Many people who have fish tanks are looking for a safe and easy way to clean their aquarium decorations. There are many ways that you can do this, but it is important to know what you should avoid in order to ensure the safety of your fish tank and its inhabitants. This article will give you some guidelines on how to keep your tank clean without harming any of its inhabitants or risking an algae bloom.
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Why Clean Aquarium Decorations?
Cleaning aquarium decorations will make the tank more aesthetically pleasing, over a period of time aquarium decorations will look less bright and vibrant, but even though they start to look dirty they are not actually going to harm the fish in the tank.
When Should You clean Aquarium Decorations?
The best time to clean aquarium decorations is when you do a partial water change, if the decorations do not look dirty then leave them well alone as it would cause unnecessary stress to your fish and there would be no benefit.
How to Clean Aquarium Decorations Safely
Cleaning the decorations in an aquarium is a relatively simple process but if not done correctly you could cause harm to your fish.
The reason decorations start to look dirty is they become covered in bacteria within the tank or even algae.
If you are doing partial water changes regularly then this will reduce any build-up of dirt that can lead to an algae spike so regular 20% water changes at least once every two weeks is a good idea and will reduce the amount of tank maintenance you will have to carry out over time.
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Last update on 2024-09-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Cleaning the Aquarium Decorations
Step One
Turn off the power to the aquarium and remove the aquarium lid or tank cover.
Step Two
Remove 20% of the water from the tank into a bucket this water will be used to clean the decorations, good bacteria is not harmful to fish so it would not be a good idea to clean aquarium decorations using tap water as this will remove all the good bacteria from the tank decorations.
Step Three
Remove the aquarium decorations one at a time for cleaning in the bucket of water.
Step Four
Clean the decoration in the fish water removed from the tank do not use any chemicals to clean decorations as that could seriously harm your fish.
If the aquarium decorations have stubborn stains use a brush from your aquarium toolkit or a new toothbrush to help with the cleaning process.
Once clean add the decoration back to the tank ready to repeat the process with the next decoration.
The reason we don’t suggest removing all decorations at once is that it could stress the fish so one at a time is best.
Step Five
Once all the decorations are fully cleaned and replaced back into the tank you can also take this opportunity to give the fish tank filter a clean in the water taken from the fish tank.
Step Six
Top up the tank to its full position not forgetting to use dechlorinating fluid when using tap water.
The process of cleaning your aquarium decorations is now complete.
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Last update on 2024-09-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Frequently Asked Questions
Fish tanks tend to look bare without any decorations in them. Giving a fish tank some nice decorations can make the whole thing more enjoyable for you to look at and help keep your fish happy, since they feel safe this way. Some people also like having decorations to give off a certain mood or theme for the room where their tank is found. Fish will occasionally appreciate smaller spaces where they can hide from other, larger predatory fishes. If adding Rocks or heavy items to a fish tank be especially careful when placing them into the tank as the glass at the bottom of the tank could crack.
It is important to only use decorations that are approved for use in aquariums, natural decorations such as rocks or wood must be sanitised before being placed into a fish tank to remove any bacteria or living organisms that may be harmful to your fish, scrub them first with plain water then place them in a bucket of scalding water for at least 15 minutes to kill off any bacteria.
Colourful decorations will make a fish tank look nice, different types of aquarium decorations include, caves, ships, statues, ruins, plants, rocks and driftwood. Fish like decorations in a fish tank because they have somewhere to hide when they want a little peace and quiet from larger fish in the tank.
I hope you found this beginner guide “how to clean aquarium decorations” useful for maintaining your fish tank decorations.
