarists use an ordinary bucket as a container to drain water from an aquarium. When pouring water, the drain hose of the siphon is completely lowered into it and filled with water. The free end of the drain hose is clamped with a finger, removed from the aquarium and lowered into a container (bucket), when the finger is removed, the water starts to flow by gravity. If you wish, you can adjust the flow rate of the liquid in the siphon. To do this, near the junction of the siphon with the drain hose, it is necessary to make a hole in the tube equal in diameter to the cross section of the tube itself. The intensity of the water flow can be adjusted either by opening it or by clamping the hole made with your finger.

Another good accessory for an aquarium that makes it easier to work with a siphon is a special fastener. Usually the drain hose at the siphon is lowered into a container, usually a bucket. At the same time, the end of the hose strives to jump out of the bucket and flood the floor, so you have to support it with one hand. But with a high aquarium, this is inconvenient, since sometimes both hands are required to move the siphon along the bottom. It is in this case that fasteners will help out the aquarist. It is a plastic half ring that is attached to the wall of the bucket. A hose is threaded through the fastener. In this case, the diameter of the drain hose may be different. If, for example, an aquarist wanted to lengthen the siphon hose, then he would have to use an additionally purchased hose of a larger diameter, and when connecting two hoses, by inserting one into the other, the fasteners will allow holding this larger diameter hose. A drain hose fixed in this way will definitely not be able to slip out of the bucket at a time when both hands of the aquarist siphoning the soil are busy.

There are models of siphons for the aquarium, which are equipped with a tap valve. Convenient accessory. If, for example, when cleaning the aquarium soil, dead roots (leaves) of plants stick to the protective grid of the lower part of the cylinder, or a fish inadvertently swims, then the siphon will not need to be pulled out to unstick the debris. It is enough just to turn the valve to shut off the water and due to the fact that the suction effect stops, the debris falls off the grate. It is also convenient to use a tap valve when dirty aquarium water has completely filled the drain tank - it blocked the flow of water and you do not need to pull the siphon out of the aquarium. You can safely go to pour or pour out dirty water in order to free up the container for the next portion of the drained liquid.

The process of cleaning (siphon) aquarium soil

When cleaning the soil in the aquarium with a siphon, it is not recommended to rush, but you need to clean the aquarium bottom at a time. Therefore, you should try to walk over the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe soil, but so that the dirty drained water is no more than 30 percent of the volume of water in the aquarium before cleaning.

The standard rounded siphon perfectly cleans large clearings, as well as open spaces on the bottom of the aquarium. But its corners or areas densely overgrown with plants or filled with decorations are difficult to process. Specially designed trihedral siphon cups will help here, which will easily penetrate into hard-to-reach bottlenecks and corners of the aquarium.

When using a siphon for an aquarium, the effect of a vacuum cleaner is created, dirt is collected from the surface of the soil. If the siphon is immersed deep into the aquarium soil, then the contaminants are removed from the lower soil layers with their simultaneous loosening. Inside the siphon, the soil begins to rise, turbidity and other dirt flows into the drain container, and the soil granules settle to the bottom of the aquarium under their own weight.

Especially carefully it is necessary to clean the aquarium bottom if a lot of aquarium plants are planted in it, otherwise their delicate roots may be damaged. Therefore, when cleaning such an aquarium, it is advisable to use special devices and tools that would easily penetrate even the most inaccessible places and dense thickets. Aquarium companies produce a siphon specially designed for such cases. This model is a metal tube on which the drain hose is tightly put on. The end of this tube is flattened to a slit 2 mm wide. Numerous holes up to 2 mm in diameter were drilled in a section of a metal tube 3 cm high above the slit. This siphon model is suitable for cleaning an aquarium with a standard soil fraction and is not suitable for sand. A siphon with a metal tube will allow you to clean any hard-to-reach place without damaging the root system of plants and suck silt from the aquarium bottom.

A bucket is most often used to drain dirty water, but this container is extremely inconvenient if you need to clean a large aquarium (more than 100 liters). Therefore, many aquarists use long hoses that run from the aquarium to the bathroom, kitchen or toilet. With this hose you can fill the aquarium with fresh clean water. So that shellfish, individual particles of soil or a fish accidentally caught in a siphon do not clog the sewer, the end of the drain hose must be thrown into a basin or bucket installed in the bathroom. With this method, an accidental "catch" will settle to the bottom of the tank, and dirty water will flow into the sewer. If you are concerned about possible blockage of the sewer system or the loss of your favorite fish, then purchase a siphon with a special filter mesh.

To clean the aquarium soil, you need to siphon all easily accessible and open areas of the bottom. If necessary, some of the decorations can be moved or raised to open access to the siphon. Usually, a lot of fish excrement accumulates under large stones, voluminous decorations and snags. Therefore, you need a glass to the very bottom of the aquarium. If a large fraction of soil is used to form the aquarium bottom or the edges of the pebbles are not rolled well enough, then the siphon must be immersed in the soil with rotational movements.

Keep the siphon in one area of ​​the ground until 60 percent of the debris is gone, then you need to move the device to the next contaminated area. If you move the soil in an open area to the right and left and back and forth, then the siphon will capture a certain amount of stones, so you need to wait until the captured soil particles settle to the bottom of the aquarium. Although sometimes with the help of a siphon they drag the soil to another place. If, for example, you need to sprinkle a boring piece of equipment (sprayer or compressor hose).

During the siphoning of the aquarium soil, not only the entire bottom area is cleaned, but also the old contaminated water is drained. When working with a siphon, it is necessary to ensure that the discharge of old water does not exceed 30 percent of the volume of the aquarium. Do not forget that you can not completely drain all the water from the aquarium. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the soil with a siphon quickly enough. Instead of drained water, it is necessary to fill in a new, pre-settled tap liquid. If at one time it was not possible to qualitatively clean the soil, then the procedure will have to be carried out again.

When cleaning the soil, it should be remembered that this is an interference with the established aquarium ecosystem. Therefore, it is not worth sucking out all the excrement, dirt and silt from the aquarium soil. After all, beneficial bacteria live in these substances, which are able to break down organic matter. This split organic matter is the best nutrition for plants. For example, if a slide of stones is laid out in an aquarium. For the proper arrangement of the hill, it is necessary to plant plants around its perimeter that have a well-developed root system. Plants with such a system will hold the shape of the laid out slide and prevent it from crumbling. Of course, you should not siphon this slide until the plants are well rooted. There are a number of plants that are called carpet or foreground plants. They spread over the entire area of ​​the aquarium and look very impressive, but at the same time they do not give the opportunity to carefully siphon the soil without damaging their root system or ruining their beautiful appearance.

If the entire bottom of the aquarium is overgrown with algae, then the soil must be removed, washed thoroughly, then boiled and dried in the oven. If this procedure is not done on time, anaerobic areas with black soil will appear in the aquarium, and then the aquarist will be able to smell rotten eggs, which will indicate the presence of hydrogen sulfide.

Regardless of whether you are an experienced aquarist or a novice hobbyist, an aquarium siphon must be present in your arsenal of products for caring for your pond.

Why is it necessary to siphon aquarium soil?

During the life of the fish and other population of your aquarium, located at its bottom is gradually clogged with settling debris: particles of fish food, feces and other dirt. This phenomenon cannot be ignored: the clogged soil may soon turn sour, and in the tank it will be saturated with toxic nitrites and ammonia, because of which its inhabitants may simply die. If the aquarium apocalypse is not yet part of your plans, you will have to clean up the soil from the accumulated debris. This process is called a siphon, and the device used for this purpose is an aquarium siphon.

The principle of operation of the siphon for the aquarium

It is best to explain how a siphon works for cleaning an aquarium using the simplest option as an example, which you can do yourself. In fact, it is a flexible hose with a transparent socket at the end. As an extension, you can use a glass with a hole in the bottom, a funnel for pouring liquids into bottles, or something similar. The main thing is that it is made of transparent material. The free end of the hose opposite the expansion is called the drain. The length of the hose, the height and width of the socket depend on the area and height of the container, we will talk about this a little later.

Before using the siphon for the aquarium, it must be brought into working condition.

1. The siphon is filled with water.

To do this, the tube of the device, together with the socket, is lowered into the container and wait until the water fills its cavity, displacing all the air from it. If this method is inconvenient due to the small size of the tank, the apparatus is filled with a stream of water from the tap, pouring it from the expansion side and clamping the drain end of the hose.

2. Start the siphon.

To do this, the siphon filled in one way or another for cleaning the soil of the aquarium must be under water. Now you need to turn the socket with the wide side down, quickly remove the drain of the device from the water, clamped with your fingers, and lower it into a previously prepared container. Now the drain can be released. Mandatory condition: the end of the hose removed from the artificial reservoir must be below the surface of the water. If everything is done correctly, you will have a kind of gravity pump that will begin to pump out water.

You can start the siphon in a simpler way, which is well known to those who have ever stolen gasoline from the tank of a neighbor's car ... Hmm ... 🙂 The device is not filled with water, its socket is placed in water, the free end of the hose is lowered below the water level in the tank and sucked out air out of it until the water begins to flow by gravity. This method requires some skill: if the hose is not released from the mouth in time, you can sip dirty water with all the microflora contained in it, dirt and everything else that you are going to clean the soil from.

3. Siphon process

When the work of a homemade siphon for an aquarium is established, the hose should be lowered into the ground to a cleaning depth. If there is not at the bottom of the aquarium, the entire thickness of the soil can be cleaned, otherwise surface cleaning is performed so as not to damage the roots of the plants.

What happens when the siphon intake plunges into the ground? Now the water from the tank is pumped out through its thickness, dragging particles of debris and dirt that are in it. Through the transparent walls of the intake, you will see the seething soil and a cloudy cloud drawn into the siphon hose. As soon as the cloud disappears and the water under the intake becomes transparent again, you can move on to the next section of the bottom.

Siphon parameters

Before proceeding to the study of the issue: siphon - you should choose the right parameters for the device.

1. Height and width of the socket.

The main criterion for choosing the size of this part is the convenience of work. If you have a low tank, it will be inconvenient to work in it with a long bell. A small intake with a narrow mouth is unlikely to appeal to owners of aquariums with a large bottom area.

2. Diameter and length of the hose.

The performance of the siphon, that is, the intensity of the flow of water that it will pump, depends on these parameters. If the hose is too thick, and its drain is too low relative to the water level in the aquarium, a strong pressure, in addition to dirt, will drag soil particles into the apparatus. Therefore, the length and diameter of the siphon hose for a do-it-yourself aquarium should be selected based on the density of the soil. For heavy soils, the pressure should be strong, for light soils, on the contrary, weak.

Types of siphons

Of course, the achievements of engineering thought in the field of aquarism are not limited to the model we have described. Modern companies involved in the development and production of equipment for aquariums produce many models, the design of which has been improved by such mechanisms and devices:

Electric pump

The siphon for an electric aquarium is capable of supplying water to any point, even if it is located above the water level in the aquarium. With such a device, you do not have to mix your fish and snails crawling under a glass cube, and be afraid of air getting into the cavity of the device. Battery-operated siphons are especially convenient. Their main advantage is the ability to work autonomously. It is very important in cases where the electrical outlet is far from the aquarium.

Starter pump (pear)

If you still decide to purchase a gravity siphon that does not have an electric drive, pay attention to models with a pear-shaped pump. With its help, air is very simply pumped out of the cavity of the device without the risk of swallowing dirty water.

Important Details

• The tap on the drain of the siphon.

Allows you to adjust the intensity of the flow of water passing through the device. It is not very convenient to carry out a siphon without such a tap; all the time you have to pinch the drain with your finger or change its height.

• Mesh in the fence.

Finding and installing such a mesh on a homemade device is not so easy, so many aquarists prefer the purchased option. The mesh in the intake part of the hose prevents the pebbles in the ground from being drawn into the apparatus and protects the small-caliber inhabitants of the tank from the same fate. They would hardly have liked the high-speed descent along the hose of the device, followed by bathing in dirty water.

• Siphon drain filter.

The water pumped out during the cleaning of the soil can be reused, but, of course, it must first be separated from the removed dirt. If you use the simplest siphon design, there is only one way to do this: wait until the dirt settles at the bottom of the drain tank. But if you bought a device that has a drain (usually a small cloth bag), then you get clean water that can be reused right away. The main thing to remember: if the cleaning of the dwelling of the fish has not been carried out for a very long time, it is impossible to reuse the pumped out water, even if a filter is installed on the drain of the device. Nitrites and ammonium salts, contained in large quantities in drained water, will poison the environment of the tank and cause the death of all living organisms in it.

10/18/2017 1 4 005 views

Watching the life of aquarium inhabitants is fascinating and soothing. Therefore, many, with a burning desire to have such beauty at home, are interested in how to properly clean an aquarium with fish at home.

Why wash a freshly bought aquarium?

A new, freshly bought aquarium needs a thorough cleaning. For all the time that he was in warehouses and stores, a lot of dust and dirt accumulated in him. And this is not the best way to affect the life of fish.

• place the aquarium in the bath;
• place a wooden stand or something soft on the bottom of the tub. This is to protect the enamel of the item;
• Sprinkle baking soda on a sponge
• carefully rub the walls of the tank;
• rinse abundantly with warm water;
• let the aquarium dry.

These manipulations will be enough to populate the wards in a new aquarium. In addition to baking soda to remove dirt from the aquarium, any chemistry will do, whether it be Domestos, comets or ordinary bleach. It is important to carefully remove the substance from the glasses. Even a microscopic particle can kill fish.

How to properly clean an aquarium?

1. Wall cleaning.
2. Bottom wiping.
3. Filter purge

Wall cleaning

Most of the problems arise when cleaning glasses. Since the process requires a lot of patience and time. Use a scraper or regular plastic card. Go through all the rises.

This procedure must be performed on time, as having missed it for the first time, the growths will be more difficult to eliminate. And even more so, not a single snail or cleaner fish can cope with them. Do not use detergents to clean glass. This will be detrimental to pets.

1. Pollution from algae and soil is well removed with a special scraper.
2. If the scraper doesn't do the job, use a blade.
3. Dirt on the lid and the outer part of the walls, wash with a damp sponge.

To facilitate the task will help special solutions. They can be purchased at the pet store. They are completely safe for fish.

It is worth noting that cleaning an aquarium with an established biological balance must be done with a scraper. If the water in the aquarium is fresh, use a clean foam sponge. This will prevent the formation of bacterial turbidity.

• move down the glass;
• upon reaching the ground, firmly press the sponge to the glass;
• slowly return to the top;
• rinse the sponge in water;
• repeat the operation until the windows are completely clean.

Wiping the bottom

Waste from the life of fish and food residues settle in the ground even with a good filter. The decay process begins. The balance is broken. The algae are starting to grow. A special device, a siphon, helps prevent rotting and stagnation of the soil. Siphons differ:

• size;
• form;
• functionality.

However, the purpose of any siphon is to clean the soil from a large amount of contaminants. The product works on the principle of water flow. In this way, the soil is cleared of the light parts of the waste, while the heavy parts are returned to their place. As a result, the flow of water carries away all the dirt. Soil and water are cleared. Algae growth slows down. To clean the soil with a siphon, you need to use a lot of water. Therefore, it is reasonable to combine cleaning with a partial replacement. Thus, you can kill two birds with one stone. Clean the soil and add clean water.

For the herbalist, surface cleaning of the soil is carried out, since the siphon cannot always reach hard-to-reach areas. This is a big minus, since harmful substances are formed in herbalists due to the decay of the plants themselves. In addition, the soil in such aquariums is usually covered with silt. This serves as a good stimulation for plant growth.

1. Dip the siphon into the aquarium water and drain the required amount into a container. It can be a bucket, a pan or a basin. If you do not need to defend the water, drain immediately into the sink.
2. When pumping water from the aquarium, keep an eye on the fish, soil and plants. Together with dirt, they can get into the siphon and suffer.
3. Take care of the decorations, gravel or sand at the bottom of the aquarium. Thoroughly rinse the material that is located at the bottom. It is necessary to remove all food, small parts from plants and other waste that was formed from the life of fish, snails.
4. Use a gravel vacuum. Position it at the bottom of the aquarium. While siphoning, clean the water and soil from any foreign contaminants.
5. Rinse plants, wood decorations. The aquarium and its accessories can be cleaned with an algae scraper. However, if the pollution is strong, for example, a green coating or a black beard, it is better to use a sink for washing. In this case, any cleaners, including soap, are prohibited. As a last resort, use a mixture of water and salt to clean the aquarium components.
6. Let the decorations dry thoroughly before placing them in the aquarium.

Filter purge

Cleaning the filter cannot be combined with washing the decorations and changing the water. A sudden change in the balance of the aquatic environment can harm the fish and aquarium plants. Wash the external filter and the internal filter at least twice a month.

• disassemble the filter;
• using a toothbrush and water, go through its parts;
• Rinse the absorbent sponge separately.

General cleaning of the aquarium

Many beginner aquarists are concerned about the question, how often should a general cleaning of the aquarium be carried out? Experts do not advise completely washing the aquarium more than once every five years. However, there are times when general cleaning may be required earlier. For example, if a black beard has settled in an aquarium and special products do not bring tangible results.

1. Turn off all electrical equipment. Lighting fixtures can be left.
2. Drain one third of the water. In the future, it will need to be poured into the aquarium in order to establish biological balance.
3. Pour some more into another container.
4. Remove plants carefully. It is important not to damage the root system and not to raise the turbidity from the bottom.
5. Rinse each leaf carefully under the tap. Remove leaves that have begun to rot. Place in a container with old aquarium water.
6. Let the water that remains in the aquarium stand for 15 minutes.
7. Use a hose to collect dirt and drain most of the water. Leave the volume in which it was more convenient to catch fish in order to transplant into another tank.
8. As a reservoir, use a container with a large surface area of ​​water. This will allow the fish to stay without blowing for a long time.
9. Before catching fish, remove large objects from the aquarium.
10. Transplant the fish into a basin and cover with glass on top.
11. Drain off any remaining water.
12. Remove and thoroughly rinse the soil. If any infections are found, hold the soil in boiling water. However, it is better to replace with a new one.
13. Wash the aquarium with clean water using a sponge or washcloth. However, it is not recommended to use any detergents.
14. Place the soil in a clean aquarium.
15. Restore filters. Plant your plants. Refill with old water. Place the fish. Top up with clean distilled water.
16. Install the aquarium equipment and connect it.

Video: How to clean an aquarium with fish at home?

When caring for fish in an aquarium, from time to time you have to face the problem of how to clean the aquarium at home. Regardless of whether it is large or small, plaque in the form of algae and organic matter accumulates on its walls, the water becomes cloudy. To do the cleaning correctly, it is necessary to follow a number of requirements so that the life of the fish at this time is safe.

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Aquarium after "launch"

The first months after the "launch" of the aquarium, it is necessary to monitor the state of its cleanliness, removing the remnants of rotten food and decorations. Once a week, you need to replace the water with clean and infused water, but do not change it completely. If the aquarium lives correctly, then a biological balance will be established in it, the water will become transparent with a yellowish tint. When this happened, you can do the first cleaning.

What will you need

The first thing to do is to collect materials for cleaning the aquarium. To make it shine with purity, you should prepare:

• Clean bucket or large bowl;
• Algae scraper;
• Siphon with hose and gravel vacuum.

Preparation

Before starting work, it is necessary to prepare new water. For replacement, it will be necessary to remove stagnant water from the tank (20-30% of the total volume). If you keep marine fish, prepare the correct proportions of sea salt for the water. Make sure the new water is free of chlorine, organics and other harmful contaminants. An important rule is that water is considered infused if chlorine has disappeared from it within a few days. Other indicators of water (hardness, alkalinity, acidity) can be checked with a litmus indicator, water temperature - with a thermometer specially designed for this. Usually the water is infused for 48 hours, after which it can be considered free from minerals contained in tap water. 2 hours before washing and 2 hours after it, it is undesirable to give fish food.

Use a new bucket or bowl to clean the aquarium, not the ones that were designed for mopping. Chemicals that are part of soap or household chemicals remain on used items. They are detrimental to the life of fish. Make sure your hands are clean and free of soap or lotion. Don't forget to turn off the filter and disconnect it from the aquarium, unplug other electrical appliances before the cleaning process.

Cleaning steps

Once you have done your best to clean the aquarium, you can fill it with clean water, or use a hose with a siphon to pump water from a bucket or bowl. Connect heating and lighting.

Filter cleaning

What if you can't wash the filter at the same time as cleaning the rest of the aquarium? It is impossible to clean the filter with all the decorations and water at once, this can be harmful to all fish and plants due to a sharp change in the balance of the aquatic environment. Two or three times a month, you can disassemble the filter yourself and clean it with a toothbrush. But it is correct to clean the filter in such a way that is indicated in the instructions for its operation.

See how to clean the internal aquarium filter.

Keep your aquarium clean

In order to maintain the ability to see fish through the glass, you should wash the aquarium about once every 1-2 weeks. This way you can prevent the formation of large algae and organic matter formed as a result of the vital activity of fish. Some algae and non-decomposed organic matter are removed with the help of aquarium "orderlies" - catfish or snails. Of course, this will depend on the conditions of your tank and how many fish are already in it.

The most polluted place in aquariums is the ground. The excrement of the inhabitants of the aquarium and the remnants of food not eaten by the fish settle to the bottom and accumulate there. Naturally, your aquarium must be regularly cleaned of these fish waste. A special device - a siphon - will help you to qualitatively and effectively clean the aquarium soil.

A siphon is a device for cleaning aquarium soil. It sucks out dirt, silt and fish excrement.

• electric, they run on batteries;
• mechanical.

Models may differ slightly from each other. The filter consists of a glass and a hose, so they are the same not only in composition, but also in the method of use. The filter must be lowered into the aquarium and placed vertically on the bottom. Silt, dirt, leftover food and excrement will eventually flow into the glass by gravity, after which they flow down the hose and into the water tank. When you see that the water coming from the aquarium into the glass has become light and clean, move the siphon with your own hands to another contaminated area.

Standard mechanical siphon consists of a hose and a transparent plastic cylinder (glass) or a funnel with a diameter of at least five centimeters. If the diameter of the glass is small and the aquarium is low, then not only dirt will get into the siphon, but also stones that will fall into the hose. A prerequisite is that the siphon must be transparent so that you can move the device to another place in time when you notice that clean water is already entering the glass. You can buy an industrial siphon at any store for aquarium lovers. There are a lot of companies that produce quality filters.

There are industrial siphons without hoses. In such siphons, the cylinder (funnel) is replaced by dirt collectors, similar to a pocket or a trap. On sale there are also models equipped with an electric motor. The electric siphon is battery operated. About the principle of operation, it can be compared with a vacuum cleaner.

By the way, with him you do not need drain aquarium water. This vacuum cleaner sucks in water, the dirt remains in the pocket (trap), and the purified water immediately returns to the aquarium. Often, such models of vacuum cleaners are used to clean the soil in such aquariums, where there is too much silt and dirt at the bottom, but in which frequent water changes are undesirable. For example, if you are growing certain types of Cryptocoryne, you know that they need acidic old water.

Electric filter also very comfortable to use. Dirt, excrement and silt are retained in the pocket trap, and clean water passes through the nylon walls. With this filter, you won't need to drain dirty water into a glass and then filter it with a rag or gauze in case you need to maintain the acidity in the aquarium. Electrical devices are also convenient in that you do not need to monitor the drain hose, which all the time strives to jump out of the bucket and dirty everything around with dirty water, because. These siphons do not have a hose.

Thanks to the impeller-rotor, you can regulate the intensity of the water flow yourself. However, the electric siphon has not only advantages, but also disadvantages. Its main disadvantage is that it can only be used in aquariums in which the height of the water column does not exceed 50 cm, otherwise water will enter the battery compartment.

DIY aquarium siphon

If for some reason you do not have the opportunity to buy a siphon for an aquarium, do not despair. In this article, we will tell you how you can make it at home. The main advantages of a homemade siphon are saving the family budget and the minimum amount of time to make it.

To start need to prepare materials that will be useful to us in our work:

• an empty plastic bottle with a cap;
• hard hose (the length of the hose will depend on the volume of your aquarium);
• stationery knife;
• silicone for sealing.

At the first stage of work, we need to make a funnel from a plastic bottle. To do this, cut the bottle in half, the neck and serve as a funnel. The main element of our aquarium vacuum cleaner is ready.

Funnel size, respectively, and the size of the bottle, can be both large and small. Everything will depend on the size of your aquarium. For example, for small aquariums, you can easily get by with a one and a half liter bottle.

To make your funnel suck more water from the bottom of the aquarium, you can make a jagged edge on the funnel. To do this, cut the bottle with an uneven cut, and zigzag or make jagged cuts. But if you choose this option, then you need to be extremely careful in the process of cleaning the aquarium. Any of your careless movements can harm the fish.

After that, we move on to the next stage of work. In a plastic cap from our bottle making a hole. The diameter of the hole must be equal to the diameter of the hose. Ideally, if the hose will not easily pass into the opening of the cover. In this case, you are guaranteed to be free from leaks.

Our siphon is almost ready. We insert the hose into the cover from the inside. In the middle of the funnel there should be no more than 1.5-2 centimeters of the length of the hose. The remaining length of the hose must be outside. If suddenly you can’t make the perfect hole for the hose in the cap, you can use ordinary silicone and seal the seam, so you get rid of water leaks. After the silicone has completely dried, your aquarium siphon is ready.

It is worth noting, however, if your aquarium is very densely planted with algae, in which case you don't need a filter. It is necessary to clear only those areas of soil on which there is no vegetation. The frequency of cleaning depends on the number of inhabitants in the aquarium. After cleaning the bottom with a siphon, do not forget to add water exactly as much as poured out.