Okay, I've been surfing and reading as much as I can to learn about proper fish care, etc. since I started keeping GF about 2 months ago. I have the rudimentary understanding of water quality, cycling of tank, gravel cleaning, algae cleaners, etc. to keep my fish happy and healthy.

I was just curious at what extent do you go about cleaning the tank. I read that ornaments and plants should be cleaned/pruned at least monthly. And gravel and tanks should be thoroughly cleaned annually. This seems like an arduous task for some owners who have larger tanks.

Do a majority of the long-term GF owners out there completely clean their tanks and start from scratch? I had a tough time with cycling my tank so I'm not eager to take on a major cleaning like this. What is your frequency of such a task and how do you go about cleaning/sterilizing.

TANKS in advance!

Kyle

One of my tanks.......36gal with a 2026 Eheim Filter, UV, Eheim Hang on filter.

Once a week a 20% water change.
Once a week a 50% water change.

Once every two months tank the Eheim 2026 and clean and replace filter media in the canitster.

Once a week clean the Hang on Eheim filter.

Once every 6 months replace the UV light and clean it out.

I have live plants in the take so I dont clean anything in the tank just the filter media and filter system.

I also replace the ligh blubs every year

I never strip down/clean my tanks entirely except in the case of death/disease. It's actually better not to, since the "good bacteria" are living on every surface in your tank. Of course you need to clean your filter out regularly, do a weekly gravel vac (if you have gravel). Every now and then the ornaments in the tank might need a scrubbing for aesthetic reasons, but other than that there isn't anything you need to do. I do remove some of my gravel every now and then and give it a good rinsing, then replace it and mix it amongst the other gravel. You'd be surprised how gross the stuff can get. Doing only a little at a time doesn't disrupt the biobugs enough to matter, and it keeps the gravel clean. Generally the idea is just to keep organic matter in your tanks to a minimum (by pruning plants, washing off ornaments/plants that crud might get stuck in) but there's no reason for a complete cleaning or regular sterilization, and thank god because with as many tanks as I have, if I had to strip them down and start from scratch on a regular basis I don't think I'd be keeping fish!

Bet you're relieved, huh??! Happy fishkeeping!

Thanks Koko and HappyGoldfish!

Great info! I was worried that I would have to start from scratch every year!

K--