Cleaning your cichlid aquarium is a big job at the best of times.
Even with the best mechanical filtration system in the world your aquarium water will become stale and this is why every week you should replace at least 25% of the water with fresh.
I am lucky enough just to be able to use tap water which I treat with a product called Aquasafe.
This treats the metals found in tap water and makes it safe for the fish.
Depending on the type of fish you have you may need to add a little aquarium salt to the fresh water.
Using a siphon you should remove the waste water to a large bucket.
For best results the bell end of the siphon should be dragged backwards through the gravel to suck up any waste debris lying on the surface.
This will help to clean the gravel and remove uneaten food from the aquarium.
This water should be then used to wash any items from inside the aquarium, such as rocks, caves, plastic plants etc.
To wash these items in fresh running water would destroy the friendly bacteria and effectively require the aquarium to cycle again.
Each week the filter should also be cleaned.
This is normally done by removing the filter media from inside the filter and rinsing it out in the old water you have just removed from the tank.
This allows you to remove fish waste from the filter media while not destroying the friendly bacteria needed to process that same waste.
Sometime the very fine filter media will have to be replaced with new to maintain effectiveness.
On my own 5ft cichlid aquarium I have used two external filters due to the amount of mess that the fish made.
Although I cleaned the aquarium weekly I only cleaned one filter on each alternate week to minimise the bacterial disruption.
My own preference has always been for an Eheim Canister Filter.
I have always been pleased with the performance and clarity of my aquarium water.
An external canister filter is much easier to clean as you can disconnect it from your aquarium setup and remove it to a better location for cleaning.
Internal filters on the other hand give rise to the opportunity of fish waste falling back inside the aquarium The main tank glass should be also cleaned every week using a blade edged scraper or a plastic scourers.
I find magnetic cleaners are more of a gimmick than any practical use so, yes, you have to get your hands wet.
It is important to thoroughly clean the glass as any trace of algae will give it a foot hold and comeback quicker next time.
I should point out that algae on the aquarium glass is purely a presentation issue.
It does not look nice but makes absolutely no difference to your fish.
Some fish even like to graze on the algae but providing you are feeding them correctly they can manage without it.
Even with the best mechanical filtration system in the world your aquarium water will become stale and this is why every week you should replace at least 25% of the water with fresh.
I am lucky enough just to be able to use tap water which I treat with a product called Aquasafe.
This treats the metals found in tap water and makes it safe for the fish.
Depending on the type of fish you have you may need to add a little aquarium salt to the fresh water.
Using a siphon you should remove the waste water to a large bucket.
For best results the bell end of the siphon should be dragged backwards through the gravel to suck up any waste debris lying on the surface.
This will help to clean the gravel and remove uneaten food from the aquarium.
This water should be then used to wash any items from inside the aquarium, such as rocks, caves, plastic plants etc.
To wash these items in fresh running water would destroy the friendly bacteria and effectively require the aquarium to cycle again.
Each week the filter should also be cleaned.
This is normally done by removing the filter media from inside the filter and rinsing it out in the old water you have just removed from the tank.
This allows you to remove fish waste from the filter media while not destroying the friendly bacteria needed to process that same waste.
Sometime the very fine filter media will have to be replaced with new to maintain effectiveness.
On my own 5ft cichlid aquarium I have used two external filters due to the amount of mess that the fish made.
Although I cleaned the aquarium weekly I only cleaned one filter on each alternate week to minimise the bacterial disruption.
My own preference has always been for an Eheim Canister Filter.
I have always been pleased with the performance and clarity of my aquarium water.
An external canister filter is much easier to clean as you can disconnect it from your aquarium setup and remove it to a better location for cleaning.
Internal filters on the other hand give rise to the opportunity of fish waste falling back inside the aquarium The main tank glass should be also cleaned every week using a blade edged scraper or a plastic scourers.
I find magnetic cleaners are more of a gimmick than any practical use so, yes, you have to get your hands wet.
It is important to thoroughly clean the glass as any trace of algae will give it a foot hold and comeback quicker next time.
I should point out that algae on the aquarium glass is purely a presentation issue.
It does not look nice but makes absolutely no difference to your fish.
Some fish even like to graze on the algae but providing you are feeding them correctly they can manage without it.
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