Cleaning fish aquarium??

I'm very new at this and would like some help. We got the aquarium at the beginning of March. A month later the water turned yellowish so I changed about 25% of the water and put a new filter in. A few days later the water looked great again.

Now, in the last week or two I've slowly started noticeing a brownish build up. Is this is algae? It's all over the gravel, the decorations look gross and there's brown spots all over the front of the aquarium.

How do I go about cleaning this out? I've seen some people recommend to transfer the fish out with some of this old water and take everything out of the tank, clean it out, put fresh water in (same temp) and then put fish back in. Or change water little by little and get a suction thingie to clean the gravel. But then how do I clean the walls of the aquarium?
Please only answer if you really know what you're talking about and have lots of knowledge!

Thanks in advance! Btw, I have 3 tetra's in there, a heater & the filter. :)

To clean the sides of an aquarium you can get an algae scraper from the pet store and scrape it off the sides of the tank. To clean the decorations I would wash them off in a pail of warm water and salt (any salt that doesn't have additives in it would be fine) and then rinse well with warm water - tetras are one of the few fish that do not tolerate salt very well, but it is effective at helping to kill fresh water algae.

You shouldn't empty out the entire tank - it stresses out the fish and usually ends up killing the good bacteria that is already there. Plus, some algae in a tank is beneficial because it rids the tank of some of the things harmful to fish - not to mention that fish eat it. But too much can crowd out beneficial oxygen for the fish. Do weekly water changes of about 10 - 25% and rinse out the filter media in the water you removed from the tank to get the algae out of it but to allow the bacteria to survive (i empty my tank water into a bucket then "wash" the filter pads in it and put them back into the filter). Keep using a vacuum on the gravel too.

To keep the algae from growing, limit the amount of light the tank gets and cut down on the amount of food you are feeding your fish.

Get an aquarium scrubber from the pet store, use it to scrub off all the algae from the walls and the decorations. you can get a suction tube to clean the rocks at the bottom. Never take out more than 1/4 of the tanks water, and you don't have to take out the fish when you clean it, also, be sure to replace the filter every time you clean the tank. make sure your heater is not up too high because that can cause algae to grow too quickly.

i don't have a lot of info but DO NOT use bleach, it will kill the fish if u put them back in there *happened to me once* so i transfered everything and used a lemon juice and water mix and that seemed to work

since u have a heater be careful as to the temp. algae grow better in warm temps. but depending on the type of fish it may be unavoidable sorry.

make sure u clean everything in there. good luck

I would also take a sample of your water into any pet store that sells fish (not walmart). Most of these places will test your water (especially if it is city water vs well water) to see what chemicals may/may not be in it.

We had a fresh water tank that did almost the same thing, and once we had our water "diagnosed", we were able to treat it and keep the fish/decorations and tank in much better shape.

The brown spots and buildup that you're getting in your tank may be because you're feeding your tetras more food than they can eat. The leftover food will eventually sink and cause brownish gunk to form.Try feeding your fish just enough food so they don't leave bits floating around in the tank, which should hopefully help lessen the amount of the brown junk that forms.

First, it sounds like you are overfeeding them. Second, Get some algae eater fish like plecos. Third, Use the suction thing to clean the gravel. They sell special things for the walls. They work by a magnet. There is a piece on the inside and the outside and you slide it around.

you need to take the water down to the lowest level possible for the fish with a gravel cleaner, take all ornaments and plants out and wash them seperatly, wipe every wall with a clean sponge and then re set your tank and add clean tepid water,, if you buy a plec fish he will clean your tank for you.

you need an aligee eater this will help a hole lot dont keep changing the water it will kill you fish and when you do change water make sure you use freash start you can get this at eny pet store

Clean everything twice thats what i do

You pretty much know what youre doing already, but if the tank is too small for the 3 fish you have, you can consider getting a slightly bigger tank so you dont have to clean so often.

What orrigionally happend was actually supposed to happen. Once the fish started living in the tank, they started creating an ecosystem, and certain bacteria and algea that help them live in the wild built up. But you did the right thing by getting rid of a little bit of it, because it has to be regulated. Just remember that some algae is good for the fish because they need each other to co-habitate. You should buy a ammonia chemical drops to regulate the levels of ammonia in the tank if you dont have so already, because that can be deadly.

Sounds like it's either algae or just built up fecal matter from the fish. You should remove the fish with some of the orrigional water, replace 50% of the water in the tank, clean the walls of the tank with just a simple rag but NEVER use soap, and then you can replace the fish in the tank. You should also buy a suction filter to clean the gravel once or twice a week, and replace 25% of the water every week or so. If the build up continues on the walls of the tank just clean it off with a rag.

NEVER clean everything out. this will only make the problem worse. what you're seeing is brown algae. nitrate and silcates are the man causes for these (when you clean everything out, the cycle has to start over, causes a spike in nitrates. so you'll keep having the problem as long as you keep cleaning it out).

are you doing weekly 25% water changes? if not, start. these help keep your aquarium in order and should never be stopped. using a gravel vacuum is your best bet to make sure you get all the poop and food out.

so, I'd try wiping everything down (without taking it out! a little water won't kill you), once you've wiped off most of the algae do a 25% water change.

If you put a new filter in then your tank probably went through a mini cycle. There is a brown type of algae called Diatom algae that thrives in newly cycled tanks and this is probably what you are seeing. Your best bet is to get off any algae that you can see with an algae scraper and keep the tank away from any direct sunlight. Also keep tank lighting down to around 8 hours a day which you could control on a timer plug. Algae also thrives on high levels of nitrate so you need to keep the water clean with regular partial water changes.

Some people may recommend algae eating fish like the otocinclus. These are great for HELPING to remove algae but will they also increase waste and you have all the usual obsticles of adding fish like compatibility with other fish and stocking levels.

Brown algae is very common in a newly set up tank. Just keep wiping it off and scraping the glass feed a little less and it will eventually go away on its own. Do not use any chemicals or cleaners as they are toxic to your fish. Never change all of your filter at one time either as this will remove your benificial bacteria that you need . Just rinse it in tank water that you remove during water changes that should be 25% done weekly. The best way to do this is with a gravel vacumn that will clean the gravel as you remove the water for the change . Never remove the fish when you do the tank cleaning as it is more stressfull for them to be moved than it is to just go ahead and clean ..just be careful you don't vacumn them up. ( It is not easy to catch a healthy fish like that so don't worry and don't panic if you do catch one...it won't hurt them. Always use declorinated water the same temps what the tank is. There are fish out there that will eat this brown slimy algae also...hilllstream loaches will eat it . Be carefull when you buy a pleco as someone else recommended as they eat green algae and are a great addition to a tank but some of them can grow to 18 inches or so ..make sure you get a smaller breed . Ottocinculas ( not sure how it is spelled but peeps in the fish trade will know if you ask for an otto) will eat this brown algae and stay very small ..about an inch or so. Good luck.

Go and get a gravel vacuum from a local fish store and use that to clean out the gravel. They will explain how to use it when you buy. I would not recommend taking the fish out of the tank to clean it as it will stress them out. You really don't need to remove them, just don't suck out all the water. If your doing a major cleaning, I would advise to do a 50% water change. The decorations can be removed, cleaned, then added back in. Do not use any soap on them though as the residue will kill your fish. Simply use warm water and a cloth or sponge. To remove the algae from the side of the glass you have two options. You can either get an algae scrubber which is essentially a sponge on a stick, or you can get a fish that will clean it off for you. Plecostamus is the most common freshwater fish used for this purpose, however, they can get fairly big over time so this all depends on how big your tank is. If its relatively small, then I wouldn't advise it. There are smaller algae eating fish though so ask someone at your local fish store what they have. Hope this helps!