Those who love to observe the life of fish in their own aquarium should know that regular water purification is also necessary for aquarium inhabitants, as well as timely feeding. Recycled substances, waste products, food residues - all this is the cause of aquarium clogging, water bloom and deterioration of the living conditions of the fish.
Instructions
Step 1
With what regularity the filter should be cleaned, it is difficult to say unequivocally. This largely depends on the volume of your "reservoir" and how many inhabitants live in it. The more living creatures in the aquarium, the more often you will have to clean the filter. On average, this should be done at least once every 7-10 days. In this case, only the filter head (filter media) can be cleaned. It is not recommended to disassemble it completely.
Step 2
Clean the filter quickly and gently. Be sure to use aquarium water to flush it. The filter material is valuable precisely because it is inhabited by colonies of bacteria that are directly involved in biofiltration. Therefore, the task, on the one hand, is to clean the filter from contamination, and on the other, to minimize exposure to bacteria that are in the same place.
Step 3
Unplug the filter from the mains, remove it from the aquarium and rinse it lightly with warm water using a soft sponge. Free the removed rotor from dirt, mucus and feed, and then very carefully use a toothbrush to tidy the filter nozzle.
Step 4
If you have a chemical filter, do not forget to update the filtering materials: crushed limestone, coal, peat. If you notice that water is flowing more slowly through the filter, thoroughly rinse the crushed stone with water to remove any sludge.
Step 5
Clean biological filters very carefully and do not rush to frequently change filtration materials. One cleaning session does not require replacing the entire material, but only a third of it. This will keep the bacteria necessary for the filter intact. If the filter is bottom, then it is better not to touch its filter layer at all. It is more correct to equip a large aquarium with several biological filters at once and clean them one by one.
Step 6
There are multi-section filters that combine three types of cleaning: mechanical, biological and chemical. Special attention should be paid to such filters. For example, rinse the particulate sponge weekly with water. Change the peat bag, which oxidizes water, every couple of weeks.
