How to clean greens in an aquarium

Contents:
  • Causes of the appearance of a green deposit in the aquarium
  • Than to remove greens from the aquarium?
  • How to remove green coating from an aquarium?
  • What else to pay attention to if the aquarium is constantly greens?
  • Useful advices

Greenish water in the aquarium can often be found in beginners or in people who once engage in their small aquamarine. How to remove greens in the aquarium, so that it does not appear long, you will learn in this article. In some cases, even if the water often changes, the aquarium quickly becomes overgrown with algae. Many factors influence this process. You will learn: what causes excessive reproduction of algae, how to avoid it and how to clean the aquarium from a green plaque.

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Causes of the appearance of a green deposit in the aquarium

The water is green from excessive uncontrolled algae growth. Under algae, one must understand organic matter of a lower order. They can not be seen with the naked eye, when they are at the initial stage of development. And those plants that you plant yourself in the soil are organic higher order and have nothing to do with algae.

Note: Simply clean and put all the details of the design in the same place, without eliminating the favorable factors for the development of the raid - this is unambiguously small. Be sure to find out the cause of the problem, how to clean the greens in the aquarium.

Reason # 1. Thermal mode

Rules for directing light to control temperature to avoid the formation of a green deposit:

  1. Do not place the aquarium where it will not be exposed to direct sunlight.1,5m - this is the distance between the water with the fish and the sun's rays.
  2. Monitor the temperature of the water with a thermometer. Try to control it within normal limits.

Note: At high temperatures, not only harmful plants develop. Fishes become sluggish, and in water, which heats up from intense light, living in an aquarium may completely die .

Reason number 2.Incorrect light mode

Unreasoned location of light and its long-term impact can cause the growth of algae. Take into account such recommendations, so that you do not have to wonder how to remove the green coating from the aquarium:

  1. In summer, the aquarium should be illuminated for no more than 12 hours a day.
  2. In winter, the lighting time is significantly reduced - from 7-10 hours per day.
  3. Use artificial lamps to illuminate the aquarium.
  4. Keep track of the intensity of light. In bright light, algae develop rapidly, as the water in the aquarium can become hot.

Reason # 3.A large amount of food that fish do not have time to eat

Often, with proper lighting and thermal regime, algae still actively develop. This process causes rotting food, which accumulates on the bottom. To control its quantity, several recommendations will help you:

  1. Add an adequate amount of feed. On average, if fish eat up the received dose of feed for 15-20 minutes, then - you feed them correctly.
  2. Once a week, plant fish on a diet. Do not give them food. They easily endure a hunger strike and even get rejuvenated.
  3. Buy a proven feed. If the fish do not eat the one that you give them, then maybe it is overdue or made of substandard ingredients.
  4. It is advisable that you have fish in one aquarium, which prefer one type of food.

Reason # 4.Waste life of aquarium fish

Since the products of the life of fish of organic origin, they can cause active multiplication of algae. To avoid this in time, take action:

  1. Do not overfeed.
  2. Clean the soil and water regularly.
  3. Install a good modern filtration system in the aquarium.
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Than to remove the greens from the aquarium?

After understanding the reasons, make sure that they are eliminated. Now you need to clean the aquarium from harmful algae. To do this, you will need a special inventory, which can be purchased at any store where fish and fodder are sold for them. Also you will need some help. Tentatively before cleaning, prepare this kit:

  • scraper for cleaning glass from algae;
  • bucket( minimum of 10 liters);
  • a sufficient amount of prepared replacement water;
  • siphon type pump;
  • filter accessories;
  • means for washing aquarium glasses or a solution of wine vinegar;
  • plastic or metal blade;
  • 10% bleach solution.

Note: In the event that you intend to replace all the water in the aquarium, before the cleaning process, carefully move the fish to another safe container with prepared water.

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How to remove the green coating from the aquarium?

In order to quickly cope with the task, how to clean the greens in the aquarium, and apply to it exactly as much effort as you need, familiarize yourself with a clear scheme of your actions. The work takes place in several stages.

Stage 1

First clean the walls of the aquarium from the green plaque. To do this, follow these instructions:

  1. Without draining the water, clean the glass with a scraper for the aquarium glass.
  2. Do this by pressing a little on the surface. If hard-to-clean areas come across, use the blade and remove the plaque.
  3. If you have sensitive skin, you will need rubber gloves. Make sure that they do not come into contact with chemicals before.

Note: Do not clean the walls of the aquarium from plaque using sponges or metal scrapers from the kitchen. They can retain the remains of detergent chemicals that can damage the entire microclimate of the aquarium.

Stage 2

At this stage, it is necessary to pump out the old water. Do this with a pump, following the step by step instructions:

  1. Dip one end of the pump hose into the aquarium water.
  2. Lower the other end into an empty bucket.
  3. Drain the water and make sure that it does not overflow.

Note: Specialists advise to purchase a new bucket and use it in the future only for these purposes.

Stage # 3

After you have removed the old water, you need to clean the gravel from the remains of fodder and excrement. This is done with the same siphon pump:

  1. Remove all aquarium decorations and decor.
  2. Walk the pump on the gravel.
  3. If you have sand, use only the hose from the pump. Keep its suction end 2.5 cm from the surface - this will protect the sand from suction.
  4. "Loosen" sand or gravel with a spatula or with your hand. It is advisable to do this in a rubber glove. Thus, you will make a deep cleaning of the ground, the debris that was below it, will rise upward.

Stage # 4

At this stage of solving the problem of how to clean greens in the aquarium, go to decorations and decor. They need to be cleaned, because they can retain algae spores. Clean them from plaque in two ways:

Method number 1:

  1. Take a scraper for aquarium glasses.
  2. Treat it with a surface.
  3. Rinse the remaining seaweed with old aquarium water.

Note: Instead of a scraper, you can use a new toothbrush. Old - do not use, because it can be harmful microorganisms.

Method number 2.If your jewelry is heavily soiled, then they need additional cleaning:

  1. Soak the aquarium decorations in a bleach solution.
  2. Leave it for 15 minutes.
  3. Rinse with boiling water.
  4. Allow to dry before immersion in water.

Stage number 5

At this stage, it is time to pour clean water. The water must be stable or filtered. Change the water, taking into account the following factors:

  1. Water should be with a suitable temperature for the life of fish. Too warm or cold water can lead to a disease of the fish. Monitor the temperature with a special water thermometer.
  2. If the tap water is too stiff, replace 60% of your water with distilled water. Only experts warn that such water can be too clean for your fish, and this, too, can be detrimental to health.
  3. Pour in water slowly so as not to damage the relief of the ground and decorations.
  4. When you have poured all the water - wait a couple of hours, all the risen particles should settle and the water should brighten.
  5. If the water remains cloudy, this indicates that some problem remained unresolved. It is necessary to eliminate it.
  6. When pouring water, leave a space between the water and the lid of the aquarium. This is necessary for the proper circulation of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Still fish need to somehow straighten their dorsal fins.

Note: if your fish are healthy, and you maintain a healthy microclimate of the aquarium, then you only need to change 10-20% of the water weekly. Change all water or 50-75% if you have sick individuals.

Stage # 6

Now you need to clean the aquarium from the outside. To do this, use a special tool for washing aquariums or prepare a solution of wine vinegar. Instructions for high-quality cleaning are as follows:

  1. Take a clean sponge or rag.
  2. Dampen with the selected product.
  3. Wipe all external parts, including the lamp, glass and cover.
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What else to pay attention to if the aquarium is constantly greens?

In addition to changing the water, constantly monitoring the temperature and eliminating other causes of the appearance of green deposits, it is necessary to change the cartridge every month in the filter. When installing filters in aquaria, consider the following features of their operation:

  1. Replacing the cartridge does not affect the biological filtration of the aquarium. Most of the beneficial bacteria are in gravel.
  2. If you do not change the filter in time, coal in its composition can harm your pets.
  3. If you, replacing the filter, do not want to lose the beneficial bacteria that settled on the cartridge, then just rinse it during the next weekly cleaning of the aquarium.
  4. Change cartridges every month, even if it seems to you that it is not clogged.
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Useful advices

  • Start fish that feed on algae. Especially well these fish cope with the task, if they do not feed. These include:
    • molybdenum;
    • catfish;
    • of the pecilia.
  • Use chemicals that are specifically designed to fight algae and are sold at pet stores. Apply them according to the manufacturer's instructions on the packaging.
  • If you have streptomycin at home, you can prepare a drug from it, which also easily solves the problem of how to remove greens from the aquarium. Instructions are as follows:
    • In boiled water, dilute streptomycin powder.
    • A liter of aquarium water should have 3 mg of powder.
    • Enter the drug solution through the filter.
    • The raid will disappear in a few days, while no living creatures in the aquarium drug will not do any harm.
  • Increase the number of useful plants in the aquarium. They grow rapidly and swim in the water column, absorb excess light, which prevents the development of inferior algae. These include:
    • pinnacle;
    • limnobium perigonostny;
    • hornwort.
  • For the best effect in fighting algae, experts recommend combining these recommendations. For example, no one in the aquarium is harmed by a couple of catfish and beautiful healthy vegetation, and streptomycin dissolves very quickly, destroying the green plaque.

As you can see, it's easy to solve the problem of green plaque on the walls of the aquarium. The main thing is to prevent pollution, adhere to other rules of treatment and maintain a healthy microclimate in the aquarium.