I have been keeping fish in an aquarium for a long time. I do many things to keep the aquarium environment and fish healthy; one of them is cleaning the aquarium gravel. Gravel creates a pleasant habitat for fish and enhances the beauty of the aquarium environment. It also helps to create a host of beneficial bacteria that are beneficial to the water and fish.
Gravel is usually contaminated with fish waste, excess fish food, dead plant leaves, and some algae in the aquarium water, which is harmful to fish. In the early days of my aquarium keeping, I had a lot of trouble cleaning aquarium gravel because I didn’t have any clear directions.
So, for new fish keepers to avoid this problem, I am discussing how to clean aquarium gravel based on my experience.
Gravel Cleaning Method
I can say from my experience that aquarium gravel cleaning methods can be divided into two categories based on the aquarium decor and plants:
01. How to clean aquarium gravel with a vacuum /aquarium siphon
02. How to clean aquarium gravel without a vacuum /aquarium siphon
01. How to clean aquarium gravel with a Vacuum
Aquariums with live plants should be cleaned with a gravel vacuum, as other methods of removing gravel may damage the plants. Below is a detailed discussion of how to vacuum aquarium gravel:
Unplug all electrical equipment
Unplug aquarium lights, heaters, filters, pumps, and other electrical equipment, if there are any, and keep them in a safe place to prevent accidents. Don’t worry about the fish; the time it takes to finish the cleaning process quickly will not harm your fish but try to finish the cleaning as quickly as possible.
Use of Vacuum/aquarium siphon
Vacuum/aquarium siphon Introduction: A vacuum consists of two parts: a plastic tube and a flexible pipe. The plastic tube will go into the tank over the gravel, and the flexible pipe will be outside the tank, with the water exiting through this part.
Many vacuums have a self-priming mechanism to draw water. If it doesn’t, you have to pull the water through the flexible pipe end when you move the siphon tube under the aquarium water to create a current.
Note: I use a mechanical vacuum to clean my tank; it’s modern and takes less time.
Aquarium Cleaning Methods
- The vacuum plastic tube will go into the tank, and the flexible pipe will be outside the tank, through which the water will exit. A bucket or something else should be placed outside the tank so that the water in the tank can collect through the tube into the bucket or something else.
- After turning on the vacuum, run the plastic tube over the gravel around the tank, swirl it around, and gently stir it with a special aquarium spoon or stick to remove any sediment that has settled, allowing the sediment to rise from the gravel and out through the vacuum tube.
- The vacuum tube should be positioned at a 2-inch radius around the base of any live plants in the tank to avoid damaging the plant roots. Moreover, plants like organic waste collect nutrients from this waste in a 2-inch radius.
- If there are some big pebbles in your tank and algae have accumulated on the pebbles, then these pebbles should be taken out, cleaned well, and kept in the tank, but be careful! Do not use soap while cleaning.
- Instead of changing all the water in the tank at once, you can change 40-50% of the water because the water contains plants and many types of beneficial bacteria.
Clearing stagnant waste
Vacuuming can be done by gently moving the debris with a specific aquarium spoon or scoop to lift the debris where it has settled, allowing the sediment to rise up from the debris and out through the vacuum tube.
Cleaning the decor
Waste and sediment accumulate on many aggregates like gravel, which need to be cleaned because the waste decomposes and degrades the water quality.
To clean the gravel, the gravel can be taken out of the tank and cleaned. At this time, the gravel must be taken out of the tank and kept in a clean place, but the gravel cannot be cleaned with soap in any way.
Add Water to the Tank
The 40-50% of the water to be changed should be at the same temperature as the water in the tank. You can use a thermometer to check the temperature of the water. New water must be added to the tank at a temperature equal to the temperature of the tank water, or the fish will suffer from temperature fluctuations.
Plugging in all electrical equipment
Plug in the electrical equipment that you unplugged and turn on the electrical equipment to return the tank to its previous environment. Besides, many wastes have mixed with the water during cleaning, so the filter should be turned on to clean the water.
02. How to clean aquarium gravel without a Vacuum
Gravel can be cleaned without a vacuum in aquariums that do not have live plants and are small in size. Below is a detailed discussion of how to clean aquarium gravel without a vacuum:
Unplug all electrical appliances
If the aquarium lights, heaters, filters, pumps, and other electrical equipment are there, unplug them and keep them in a safe place so that no accidents happen. Don’t worry about the fish; the time it takes to finish the cleaning process quickly will not harm your fish but try to finish the cleaning as quickly as possible.
Collecting Water and Gravel from the Aquarium
Collecting Water: Collect some water from the aquarium in a bucket or some other container so that the aquarium fish can be kept in this water because the fish cannot be placed in fresh water immediately, as this may cause stress, which is harmful to the fish.
Collecting Gravel: Collect some (2-3 mugs) of gravel before collecting gravel from the aquarium. It should be added to the aquarium, as all the beneficial bacteria in the gravel will be destroyed when the gravel is cleaned, so some gravel must be collected to breed new bacteria that can then be used in the tank.
Remove the Fish from the Tank
Carefully remove the fish from the tank so as not to injure them. Special nets are available for fishing in aquariums. If you wish, you can use the net to move the fish so that they can be caught easily.
Remove the fish from the tank and put them in the water collected from the previous aquarium and add some fresh water to this water so that the fish can live well. Before adding new water, make sure that the temperature of the water is the same as the previous water.
Remove the Gravel and Water from the Tank
Remove Decorations: Remove the decorations from the tank that were added to beautify the aquarium and make the fish comfortable, because without vacuuming, the gravel cleaning will not be done properly. Remove the gravel from the tank and keep it in a clean place to avoid any damage.
Remove the Water: To clean gravel without a vacuum, remove all water from the tank. All gravel cannot be removed from the tank without removing the water. You can use a mug or something else to get the water out. Be careful when removing water from the tank so as not to damage the tank.
Remove Gravel from the Tank and Clean
If your tank has large pebbles, remove them first. Remove large gravel carefully with a mug or other object and carefully scoop out all the gravel and place it in a clean bucket or container.
Now rinse the pebbles thoroughly with clean water and repeat this process until they are thoroughly cleaned. Once clean, wash the gravel thoroughly with DE-chlorinated water and wait for use in the tank.
Warning: Do not use soap to clean gravel.
Clean the Decorations and Filter
Cleaning of Sediments: Along with the gravel, all the sediments in the tank should be cleaned to maintain the water quality. The cloth should be cleaned thoroughly with clean water. If the dirt is thick or does not come off easily, rub it with a clean cloth.
Do not use soap to clean the gravel. You can use many cleaners available in the market.
Clean the Filter: Since everything is being cleaned, clean the filter so that several tanks and aquariums do not need to be cleaned. To clean the filter, refer to your filter company’s cleaning instructions, as each company’s filter is cleaned differently.
Return Everything to the Tank
Return the Gravel: The cleaned gravel and any amount of dirt that was initially removed from the gravel should be carefully returned to the main tank along with the clean gravel.
The first impure gravel contains beneficial bacteria that will mix with all the clean gravel to create more beneficial bacteria. After cleaning, gravel does not contain beneficial bacteria.
Return the Water: Before adding water, check the water level of the container in which the fish are kept, then make new water of the same temperature. When the temperature is correct, add 10-20% of the fish-holding water to the tank with fresh water. Add a DE chlorinating agent to the freshwater because freshwater contains many harmful bacteria.
Plug-in Electrical Equipment
Plug in all unplugged electrical appliances in their proper place and turn on the electrical appliances. There is some amount of old gravel and old water in the tank, so to clean them, the filter should be turned on so that the water becomes clean. Turn on all equipment in sequence to improve the aquarium environment.
Add Fish and Decorations
Add Fish: After adding gravel, water, and electrical equipment to the tank, carefully place your fish into the tank one by one. At first, the fish may be a bit stressed; but there is nothing to be afraid of; after a while, everything will be fine.
Add Decorations: Since you’re done with other things, just add decorations, placing them carefully where they look good.
Bonus Tips
- Purify 20-30% of water per week. Use light gravel during water purification to allow waste to rise to the top and go with the water.
- Remove algae in the aquarium. Keep some snails and some shrimp; they will eat algae and help remove it from the aquarium.
- Avoid overfeeding. Remove excess feed from the tank.
- Use high-quality filters; high-quality filters are more efficient, and they clean dirt easily.
The End(How to clean aquarium gravel)
