You do clean your house don’t you? Well you have to clean your Goldfish’s house too and it’s a lot simpler! Cleaning and maintaining a goldfish tank is a must because this breed is really dirty. Even a teenager’s room would be better than a goldfish tank that’s left alone for a week! The Goldfish are descendants of
scavenger Carp fish and that makes them scavengers too. They will eat a lot, which means that they will produce a lot of fish waste that will degrade quality of water. More than a complete overhaul of tank, you will need to give frequent weekly cleanings.How do you use a siphon to clean your goldfish tank?
You will need to use a siphon to clean your goldfish tank because it efficiently cleans up muck, does not disturb your fish and is easy to use. It’s essential to use during partial water changes. A typical aquarium gravel vacuum would be a wide tube attached to a narrower siphon tube. By cleaning gravel every week you would get rid of a lot of substances that could turn toxic for your fish over a period of time. Here’s how you begin siphoning process:
* Put a bucket on a low stool or even on floor in front of fish tank, and place wide end of gravel vacuum in tank.
* Now gently suck at other end and hold it over bucket. Once you feel water flowing into tube let it flow into bucket. Be careful not to swallow water though- but even if you do, it isn’t going to be harmful!
* Now that siphon has started, use wider end to suck out dirt and debris out of gravel and flow out of tank into bucket.
* Pass vacuum end over all gravel and keep doing so till you have removed 10 to 15% of water.
* If gravel gets stuck in vacuum, release gravel by plugging other end of siphon tube with your finger or thumb.
* When you want to stop siphon just raise both ends above level of tank
* To stop siphon, simply raise either end of siphon above surface level of fish tank.
There are gravel vacuum that can be attached to a faucet but this would mean that you be putting back tap water directly into tank which might not be good for your goldfish if there is a marked temperature difference. Also you would be adding all chemicals present in tap water without allowing chlorine to evaporate. The best option is to keep a container of fresh water overnight.
The Weekly 10-15%
Cleaning your tank is essential to your goldfish’s well being. In fact, both your plants and your goldfish need fresh, clean and healthy water to survive. All you need to do is set aside a little time every week to do what is called a Partial Water Change or 10-15% Water Change. This weekly routine will not only keep your aquarium look nice and clean, it will keep your goldfish healthy. Partial water changes are no sweat – all you have to do is scrape algae, vacuum gravel and replace water you remove with fresh water. Here’s what you need to do:
