How do I clean my fish tank and gravel?

Whether or not you do 100% water changes actually depends on how you're running that tank: is it cycled or uncycled? If it's uncycled, you need to be taking out everything (fish, gravel, decor, plants) & adding 100% new, conditioned, same temp. water 1 x/wk. Many people say not to change all the water but with uncycled tanks you MUST; otherwise the ammonia levels, which are toxic & continually rise since you're leaving some old water which has ammonia in it already in w/every water change. Any ammonia is enough to stress, sicken or kill fish, so 0 ppm Ammonia is the only ok amount. If it's a cycled tank, change 10-25% of the water (the exact amount is determined by your tank's water test kit results) & vacuum 1/3 of the gravel.

About the filter: If the tank isn't cycled it doesn't matter how often you change it as it serves no biological purpose; however, if it's a cycled tank you shouldn't be changing the filter as it's where the beneficial bacteria cultivate that your tank needs to remain cycled. It doesn't have to look pretty, just serve it's purpose, but if it's ever really, really bad-looking & you have to rinse it for some reason gently swish it back & forth it a bucket filled w/some old tank water.

Usually the temp. drop off from cleaning isn't much @ all, & the bowl may get hotter than the tank would because the heater is made to accurately heat a much larger area. If you think it's more than a couple degrees difference you can use the heater; otherwise, they should be ok for the few min. you'd need to clean the tank.

The spot you describe-do you mean a brown or green spot? Is it algae? If it is, that's usually brought on by light in your aquarium, particularly direct sunlight, though any light helps fuel its growth. If you limit the light to no more than 8 hrs./day then it shouldn't spread or come back as quickly, though it may still be an ongoing issue. Algae is unsightly, but not harmful & won't sicken him in any way.

Your temp. home & the cover just for a water change are fine. The easiest way to get them out is likely by scooping them out in a cup with some tank water.

For cleaning the gravel, just pour it into a pasta strainer. You can find a cheap one @ dollar stores or WalMart.

Whether it's a full or partial water change, you want the water temp. to be as close as possible to their water-within a couple degrees. When it is & after you've added the water conditioner, it's safe to put them back in. You can just rinse off the decor; however, if you're dealing w/algae that won't be enough to remove it fully. To get it gone completely (though again, it may well grow back) you can bleach the decor-as long as it's not porous. Anything porous is a definitely no, since there's no way to ensure you've fully rinsed the bleach out-so no real plants, gravel, driftwood or rocks. Use 1 part bleach to 3 parts water & let it soak about 20 min., then let it dry in the sun (sunlight helps kill the bleach.) Then rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse in the hottest water you can stand. Then rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse some more, wash your hands w/soap & water then put the decor back in.

You need to clean the tank with a gravel vacuum every week to remove anything dirty in the gravel and change 20-25% of the water. You need to remove any uneaten food after 3 minutes, their should never be food left to rot in the tank. Use a turkey baster to remove it or a net.

I don't know what you mean by a spot on the tank, Algae? You can remove it easily and safely with a magnetic algae scraper, those things are great because you can clean all parts of the tank walls without putting you hand in the tank.

Since you gravel seems to be pretty dirty at this point. You may want to do a thourogh cleaning of the gravel, but several small water changes a week useing the gravel vacuum could be enough. And would be much safer. I would find out what the test results for ammonia, nitrite, ans nitrites. If you do not have any nitrites, gravel vaccuming like 10% of the water 2-3 times a week Plus the normal 25% weekly change for 1-3 weeks should be enough to get you back to in order.

The mold on the gravel is brobly just algae and algae is not at all harmful, but if you decide it is neccasary, you could use a net or large cup to remove the gravel without removing the water or fish. rinse it out with hot water in a sterile bucket, or a bucket lined with a sterile trash bag, until the water runs clear. Than add a bit of declorinator to it before putting it back in the tank. do not clean the filter, the filter cartridges, or the tank deco, the same week that you clean the gravel. you could remove too much healthy bacteria and the tank could go on a mini cycle if you do.

This is something that should not be done except in extreme cases, and be carefull!

The answers given are good, but one minor difference in methods. One, you don't often need a total tank cleaning. That is not a good thing to do.

The bacteria that fix nitrogen in water - require dark places with oxygen. Immediately under your gravel is a good place. So when you vacuum your gravel using these just get the mum off the surface and maybe some of the surface gravel, but don't go deep like you see in some of the youtube videos. It stirs the gravel and exposes the nitrogen fixing bacteria to light.

!% of normal light levels is enough to kill this bacteria. If you kill this bacteria, then the next day you have other bacteria clouding the water - as those bacteria are eating the dead bacteria.

So follow the advice you have been given, save for the total cleaning method which is not often needed and produces undesirable side effects, but keep from going too deep in your vacuuming.

You cannot cycle the tank properly if you do a 100 % water change as one person recommend. Therefore, that is a method used for extreme problems with the aquarium.

An 100% water change is only when the tank gets filthy - i.e after the fish have been there for around 2 years..

Since you have frogs too, I understand it may get dirty, very dirty.

When i do my big water changes, I put the fishes out in a big bucket, (be careful if you do) then I bring my tank outside and clean it for like a good half hour, hosing it down and cleaning out all the gravel and ornaments, after all - everything has to be clean, so it's all worth it.

However, once you do it you will be inspecting the tank more closely, and giving yourself more reason to clean it fully again.

But don't do it too often.

They might get scared xx

You are right , a 100% water change is a deffo no. You can purchase at the auatic centres gravel cleaners working by suction, They are inexpensive anddo a very good job which incidentally does not take long at all to do, then top upthe tank with dechor in the new water.the rocks ets, just lift them out and clean , then replace them. Something here in your question i don't understand, when you say you "replace" the filter each time?there's no need to replace the fiter, i'm somewhat confused by this.

Hope this is helpful:)

You need get a small gravel siphon to use when doing your 25% water changes while the fish and ADF's are in the 5g. I would leave the ornaments alone... As far as the spot, use a credit card or razor blade to scrape it off. You will want a "small" siphon to allow yourself time to vacuum all the substrate before too much water is removed... They can be purchased at any pet store and Walmart as well.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5949834_use-gravel-siphon....

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/fish-supplie...

Okay first your going to have to take your fish, and frogs out. Put them in something that is safe and that they can't escape out of. Be sure to use the same water that was in their fish tank so they don't go int shock.

Now your going to need quite a few things to clean the tank. You are going to need a gravel vacuum, a couple of towels, a sponge(to scrub the sides of the tank), a strainer(to rinse out pebbles), and a tub. First, you want to take out about 25%-30% of the fish tanks water. When you took about that much out, take out the rest of the water and keep it in a large bucket. Put the bucket a side(DO NOT dump the water out, keep it inside the bucket. Explanation later). Now your going to want to get your fish net or something, and scoop out all the pebbles. Place all the pebbles inside the strainer.

Once you have your pebbles in the strainer, your going to go to your sink and rinse out the pebbles with HOT water. This gets out all the amonia and all the waste on the pebbles. Once you rinsed out the pebbles for about 2-3 minutes, put them a side. Now you can start taking out all your tank accesories, such as plants, hide outs, filters, etc. Bring all these accesories to the tub(or sink) and give them a good rinse. Get your sponge(if you have one) and scrub out the filter and other accesories. Once you are done thoroughly washing those accesories, you can let them dry. BE SURE to never use soap when rinsing out your fish tank and the accesories. Only use the warmest temp. your hand can handle when rinsing the things out.

While the accesories are drying, you can bring your empty fish tank up to the tub(or outside to hose down) and wash it down really good(no soap). Use your sponge and scrub the sides and try to get all the nasty bacteria on the tank sides. Do not get out all the bacteria, because some bacteria is "Good" for the betta. When you are down shortly rinsing out the tank, you can let it dry. When your tank is dry, you can now put the wash pebbles back inside the tank. Put it neatly!

After putting in the pebbles, you can add all the tank accesories back inside. When you put all the accesories back in the tank, you can add the water that you saved inside the bucket(this water should be the old water that you did not dump out). When you added the old water back inside the tank, add the new clean conditioned water into the tank.

Take out the old filter cartridge and add a new clean one(rinse out the cartridge with cold water). Once this is done, let your tank cycle for a little bit. If you haven't added water conditioner, add it now! Put as much as needed inside your tank.

In about 30 minutes or so, put your fish back inside the tank. Be sure that water was the same as it was when the fish were in it before! That is how I clean all my fish tanks. My goldfish and betta's have been with me for over 2 years! :) Hope this helps.