Basics : Maintenance
While some maintenance items are entirely optional, others are necessary for the continued health of the fish. From speaking with many hobbyists (customers), what has always struck me was how the optional and mandatory items are often confused with each other.
As an example, most algae are a type of plant, and their growth does nothing to harm the fish. In an extreme, it might choke other plants, but normally it's filling a food niche and may be providing food for some fish, or a home for micro organisms which may be eaten as well. Algae are mostly cosmetic, so its removal is optional to your tastes.
For tank maintenance, the usual arsenal is a pail, a towel, a net (scooping duckweed), scrubber (cleaning algae), scissors (pruning plants), a gravel vacuum and a hose (to siphon or to fill it back). Your test kit might come into use as well.
The items covered below are filters, water, gravel, rocks, driftwood and glass (algae, scratches and hard water deposits).
Details...
FILTERS
When new, the sponge media in your filter does very little more than blocking large pieces of debris. As it gets coated in a bio-film of bacteria, it begins removing progressively smaller particles, and the bacteria it harbours removes toxic ammonia and nitrites from the water. These filters should not be washed or replaced in a manner which damages the aquarium's bacterial balance. A tan-coloured somewhat slimy sticky filter sponge which still easily passes water through it is ideal. Rinse often and lightly so it stays close to the ideal operating mode.
The interior of the filter will also get coated in the same bio-film. There is no necessity to remove this. The filter hoses should be cleaned periodically if they are collecting enough algae to begin impeding the water flow.
Biowheel maintenance is limited to removing any accumulation around the axle to ensure that it continues turning properly. A little stop & go is not harmful, but watch that it does not stop entirely.
Carbon is recommended to be changed every 2 months (if being used). Sintered glass may be gently rinsed periodically. Manufacturers recommend changing part of it every 6 months. Acidifying materials (peat, oak, terbang) are changed as results warrant. Calcium leeching products are rinsed periodically.
Undergravel filters are not really cleaned (other than gravel vacuuming) but it's not uncommon to siphon water out through the riser pipes once a year to pull out any fine dust-like mulm which accumulates.
WATER
This topic is discussed in detail in the section on water. The industry recommendation is to do a 20% water change weekly. There are valid arguments for doing more, certain application certainly benefiting from fresher water conditions. Planted tanks often get less water changes as the plants are serving as filters, removing nitrates which might accumulate more quickly otherwise. Water changes are also a function of fish-load, or more precisely, the amount of food being consumed. The higher the rate of consumption, the more quickly various undesirable elements will accumulate. One possible benchmark is to do water changes at a rate which keeps NO3 below 20ppm, but I find this does not take into consideration too many setups which would not apply.
GRAVEL
Plant and animal matter (detritus) will collect in the gravel, and begin breaking down. In the small confines of an aquarium, this much rotting material will have an undesirable effect on the water's quality (exhausting the kH buffer, lowering the pH (acidifying the water), adding DOCs, adding NH3/4, NO2 and eventually NO3 etc).
If the gravel is sloped up toward the back, much of the detritus will settle in the front of the tank where it can be easily vacuumed out. Gravel vacuums can be as simple as a hose with a wide pipe at the end draining to a pail, - to an attachment for your faucet to both vacuum and refill the tank (Python). Whichever you use, push the pipe into the gravel and give it a bit of a shake. Adjust your water flow through the pipe and the speed you move across the bottom by the amount of detritus being pulled out.
If you reach your water change target after only vacuuming half the tank, then take note of where you were, and simply do the other side of the tank the following week.
This rotting detritus is also plant food so it's not essential to remove it from around plant roots. The gravel vacuum would also cause damage to the root network if you get too close. In a heavily stocked tank, gravel vacuum lightly around the plants. In a lightly stocked tank, use your discretion after checking the surface. Between doing too much and doing too little, it's better to do too much gravel vacuuming.
ROCKS
How rocks are cleaned depends on the type of rock (porous or non-porous) and what you are trying to remove. A small amount of algae can be removed by simply turning the rock upside down (reveals the clean side and the algae dies from the side now in the substrate).
Non-porous rocks can be cleaned of algae, moulds and bacterial growths (diatoms, slime algae etc) with a brush (dedicated for aquarium usage only). They can also be placed in a mild bleach solution (20 parts water, 1 part bleach) and left to soak. Rinse and then dip them in a pail of triple de-chlorinated water.
Porous rocks require much more discretion as any solutions used to clean them will be absorbed and hard brushing can cause much of the rock to break apart. The best plan is to not allow these rocks to get to an undesirable condition. Non-toxic soaks include very hot water and vinegar.
DRIFTWOOD
Although not usually cleaned, if needed, most accumulations can be removed with a combination of hot water and a stiff brush. If removing moulds or there has been a disease in the tank which you are sterilizing against, then boiling water and dehydration will be effective in the majority of cases.
GLASS (cleaning algae)
Ordinarily, all you need to do is clean off the algae which get on your front glass (or any other viewing pane). Cleaning the algae from the back glass or anywhere else is entirely optional. There are a few ways to do this, either letting the fish do it for you, or using a scrubber (on a handle, by hand, or on magnets).
The larger the aquarium, the easier it is to have fish do the work. There are several types of algae, and no single fish eats them, all and smaller tanks will not allow as much of a variety in algae-eaters as would be possible with a larger tank. However, even with the best algae eaters, the front viewing pane will probably not be 100% acceptable, so then we employ scrubbers.
If you don't mind getting wet, the common scrubbing pad works best. Just be sure to use a pad which has not been treated with anti-fungicides or is anti-bacterial. The cheaper the scrubber, the less likely it has had extra treatment, but this is not a certain indicator.
Scrubbers on a handle give you more reach (into the back where you wouldn't even get to), and more of you stays drier. You give away some control and strength, so you might have to go over a section more than once and press harder (and handles sometimes break). Some models don't let you replace the scrubber, but these thick scrubbers last a long time.
Magnetic scrubbers let you stay almost completely dry, and have an additional benefit of being somewhat fun, so kids will sometimes do the work for you. Typically, the magnets come in 3 sizes (corresponding to different glass thicknesses). If the magnet is too weak, it scrubs poorly and loses magnetic grip, falling to the bottom of the tank. If it's too strong, it will scrub well, but take a solid push to keep it moving. Between the two, go bigger rather than too small. The adhesive holding the magnet to the plastic handle does come off with time, and the scrubber material starts to thin out, but they generally last for quite a while (otherwise take it back for exchange). One drawback is that any substrate which gets caught in the scrubber's pad has the potential to scratch the glass, so use these very carefully if you are using a sand substrate. When using these magnets, hold the scrubber side against the glass inside near the top. Place the exterior magnet on the glass a few inches away. Then slide them towards each other so they can lock together (this prevents them slamming into the glass). Another characteristic of the magnets is they occasionally come apart. Adding a string between them makes retrieval easy, but I've never used it. Often the magnetic lock can be re-established after they have come apart, but be extra careful that no substrate got trapped. You might have to go over an area more than once, so these are best used often, while there is only a lighter surface algae to contend with.
GLASS (scratches)
There are numerous articles on the web for removing scratches from glass, so I won't go into details here. Note that small scratches are often unseen when underwater. Basically the process depends on the condition of the glass. For slight scratches, polishing might be sufficient (diamond dust and olive oil, or cerium oxide and water made into a slurry). For deeper scratches, then the surface must be ground down (#1200 grit) before polishing. For even deeper damage, you might need to go to a coarser grit (#600) before moving to the #1200. Glass is not difficult to grind and polish, but it requires power tools, patience and incrementally finer abrasives to get the right results. One hobbyist documented a glass polishing done on an aquarium which still had fish in it (see my links page), but this is not recommended (much easier to do it in an empty tank).
GLASS (hard water deposits)
If after trying various chemical solutions, you cannot remove stains from glass, then it might be because the stains are etched in, so read the section above on glass scratches.
With any chemical, there are 3 concerns, your safety, residuals left behind and potential damage to the silicone. As a first choice, it's easy to deal with the residue from vinegar, but depending on the chemical composition of the stain, and the quantity of build-up, you might find vinegar useless.
At the other extreme are chemicals such as muriatic acid. These need to be handled with extreme caution and with safety equipment. In between there are a variety of products used, although for all of them, leaving them to soak is part of the technique. Note that as their cleaning power increases, so does their toxicity.
Some products I pulled from the internet besides vinegar (white distilled works best), are salt (kosher salt more abrasive on stains), lime Kool-Aid? (half the water & no sugar), dish soap (contains acid) with nylon scouring pads, bleach, CLR, lime away, tile cleaners, #000 (fine) steel wool, razor blades, sulphamic acid, and muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid). As a mid-point, CLR is a readily available product consumers have some experience with, so this might be a good starting point for stubborn stains.
Note that all the mechanical methods (razor blades, steel wool, scouring pads etc) pose some risk of abrasion, if not from what you are holding, then from the deposits you are trying to remove if they get trapped in between.
The more aggressive the solvent used, the more hazardous the work. If you will be using strong acids, it's prudent to be prepared for spillage. Have some baking soda on hand (sodium bicarbonate) to neutralize any spills. Dissolve a couple of cups in a gallon of water (to quickly neutralize spills on equipment or skin), or use it in its dry form, but cautiously (to prevent too violent a reaction). Skin contact should be rinsed for 15 minutes under cold water. Glasses, rubber gloves and a long button up shirt or smock that you can rip off rapidly are highly recommended. Also better to have someone else home at the time.
From vinegar to muriatic acid, none work instantly, so be prepared to let them soak as necessary. Most of these recommendations came from usenet posts and articles on the web. Another option for top plates with hard water stains is to drop them off at a glass supplier. He will measure and provide you with duplicates. Use a little clear silicone & rubber handled clamps to fasten the retaining edges back on (if any are used), or just slip the plastic hinges back on. The glass is typically quite thin, so the material is not very expensive.
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