Fish Tank Cleaning Supplies

The Five Most Basic Cleaning Products That Every Aquarium Owner Must Have In Order To Maintain A Healthy Tank.

Time to roll up your sleeves and clean your aquarium? Make sure you have these five basic fish tank cleaning supplies. For starters, you will need a siphon for cleaning the tank gravel, as waste and debris accumulate on the bottom very quickly. You can purchase one of these from Python, who also makes a convenient siphon starter. If you don't want to deal with a bucket, there are also siphons available that can reach all the way to your sink. Be aware, however, that if you accidentally suck a fish up into the siphon, it's a long trek to the sink to save it. If you choose not to purchase a siphon that goes directly to the sink, then you will need a bucket.

Any five gallon bucket is well-suited for catching siphon water, as it's tall, and it can also be used to store your fish tank cleaning supplies when you're finished with them. I recommend the 5 gallon Homer Bucket from Home Depot, as it even comes with an optional lid. You don't want water sloshing out onto your clean floor! In addition to the mandatory siphon, every aquarium owner should have some sort of algae scraper as one of their fish tank cleaning supplies. I prefer the magnetic ones, as you don't have to reach into the tank like you do with the handheld scrapers. Additionally, it's probably best to clean the glass at a different time than you clean the gravel, as the filters have enough debris to contend with when after a siphon cleaning.

Once you are ready to replace the water that was taken out from cleaning the gravel, make sure you treat the new water with a dechlorinator, as the Chlorine found in tap water will kill your fish. Lastly, be sure not to replace more than about half of your tank water as there is good bacteria present which helps keep the water clean, and it takes time for it to build up in the tank again. If you use all these recommended fish tank cleaning supplies, you should have no problems maintaining the health of your tank for years to come.