Aquariums should be cleaned once a week, particularly if the main diet is dried food. Sediment collecting in the hollows and around the roots of plants could be removed with a siphon.
This is merely a length of rubber hose, attached to a Perspex tube with one end shaped like a flattened funnel.The tube is filled with water and hung over the side of the tank into a container, and also the other end held in the water near the sediment, which is sucked up by the rush of water.
There are a number of great sediment removers in the marketplace which work either in conjunction with an aerating pump, or with a separate hand bulb. These have the benefit of removing the sediment with out the water.
Water and sediment are raised by air pressure up a tube with a ‘U’ bend at the top to which a muslin bag is attached. The water returns to the tank, but the sediment is collected in the bag.
You are able to remove green algae on the glass with a razor blade scraper; these are specially made with a lengthy deal with for aquarium use. Snails will maintain down most of the soft green algae, but the tough, rusty brown kind of algae provides no attraction for them.
Thread algae, which, if left unhampered, will eventually choke the plants, could be removed with a rough piece of twig with the bark left on. Poke the stick among the algae and twirl it, and you’ll be surprised how a lot thread algae will probably be collected by this easy technique.
Scum on the water surface is obnoxious simply because it hampers the oxygenation procedure and is likely to trigger pollution. Scum is caused either by overfeeding (the uneaten food ferments), or by excessive lime in the water. You are able to remove scum by dragging a sheet of blotting paper across the water slowly from one end of the tank to the other, and then carefully lifting out the blotting paper.
Newspaper may also be utilized to remove scum from the water surface. A sheet laid on the water, left for a couple of moments, and then carefully removed by peeling off from one end, will soon clean the surface. If not clean after one operation, repeat until the surface would be to your liking.