Emptying A Tank

[paula]

My brothers tank is very dirty he hasnt done nothing to it for months. Would it be ok to compleatly emty it of everything, scrub/clean and put it back?
Would the fish be ok in a buket while im doing this, how long would it take to heat up to 23 ?
Any advice appriciated!

 

[ArielC]

You might want to find someone who can hold your fish for you, because depending on how you clean your tank tou will probably need to cycle the tank again. If your tank just has algae on it, you could try cleaning the algae off instead of breaking down the whole tank which is very frustrating... -.-

and lastly : never use soap or any cleaning products while cleaning your tank!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi paula

It would probably be best to clean it a little at a time so you don't destroy the beneficial bacteria and have to recycle the tank. You would probably be be drastically changing the nitrate level in the water too, which would stress them.

The gravel is probably very dirty and that alone might take several cleanings to straighten out, but eventually it will be done and things will be back to normal.

 

[Marcos]

I've done it before by buying a plastic dustbin (holds 80 litres) and putting around two thirds of the tank water in it together with the heater and pump/filter and the fish. I could then take my time taking apart and cleaning the whole aquarium.

 

[The-Wolf]

I've done it before by buying a plastic dustbin (holds 80 litres) and putting around two thirds of the tank water in it together with the heater and pump/filter and the fish. I could then take my time taking apart and cleaning the whole aquarium.

Exactly what I do/have done/will continue to do

 

[blackguppy]

In instances like this, I prefer to run a diatom filter while cleaning everything in the tank while still in the tank. Then I do a 50% water change, followed by multiple smaller water changes over the following week. Get on his case to either keep up regular cleaning, or give you his tank, lol.