How to clean a small aquarium. How to clean an aquarium at home - important rules and tips for beginners

An indoor aquarium serves not only as an interior decoration, but also as a great tool for relaxation. Few things can soothe and relax a person as much as watching the leisurely smooth movements of aquatic inhabitants. But in order for the glass fish house to remain aesthetically pleasing, it needs to be properly cared for. So every novice aquarist should know how to properly clean the aquarium and how often this procedure should be carried out.

Detergents and tools

What detergent is best to wash the walls from plaque? None. The use of any chemistry will be extremely detrimental to any fish. The use of household detergents is contraindicated for any items that have contact with the aquarium, as they remain a large amount of harmful substances.

If you still used a chemical detergent, then the container must be rinsed several times in running water.

However, you can use baking soda. But even after it, the aquarium must be rinsed at least 4-5 times.

If the flora or fauna is infected with any disease, then disinfection must be carried out with a product purchased from a specialized store.

Also for cleaning you will need: a sponge or a scraper, a device for cleaning the aquarium - a siphon, a net, a container for jigging fish.

How often should you clean your aquarium

Tanks less than 60 liters need to be cleaned more often, while large aquariums require maintenance approximately 1-2 times a month. Small domestic ponds, which fit only 15-20 liters of water, are recommended to be washed once a week. But in fact, it all depends on how quickly the glass house for aquatic inhabitants is covered with plaque, consisting of their waste products. As a rule, the denser the aquarium is populated with different inhabitants, the faster it loses its attractive appearance.

New containers, just populated by fish and other residents, do not become cloudy for a long time. If this happens, it means that the launch of the entire system was incorrect and it needs to be finalized. For example, add beneficial microorganisms (sold in the store) or replace the filter with a more powerful one.

Filter

Caring for an aquarium involves regular cleaning of filters, both external and internal. There is no norm for the frequency of their washing, everything will depend on the specific case. After all, each home reservoir is unique - it contains a complex ecosystem with its own species diversity, living conditions and diet.

In order to establish how often the filter needs to be washed, it is necessary to remember what water pressure the device had at the initial installation. Its weakening suggests that the time has come for cleaning.

The filter is washed in water drained from the siphon with a soft brush, without the use of detergents. All this is done in order to preserve the valuable microorganisms involved in the process of water purification.

Now we will determine how to clean the aquarium at home. There are several types of this procedure: partial - 1-2 manipulations are carried out, general - the entire container and all elements are carefully processed, regular - procedures that are carried out at more or less constant intervals, urgent - the inhabitants are affected by the disease and immediate washing and disinfection is required.

But any of these kinds consists of a combination of the following steps.

Soil cleansing

Regular cleaning of the bottom is carried out using a siphon. This device is simply irreplaceable. How to clean an aquarium with a siphon? Lower the hose of the mechanical device into the container closer to the bottom - it will begin to pump out small particles together with water. So you can get rid of a large amount of waste products and food residues. At the same time, you need to make sure that too much water is not pumped out: experts recommend draining no more than 20% at a time, a maximum of half.

There are also electric siphons - small compact appliances. Their plus is that all the pumped water passes through a special pocket and leaves all unnecessary debris there. The liquid is then returned to the aquarium.

Getting rid of the soil from excess organic matter is a slow procedure, and takes about 1 hour. In this case, it is necessary to carefully carry out the processing near the roots of plants, as they can be damaged.

washing the walls

How to clean the aquarium from limescale and greens that stick to the walls? The procedure is carried out either using an ordinary household sponge (its hard side washes well the mixture of calcified deposits and algae from the glass), or with a special scraper.

Scrapers rid the walls of plaque much better than sponges. In stores, you can find standard scrapers with a metal blade and magnetic ones.

Cleaning of decorative elements

Care of the aquarium involves cleaning the various decorations that are in it. As a rule, these are stones of different sizes, anchors, decorative chests, ships and other attributes of a marine theme. An aquarium with such elements turns into an interesting interior detail, it is more attractive, and the added details give it an almost fabulous look. But all this can be lost if all these ships and chests are covered with a gray-green coating.

Therefore, all decorations must be regularly washed without the use of chemicals: for this, they are removed, and after all the manipulations, they are installed back.

Water change

Now that we know how to clean the aquarium, it remains to figure out how to properly replace the water. And first of all, you need to prepare it. Ordinary tap water contains many impurities. Chlorine is especially dangerous, but various salts and metals can also harm fish. On the other hand, distilled water is too sterile and does not contain any useful components.

Therefore, for an aquarium, they use tap water filtered or settled for a day, which can be diluted with distilled water - this will soften the water. Also, to reduce hardness, tap water is boiled (then settled) or frozen.

For marine life, salt is added to the liquid (special, according to the instructions).

At a time, at least 1/5 of the volume changes, but not more than half, otherwise the aquatic inhabitants will feel bad.

What contributes to pollution

It's not enough just to know how to clean an aquarium. You also need to understand what contributes to pollution. Turbid water, algae and stones in a dirty coating, through the glass you can barely see the inhabitants - all this indicates the wrong conditions. So, pollution is exacerbated by the following factors:

• excessive illumination;
• overpopulation of the aquarium;
• excess feed;
• lack of filtration;
• diseases and fungi.

If for a long time it is not possible to determine the reason why the container needs frequent cleaning, then the aquarium is “restarted” - washed, disinfected, stones are calcined, the soil is changed, etc.

Aquarium snails and other useful inhabitants

Why learn how to clean an aquarium if you can figure out what kind of inhabitants to inhabit it, so that you have to do this as little as possible.

Cleaner fish help keep the glass house clean. They have an interesting coloration, they are distinguished by a calm behavior. The lower part of the mouth of these little helpers resembles a ladle, in some other varieties it resembles a sucker. It is with them that they collect plaque from algae and food residues from the walls and decorative elements.

Catfish of various types will help with cleaning in the aquarium, but some of them are large in size and do not get along with other residents. Many viviparous fish also eat up plaque, the most famous representatives of this family are guppies.

Shrimps fight pollution well. But they need a lot - 1 individual per liter of water. However, they are too defenseless, and they are often eaten by neighbors.

You can also settle in a glass house snails - universal cleaners.

Snails for an aquarium: which ones are better cleaned?

How good are snails compared to other cleaners? Because they are truly omnivores. And if fish are selective in food, for example, they eat only a certain type of algae on the walls, then gastropods eat everything - the remains of food, the excrement of all living inhabitants, the decaying remains of the dead, rotting plants, mucus and other organic substances.

Snails can be either specially bought at the store, or accidentally brought into an aquarium with new fish, soil, plants or water.

There are also negative consequences of the presence of snails in a water house. They very quickly give birth to offspring, while their numbers are difficult to control. With an excess of gastropods, they do more harm than good - they stain everything with mucous secretions, eat healthy plants.

Which snails clean the aquarium best? Here is a list of the most common:

• ampoule. Large, up to 10 cm gastropods with brown and yellow color. They are unpretentious in food, but they can eat up young shoots of plants.
• Melania. A small dark gray ground snail. Often they become inhabitants of the aquarium by accident. Adults are 3-4 cm long and almost never emerge from the ground. Viviparous. Omnivore and very helpful.
• Neretina (black, brindle, hedgehog). Medium-sized, up to 3.5 cm gastropods with interesting colors. They feed on plaque from walls and plants without damaging them. Can get out of the aquarium. The disadvantages include the fact that they leave unattractive masonry on the walls.
• Septaria (turtle snail). Interesting yellow-striped color and flat shell. Slow, but cleans plaque well. The minus is the same - ugly masonry.
• Corbicula. Bright yellow snail, 3 cm long. Live water filter - the mollusk passes and filters up to 5 liters of water per hour. Cons - can damage plants with a weak root system.

Dear colleagues! If you want your home aquarium to please the eye of everyone who enters your home, then it must be regularly cleaned and cared for by the inhabitants. Some beginners and uninformed people believe that maintaining an aquarium is difficult and requires a huge amount of free time. In this article I will try to shed light on the most basic points that accompany the care of the aquarium.

How often should you clean?

As a rule, the aquarium should be cleaned once or twice a week. The frequency of cleaning is affected by the degree of pollution of the reservoir, its volume, as well as the cleanliness of the aquarium inhabitants. In addition, the number of cleanings per week is affected by the amount of live vegetation. During scheduled cleaning, the aquarist must drain some of the water and replace it with fresh settled water.

The following parameters also affect the frequency of water changes and cleaning in the reservoir:

• Appearance;
• Test scores;
• Well-being of the inhabitants

Pay attention to the walls of the aquarium. If they quickly become covered with a dark green coating, then it's time to work with a scraper. If your fish, swimming near the bottom, raise a cloud of turbidity from the ground, then it's time to pick up a siphon and clean the ground. But crystal clearness can also be fraught with negative aspects. If the water is crystal clear, then there may be an excessive concentration of nitrogenous compounds in your jar, which negatively affect the well-being of aquarium fish. This is also your signal to clean up.

The list of mandatory operations when cleaning the aquarium:

• To begin with, we take a scraper in our hands and clean all the walls of the aquarium from green plaque;
• We take out the decor elements and also subject them to a thorough cleaning;
• In the presence of living aquatic plants, we carry out their trimming and weeding;
• Soil siphon (you will drain part of the water along with the dirt from the bottom);
• If necessary, drain some more water to bring the amount of water to be replaced to the desired proportion (¼ or 1/5);
• If necessary, clean the filter;
• Add fresh water to the aquarium and wipe the glass.

Very important: Before cleaning, unplug all aquarium equipment except for the external filter.

Glass cleaning

Even if your aquarium shines with cleanliness and order, it will still appear. Over time, it will begin to increase and spoil the whole aesthetics of the reservoir. To get rid of them, you need to take a scraper (with a blade or a magnetic scraper) or a washcloth. If the depth of your aquarium is acceptable for working with a regular scraper, then please. But there are times when getting to the aquarium from above is a big problem or its depth is very large. In this case, it is best to use a magnetic scraper. It does not scratch glass, only if some grain of sand gets between its working surface. The main disadvantage of such scrapers is that it is difficult to process the lower edge near the ground and corners.

A household washcloth can also be used to carry out this procedure, but if your aquarium is made of Plexiglas, it is better to put the washcloth aside. All the algae that you remove from the walls does not need to be caught from the aquarium, it will be eaten by fish or it will partially merge with water.

Decoration cleaning and processing of aquarium plants

Decor elements should also be cleaned of algal plaque. To do this, you need to arm yourself with a hard washcloth or brush. It is best to remove them from the aquarium and clean them in the bathroom under running water. The main condition is not to use detergents. If the scenery is covered with bloom quite quickly and abundantly, then get yourself cleaner fish (, and).

The main task of processing aquarium plants is to remove all dead, algae-grown and fish-damaged leaves. You also need to remove or cut off overgrown stems of plants that spoil the appearance of the aquarium. When you do weeding grass, try not to pick up the dregs from the bottom.

Water drain and aquarium substrate siphon

After weeding the plants and siphoning the soil, a large amount of turbidity appears in the water column. We need to remove it from the aquarium along with some of the old water. A hose or an aquarium siphon will help with this. We place one end of the tube or siphon of the aquarium above the ground and begin to suck out the water along with the dirt into a separate container.

In one change, you can change from 15 to 50 percent of the water. The amount of water to be changed depends on how dirty the aquarium is. If you have a set of aquarium tests, then measure nitrates - the content of this compound in the aquarium should not exceed 30 mg / l (for unpretentious fish and plants), for more demanding inhabitants this value should not exceed 10 mg / l. You should not do a complete replacement, as this is fraught with a complete restart and a cardinal violation. As a rule, aquarists try to replace in their aquariums from 1/3 to 1/5 of the water with fresh water.

If you did a complete restart of the aquarium as a result of an outbreak of any disease, then the fish cannot be settled immediately after the launch, as they will die from ammonia, the concentration of which will increase dramatically a few days after the launch. Without the use of special aquarium chemistry, which allows you to speed up the process of establishing a biological balance in the aquarium, the fish can be released one and a half to two weeks after the launch.

If large species of fish live in your aquarium, then you need to clean the soil and the aquarium more often than if they contained characins or cyprinids. The more plants in your aquarium planted and the smaller the number of fish, the less often you will have to clean. If you have a herbalist or shrimp grower, then in such aquariums the soil does not siphon at all, since this operation can severely damage the roots of aquarium plants.

Filter cleaning

When cleaning the filter, it is very important not to destroy the colonies of anaerobic bacteria that are involved in maintaining biological balance. Bacteria settle in foam rubber sponges and other fillers, carrying out biological water filtration. It is not recommended to rinse the filter media under running tap water as you will wash away all bacteria.

You need to clean the filter if you notice that the water jet from the outlet has weakened. As a rule, this happens 1-2 weeks after the previous cleaning. Approximately with the same frequency it is necessary to wash the compartments and fillers of external filters. But porous materials intended for biofiltration (expanded clay balls, ceramic rings, etc.) need to be washed much less frequently (once or twice in a couple of months). If necessary, you can replace part of a specific filler.

Pour water

After you have done all the above procedures, it's time to pour fresh settled water into the aquarium, which has the same temperature as the water in the aquarium. You can pour water using hoses or put a deep plate on the bottom of the aquarium and pour water from a bucket. When you fill your aquarium completely, you need to turn on the filter, lights and other electrical appliances. After some time, the water should become cloudy, and in the morning the water should already be crystal clear.

Cleaning an aquarium with your own hands is not so simple, but it is quite possible at home. In order to properly wash the house for fish, you need to follow a certain procedure. First, turn off and take out electrical appliances. Then they clean the walls of the aquarium, decorations and plants. Lastly, they siphon the soil, wash and install the equipment in place and add water. It is necessary to clean the aquarium regularly, planning the procedure in advance and preparing all the necessary tools for it.

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  Aquarium cleaning

  Regardless of the size of the aquarium, plaque collects on its walls, and the water becomes cloudy over time. To properly clean, it is important to follow certain rules and take care of the safety of the fish.

  Regular scheduled cleaning is carried out once a week. The frequency of cleaning depends on:

  • the size of the tank (the larger it is, the less often you need to clean it up);
  • the number of fish (the more there are, the more often cleaning is required);
  • the presence of vegetation.

  The owner of the aquarium must constantly monitor the condition of the reservoir and its inhabitants. Cleaning should be carried out if there are signs of:

  • poor health of the fish (became lethargic, inactive, reluctant to eat food);
  • deviations from the norm of water quality (in terms of tests for hardness and acidity);
  • contamination of the container walls with green algae;
  • soil contamination with food residues and waste products of the inhabitants.

  If at least one of these signs is noticed, it is worth putting things in order and eliminating the cause of its appearance. Otherwise, fish and other inhabitants of the aquarium may die.

  It must be remembered that cleaning is carried out with electrical equipment completely disconnected and removed from the aquarium. Further cleaning takes place in the following sequence:

  1. 1. Cleaning the walls from green plaque;
  2. 2. Washing scenery, stones, grottoes;
  3. 3. Transplanting, weeding and forming the crown of plants;
  4. 4. Washing or cleaning the soil with a siphon;
  5. 5. Draining part of the water from the aquarium (done in the process of siphoning);
  6. 6. Laundering of filtering and heating equipment;
  7. 7. Bay of clean water.

  Cleaning the walls of the aquarium

  The coating of the glass walls of the aquarium with a green coating is due to the reproduction of green algae. These are lower plants, their presence is inevitable in every artificial reservoir. They develop thanks to light, as well as water and the nutrients in it. They do not pose any danger to aquatic inhabitants, but the aesthetic appearance is lost. You should not wait for the glass to be covered with a thick green coating, but you should constantly get rid of it.

  

  Aquarium scraper with long handle

  Pet stores sell a variety of special glass scrapers. Tools with a metal blade clean off plaque and dirt well, but they cannot be used on Plexiglas containers. The magnetic scraper consisting of two halves is very convenient.

  

  Magnetic Scraper for Aquarium

  On the inner part, which descends into the water, there is a rigid part of the Velcro tape. On the outside - soft. Between themselves, they are connected through glass with a magnet, which attracts both halves to each other. Cleaning can be done every day without removing the scraper from the aquarium. The downside is that such a device does not clean the corners of the aquarium and the edge near the ground. Plus - you can wash aquariums from any material. Also, to clean the walls from algae and dirt, you can use a regular sponge for washing dishes. Its hard side does a good job of cleaning all hard-to-reach places. The only inconvenience is that you need to climb into the water with your hands.

  It makes no sense to catch the cleaned green plaque from the aquarium. It is well eaten by fish, and what they do not have time to eat will settle to the bottom and wash out when cleaning the soil.

  

  Washing the scenery

  Green algae cover not only the glass walls of the aquarium, but also grow on decorative elements: ceramic figures, stones and grottoes. You can clean them with a hard washcloth or brush. First, the decorations must be removed from the water, placed in a solution of laundry soap, left to soak for 15-20 minutes. Then clean off the algae and rinse the jewelry thoroughly in running clean water. If not all the greens have cleared, then the aquarium interior items can be soaked for another 15 minutes in a hydrogen peroxide solution (1:10). Then rinse thoroughly with clean water and dry.

  They do a good job of cleaning the plaque of algae-eating fish. If you get these, then you won’t have to wash the scenery.

  With too rapid growth of green or brown algae on the walls and decorations of the aquarium, it is worth considering whether the biological balance in the reservoir is disturbed. Most often, this indicates an increased content of phosphates or nitrates. The most common causes are overcrowding or excessive fertilization. The simplest remedy is to stop fertilizing the water for a month and limit the length of daylight hours. There are also special means for combating algae - algaecides. They are sold at any pet store. When using, it is necessary to strictly follow the dosage and instructions so as not to harm the inhabitants of the aquarium.

  

  Vegetation processing

  The purpose of this procedure is to bring the plants to an aesthetic appearance. For this purpose, leaves damaged or eaten by fish are removed. They are carefully plucked under the root with your hands or cut off with sharp scissors. The easiest way is if you can get the plant out of the aquarium. Then the care procedure is carried out in the air. Then the rest is washed with running water and placed in its original place. Too overgrown plants are thinned out, excess shoots are removed.

  Plants should not block the light and interfere with the movement of fish around the aquarium. When weeding, be careful not to tear the bush completely out of the ground and not to raise a lot of turbidity from the bottom. Staying in water mixed with organic residues from the bottom of the aquarium is detrimental to whimsical fish and shrimp species.

  Cleaning the bottom of the aquarium

  The most difficult procedure is cleaning the bottom of the aquarium. Dirt, food debris, fish excrement, and plant remains gradually accumulate in the soil. This is a breeding ground for the development of pathogenic bacteria that are harmful to fish. To understand whether it is time to clean the soil, you can simply move it. If air bubbles or a cloudy cloud have risen to the surface, it's time to clean.

  The bottom is cleaned using a device such as a siphon:

  1. 1. The mechanical device consists of a hose with a wide tube at the end. It is inserted into the ground, it is blown from the other end, and the water, along with the ground debris, begins to drain into the substituted container along the reverse thrust.
  

  2. The electric siphon is battery operated. When using it, you do not need to drain the water. It is sucked up, the dirt remains trapped, and the purified water enters the aquarium. This device is well suited for fish and algae tanks that need acidic old water.

  
  

  First, easily accessible and open areas of the bottom are siphoned. Then move away the decorative elements and large stones. Under them, especially a lot of bottom mud accumulates. Lastly, they clean the corners and the soil lying near the walls.

  Processing of electrical appliances

  The thermometer is washed with a foam rubber sponge in warm water without the addition of detergents. Wipe the wire and leave to dry.

  Aquarium filters are different. Smaller ones will need cleaning more often, about once a week. Large ones can last up to a month without requiring washing. An indicator that the device should be cleaned is a weak water pressure, even when turned on at maximum power. The same device in the aquarium will be clogged with dirt every time after a certain period of time. By marking it, you can easily plan the cleaning of the aquarium.

  When cleaning the filter or pump, you need to disassemble the device and wash off all large contaminants from the plastic parts of the housing and internal elements. Be careful when washing sponges. Microorganisms involved in biofiltration live on them, and their colonies cannot be completely destroyed. Soft elements are washed with water drained from the aquarium, removing only large debris. In no case should detergents and cleaning agents be used to wash porous parts and filter sponges.

  Filling with clean water

  After washing the walls and bottom of the aquarium, placing algae, decorative elements and electrical appliances, clean water is topped up. Preliminarily, the water is defended for at least 24 hours, the temperature is checked with a thermometer. It should be the same as the one left in the aquarium.

  Pour it gently with a hose, ladle or watering can. Pour it gradually in a thin stream along the wall of the aquarium. The force of the jet should not reach the bottom and erode the soil. If pouring water along the edge is inconvenient, you can substitute a saucer under the jet or use a watering can with a spray nozzle.

  After topping up the water, you can turn on the electrical equipment, check its operation and observe the well-being of the inhabitants. Do not be afraid if the water becomes a little cloudy. After 3-4 hours, the biological balance will be restored and the aquarium will shine with cleanliness.

  1. 1. Always plan your procedure well in advance. Set aside a special time when you do not need to rush anywhere. Prepare water and tools for washing. If you did not have time or forgot to defend the water, it is better to skip the procedure. Pouring unprepared liquid is detrimental to many species of fish.
  2. 2. When cleaning inside the aquarium, do not make sudden movements so as not to frighten its inhabitants. Do not reach the soil near the plants - it contains nutrients. Also try not to damage the roots of the algae. Many of them don't like it.
  3. 3. Do not feed the fish before cleaning the pond. It is best to do this 2-3 hours after harvesting to calm the agitated aquarium inhabitants.
  4. 4. Try to change the water in small portions, no more than 20-25% at a time. A sharp change in the microclimate can harm the health of fish and other inhabitants of an artificial reservoir.

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.