Keeping It Clean: From the Fish Tank Filter to Snails

Aquariums can be a great way to bring the outside inside for your family to enjoy. Fish are fun, pretty, and relatively low maintenance. But that dirty fish tank! The thoughts of taking the fish out of the tank, scraping the sides of the tank, scrubbing, prepping the water, refilling, adding the fish back into the water make your head spin! There are tools and tips, however, to cut back on the cleaning sessions and keep your aquarium clean on a day-to-day basis. Read below for ways to keep your aquarium clean using everything from a fish tank filter to snails.

The Fish Tank Filter

One of the best ways to keep the water clean, aerated and flowing freely is to purchase a fish tank filter. The job of the filter is to remove fish waste and to keep the water as free from sediment as possible. There are two types of filters commonly used: Under gravel systems, and canister systems that attach to the side of the tank. Both require some maintenance and upkeep such as pad changing.

While the physical fish tank filter is sometimes considered the most important part of maintaining an aquarium, the fish tank filter combined with other forms of filtration such as chemical and biological filtration can help keep your aquarium. The chemical filtration system works with the proteins, pH and chemicals in the water while biological filtration uses helpful bacterial growth to scrub the water cleaner for your fish.

Snails in the Fish Tank

In addition to a fish tank filter, other methods you can utilize while growing your aquarium environment are snails. Snails do a great job of keeping the gravel clean and feeding off the algae that grows on the side of the tank. Snails do, however, have a tendency to overpopulate. Watch for jelly-like masses that form on the side of the tank or on the decorative aquatic plants and remove them by scraping away.

Changing the Water

Regardless of which fish tank filter you choose or how many snails you have in the water, you are still going to clean the tank once in a while. On a weekly basis, you should change 10 to 15 percent of the volume of water in your tank. Even though this takes a bit of time and exertion, it is incredibly important in keeping your fish healthy.