An aquarium is not only interior decoration, pleasant emotions, beautiful fish and pleasure from contemplation. This facility requires careful and regular maintenance: water changes, fish treatment, filter and glass cleaning, removal of lower algae and, of course, soil cleaning. The latter, as the most laborious process, should be given special attention. So how do you clean your aquarium soil properly?
It is necessary
- - aquarium siphon,
- - bucket,
- - water.
Instructions
Step 1
The first few weeks after buying an aquarium, the soil should not be agitated. The water in the aquarium is fresh, the inhabitants are just settling in. However, each feeding (and this should be done no more than once a day) should be moderate, that is, fish food should not remain at the bottom and even have time to sink to the ground.
Step 2
Further, the soil should be cleaned every month, because particles of uneaten food and waste products of the inhabitants of the aquarium constantly sink to the bottom. If not removed, they can start to rot. In the process of decay, bacteria release a poisonous gas - hydrogen sulfide. "Sour" soil is very easy to identify: turn it with your hand and smell the bubbles that have risen. If there is no smell, everything is fine. If the bubbles smell like sour algae and rotten eggs, urgently siphon the soil.
Step 3
To clean the soil, you should purchase a special aquarium siphon - a cylinder-funnel put on the hose. With the help of it it is convenient to siphon, that is, to clean the soil in any aquarium.
Step 4
The soil cleaning process is the same process of replacing part of the water. No fish is required to be planted. With a cylinder-funnel on a siphon, stick in and stir up the soil to the base, the raised grains of sand and pebbles pull out the accumulated waste as well. Heavy soil quickly sinks back to the bottom without being sucked into the siphon, but dirt particles go through the tube into the drain. When the water at the tip of the siphon becomes clear, stick it into the adjacent soil. Hold it for a few seconds for every 5 cm of the bottom. Until the drain bucket is filled with cloudy water through the hose.
Step 5
Add fresh water to the aquarium. The first few hours after cleaning, the water in the aquarium may be slightly cloudy. Nothing wrong with that. Be patient, the suspension will settle to the bottom, and the water will return to its usual transparent state.
Step 6
To remove all sediment from highly contaminated soil, pebbles must be completely removed from the aquarium, after transplanting the fish into another container and pouring out all the water. This is a very time-consuming procedure and should be resorted to no more than once every 6-12 months. If you got all the soil from the bottom, rinse it under running water, rinse thoroughly without using any detergents. Fill with water and drain several times. The soil can be poured back into the aquarium.
