make sure you have a bucket and jug that hasn’t had any soap in it. I just empty about 1/3rd of the water, fill, clean the filter and it works fine.

I have 2 goldfish that have survived 3 years (amazingly)… we will take out water (put fish in bucket with a little of the water) and wash the pebbles under hot water… just don’t use soap at all cause that could kill your fish. We also have a magnetic cleaner that helps clean the sides when full of water. We have a separate bucket for the fish that has never had any type of detergent in it.

I have found cleaning out daily with a tube as a syphon works miracles. You can target debri on the bottom and in the water and “vacuum” it up, leaving enough water for the fish to enjoy “continuity” topping it up with fresh water. We got some 5mm tube from Bunnings and a bucket and that works really well. Ever so often if the water gets really dirty the fish are removed using a container so that they are not handled in a net. The tank is cleaned etc. and fish returned. We always keep the water temperature as even as possible and before topping up the tank or transferring fish we leave water standing so that it becomes the same temperature as the fish have been used to.

We pop our fish into a bowl or saucepan ( whatever is to hand!) Empty out the old water, clean all the ornaments etc and filter, scrub the glass (just do not use soap products). Refill the aquarium, add some water conditioner and pop the fish back in. Ours have survived this routine for years.

I am interested to read everyone’s thoughts, I am thinking of buying one

I would suggest you to buy a cat fish they usually like to crawl on the glass and eats the green stuff which usually builts up on the glass trust me they will do the job

Try to have the water the same temperature as the water already in the tank. It is also important not to change to much at the same time. In general, sudden changes are not good for the fish.

Just make sure when cleaning the aquarium, you work quickly, fish can become distressed easily. Be very gentle with them and be careful with the changes in temperature.

We usually take about three quaters of the water out, As well as the filter and give that a quick rinse using clean water till water runs clear. I also take out all the decrative items in the aquarium and give them a scrub and put back in the aquarium. I then give the glass a quick wipe down if there is any built up slime etc using just a damp cloth. I then fill the aquarium back up with water. I then put in a few drops of some kind of liquid that was recommended to us when we purchased the aquarium which i gather helps make the water more suitable for the fish to be in.. Its time consumming but worth it.. After cleaning i do find it take a few hours for the water to settle and look super clean.. Good luck.

Your aquarium should come with cleaning instructions – google their website and find the information on your aquarium. Might be a good idea to invest in book/s on aquariums/fish – good to have a good reference book.

Your aquarium should have come with some instructions. If you have an inbuilt filter, turn off, remove and wash the filters (we do ours in a bucket pf clean water). You need to remove around 1/4 to 1/3 of the water – you can buy a special syphon from a pet shop that cleans the gravel too – they are great. The cheapest option is a length of clear flexible tubing (buy about 1m from a hardware store or a pet shop – the diameter you need depends a bit on the size of your tank and the volume of water you need to remove).

Before adding fresh water, make sure its been left to sit for a while (3min or so) in the same room as the fish tank. This helps ensure that the water is the same temperature as the tank water and that some of the chemicals have dispersed (additives to assist with this are a good idea).

A couple of algae eating fish in your tank help keep the glass clean.

Good luck!

You can buy special scrubbing brushes to help clean the glass and a pump to filter and pump out the water once a week – only take out about a third. Pets stores have all these or somewhere like big w or Kmart who would be cheaper. Ours gets cleaned once a week and I find the trick is not to let the kids over feed the fish otherwise you end up with heaps of wasted food as well in the water.