How to Clean Aquarium Decorative Elements?
There is a wide variety of aquarium décor that is available in the market and they range from rocks and plants to ornaments. These ornaments provide hiding spaces for the fish and they will uplift the aesthetic appeal of the aquarium as well. But one issue that you will face with aquarium décor is that they can get dirty over time once they are covered with debris and algae.
You need to make sure that you keep your aquarium clean so that the health of the fish is maintained. It ensures proper water quality and keeps the fish from getting sick. It is best to have a checklist of what to do weekly and monthly. Cleaning tank decorations regularly comes under monthly maintenance. But you need to understand how to clean these aquarium decorations because the chemicals that you use to clean them can be toxic to the fish. How you wash the decorations will affect water quality and it will affect the health of the fish as well.
If you don’t completely rinse the decorations after soaping them, the residue can alter the water chemistry. You should wash your hands well before you clean the decorations. Make sure to rinse them without soap.
If your aquarium has any real plants, you can trim some of the dead leaves and remove dead plants. It is best not to move the plant as this might damage its roots. A very difficult part of cleaning the tank involves cleaning the substrate. This is what makes up the bottom of the fish tank. If your tank is filled with gravel at the bottom, you can vacuum it to get rid of organic matter on them which can give rise to algae. There are vacuum cleaners that are made to clean gravel especially.
If there is sand, you will have a harder time with it because it takes a lot of effort and time. You can gently stir the sand bed a little to get some of the dirt out which can then be sucked out by a vacuum. There will be a lot of useful bacteria within the sand so you don’t need to clean it thoroughly as it will remove them.
Once the substrate is cleaned, you can then turn your attention to the tank decorations such as the caves, rocks, plastic plants, and ornaments. If you generally carry out frequent cleaning, you can simply use a vacuum and wash the items in hot water to ensure cleanliness. If there has been a lot of time elapsed since your last cleaning, you may need a more thorough clean.
Make sure that you gently remove the decorations so that they don’t break. It is best to remove only 1/4th of the decorations at one time so that it doesn’t disturb the fish. You can boil the ornaments and plastic plants but make sure you don’t add any chemicals or soap to it. After boiling, leave the decorations to soak for about 10 minutes to kill the algae. You can then use a soft brush to scrub dirt and algae from the decorations. A toothbrush will be a good option. After scrubbing, you should rinse them with water and return them to the tank.