How to siphon the soil in an aquarium?

The aquarium is a closed ecosystem and needs to maintain optimal balance with the help of the owner. Fish must live clean. Proper and timely soil cleaning is the key to a long life for pets.

Inhabitants of a home reservoir emit waste products, all this settles to the bottom and is mixed with soil, which may consist of sand, small stones and other fillers. In the process of natural decomposition of food debris and pet excretion, rotting products appear that adversely affect the purity of the water and the population of the reservoir.

In any aquarium, it is necessary to siphon the bottom from time to time, even if the water seems clean. The remains of feed, fecal discharge, algae particles, falling to the bottom, create an ecological balance in the tank. But there may come a time when the waste content exceeds the norm. Water becomes cloudy and becomes dangerous for fish - accumulated deposits can cause the death of the inhabitants of the aquarium.

The simplest and most effective method to find out if urgent cleaning is required in the aquarium is to move the soil. If air bubbles rise in large quantities from the thickness or the liquid smells of hydrogen sulfide, then a negative process is going on in the bottom sediments. It's time to start cleaning work.

Sometimes it happens that this method does not work, for example, if there are no live plantings in the tank. In these circumstances, you will need to use other tests.

But also often there are times when it is not worthwhile to clean the soil in the aquarium.

1. A newly acquired pond is not allowed to be cleaned for the first two weeks. First you need to give time for the formation of colonies of bacteria. Only partial water changes are allowed.
2. It is very rare to clean in aquariums with small pets and densely populated with algae. The slowdown of the decomposition processes is due to the fact that a good root system, passing through the soil, facilitates the access of oxygen to all layers of the soil. The resulting air does not allow the formation of oxygen-free areas.
3. It is forbidden to siphon herbal aquariums densely populated by plants. This destroys the ecological balance, raises the sludge from the bottom, stimulates the release of harmful substances and damages nutrient deposits for algae.

Positive sides:

• regular partial replacement of water;
• disposal of harmful waste polluting the tank;
• elimination of soil caking for better oxygen access and the development of beneficial bacteria.

The negative sides of soil cleaning:

• the topsoil is disturbed, which leads to the death of beneficial bacteria;
• the ability of biological treatment is deteriorating;
• increases the risk of damage to the roots of algae.

Siphon is a special device for cleaning the soil in the aquarium, which works according to the principle of a conventional pump, pumping contaminated particles from the tank from the surface and the inner layer of bottom sediments.

An ordinary siphon consists of a transparent corrugated tube, various types of funnels and pears. This is the easiest and most efficient pump.

There are also devices with electric power from the mains or batteries, they do not drain the water from the aquarium, but they clean it through special filters and return it to the tank. Typically, such pumps are used in bodies of water with intense bottom contamination, but frequent water changes are contraindicated there.

Usually at home, this process is combined with a fluid change in the aquarium.

1. The bucket for draining the liquid must be installed below the level of the tank to facilitate the outflow of water.
2. We put a rag or towel on the edge of the aquarium to prevent liquid from splashing out when pumping out food debris and other waste. Also, a towel can be used to wipe hands that will be wet almost all the time when using a siphon.
3. Immerse the tip of the dirt cleaner in the aquarium and begin to siphon the bottom. We create pressure with a pear, and under the action of contaminated particles together with water are sent to a prepared bucket or other container.
4. Sandy soil should be cleaned by carefully passing the funnel without touching the bottom. In tanks with plants, care should be taken not to damage the roots, cleaning the silica sand from deposits of dirt and silt. If the fine fractions of the soil nevertheless got into the siphon during cleaning, then it is necessary to return them back to the tank, after washing it under running water.
5. If the soil consists of pebbles, then first we clean the surface, after which the pump funnel is briefly immersed in the ground and raised, this operation needs to be done several times, moving the siphon to different parts of the aquarium. You should not go deep to the bottom, only if the aquarium has not been cleaned for a long time.

In a small pond, the soil has to be siphoned more often, almost once a week;In a tank of more than 200 liters with living plants living in it, the bottom is cleaned at least once a month. If in the aquarium of large capacity there are no live algae, then the work is carried out approximately once every two weeks or as pollution.

The procedure for cleaning the soil is similar to a partial replacement of water in the aquarium. It is not necessary to resettle the inhabitants of the home reservoir.

Siphons are simple and easy to maintain. After completion of work, the device should be disassembled and washed in running water. If the device is very dirty, a mild soap solution can be used. Then rinse thoroughly and wipe dry.

In order to less frequently carry out the soil cleaning procedure at the bottom of the aquarium, it will be necessary to reduce the number of fish in the pond, plant more algae with a reliable root system and exclude overfeeding of pets.

And even if all the rules are followed exactly and on time, the siphon will still remain a necessary accessory in the recruitment of aquarium lovers.

How to siphon the soil in the aquarium, see the video below.