How Do You Completely Clean A Fish Tank?

[Ladic]

I'm wondering for you people with 50 gallon and bigger tanks, how do u completely clean them? How do you remove all the water? do you guys use some type of pump?

And how do you clean the tank? with soap?

 

[roseykat5]

u should do more research on taking care of aquarium b4 getting one.....NEVER EVER USE SOAP,it will kill fish... and as for filter u can use either overhang filter or canister which i like the best .... and to clean it i use a vaccumm for that u can get those in fish store and i love the one that hooks up tp the sink and u clean it that way

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Is there any reason in particular why you want to completely clean it out?

 

[Ladic]

well, I dont keep fish, but turtles in the tank, but it gets really messy after a while.

RIght now its now so hard to do a complete water change because my tank is 30 gallon.

But when I upgrtade to a bigger tank, I was wondering waht is the best way to completely change the water.

 

[raptorrex]

I'm wondering for you people with 50 gallon and bigger tanks, how do u completely clean them? How do you remove all the water? do you guys use some type of pump?

And how do you clean the tank? with soap?

well the first question would be why you want to clean your tank. if its new, or new to you a good clean with disinfectant and a thorough rinse will do the trick.

but i know of only one person who actually emptys their tank completely, after it has cycled. and their tank is more a show case for freshly bought fish than a community tank.
one of the things that seem to be very important in fishkeeping is allowing the tank to mature, after it has cycled. completely cleaning the tank, will at least delay this, if no stop it completely.

as to how i would clean my tank, whilst stocked. the answer is i dont. i do clean the filter and remove any bit and things that get on the glass, but apart from waving my hand over the gravel, stirring up the accumulated crud, the only other thing i do is water changes.

ok just read your second post, lol. i got no help for you there sorry.

 

[Tolak]

You will have a hard time completely emptying and cleaning a tank with substrate in it. If you have a bare tank you can get all but about 1/4" of water out with a siphon hose, soak up the rest with an old towel. From there you can pick up the tank & move it if you like, or just clean it in place. Vinegar works for hard water stains, a mixture of 1 part chlorine bleach to 20 parts water works for sterilizing.