Care of decorations, cleaning of stones, ceramics, and aquarium glass.
An already established and well-organized aquarium does not require a lot of effort to keep in order. However, aquarium maintenance must be timely, otherwise both the aquarium design and, of course, the life of fish and plants can be severely damaged. When you design your aquarium, you must immediately think about the fact that all these decorations, stones, and driftwood will have to be taken out to clean them from algae and embedded dirt. Over time, some algae always settle in the aquarium; they form fouling on glass, stones, ceramics, live, and artificial plants.
All limestone rocks have a light color: from white to grayish-yellow. Because of this, they rather quickly become overgrown with algae, from which they have to be cleaned. And considering that limestone is a soft stone, rough treatment and cleaning noticeably destroy it. Magnificent grottoes are obtained from lava stone. Foamy solidified lava is relatively light.
If a stone, driftwood, or other aquarium design elements are heavily soiled, you will have to take them out of the aquarium and wash them separately. Some rely on various cleaner fish. However, no matter how much you rely on fish, you still need to clean the aquarium manually from time to time. Both special scrapers (there are a great many of them in any pet store) and an ordinary clean dish sponge are suitable for this. The main thing in this business is not to overdo it, not to scratch the glass, and not to spoil the aquarium design.
But you cannot use cleaning products — everything will have to be done mechanically. To clean aquarium decor items from fouling, some amateurs use various chemical agents, ranging from the widely advertised “Fairy” dishwashing detergent to the entire arsenal of washing powders. This is a direct way to completely destroy all life in your aquarium. Under no circumstances should you clean any items related to the aquarium with any detergents. If even a small amount of detergent surfactants gets into the aquarium, the fish will die very quickly from suffocation.
The fact is that these surfactants affect the gill epithelium of fish, as a result of which they cannot breathe and die. The only thing you can use is baking soda, but even in this case, you need to thoroughly rinse the items with water before placing them in the aquarium.
Cleaning the glass.
Let’s start with cleaning the glass. You have probably noticed that over time they become less transparent, covered with a coating of green and various other colors. This happens due to the reproduction of all kinds of lower algae and microorganisms. In strong light and in brightly lit areas, green algae actively multiply; they resemble green fluff on stones, plant leaves, and glass. They multiply especially actively in brightly lit areas of the glass, which is why the aquarium should not be positioned so that direct sunlight hits it, and if this still happens, the balance in the aquarium must be such that the sun does not cause harm.
Fouling of the aquarium glass with green algae usually indicates a favorable regime and should not worry the aquarist. A brownish coating on the glass and plant leaves indicates a lack of lighting and is caused by colonies of diatom algae. Also, algae can appear on the substrate, decorations, plants. Many hobbyists, if the algae do not spoil the aquarium plants, clean only its front glass. Cleaning the back glass from green is practically optional; some small fish need it for food.
Plexiglass can only be cleaned with a sponge or nylon scourer; the use of hard objects is unacceptable. Cleaning plexiglass is somewhat more labor-intensive, but it must be done regularly, as large islands of overgrown green algae are very difficult to remove. Plexiglass should be cleaned without haste, applying uniform pressure to its surface, passing the sponge over the glass several times until all the coating is removed.
Scrapers will be needed to clean the glass. Magnetic scrapers are the most convenient. Magnetic scrapers are used to clean those glasses that can be accessed from the outside. They consist of two halves that are attracted to each other due to the magnets inside them. They are designed so that one part is lowered into the water, while the second, magnetic part remains outside and attracts the first.
You need to move one along the glass, and the second, due to the force of attraction, will follow the first and scrape off the dirt from the inside of the glass. At the same time, the glass is cleaned from the inside and polished from the outside. As a result, you can quietly, without even wetting your hands, just move the scraper along the glass, and its part located in the aquarium will scrape off the plaque from the walls. You can clean aquariums made of both silicate and acrylic glass with magnetic scrapers.
However, it should be remembered that a grain of sand getting onto the scraper can seriously scratch the glass, including silicate glass. Therefore, you must be careful when cleaning the aquarium. A fishing line should be tied to the heavy sinking internal parts of the scraper so as not to reach into the aquarium and retrieve it from the bottom if it suddenly falls off. There are floating scrapers.
Magnetic scrapers come in various sizes and differ in the material of the working surfaces and the clamping force of the magnets to each other. Small ones are used for cleaning small aquariums made of thin glass, large ones can clean aquariums made of 10-12 mm glass. Magnetic scrapers are not durable. When magnetic properties weaken, the scraper should be replaced. To prolong their life, the halves should be stored separately.
Blade scrapers. The principle of operation is based on scraping off algae with a sharp edge; most often a safety razor blade is used for this. The scraper itself consists of a blade holder and a long handle. When working with the scraper, the blade should be tilted relative to the glass at an angle of 30-45°. Then the scraper completely removes the coating from the glass without scratching it. True, the blade can only be used for aquariums with silicone glass.
To clean aquariums made of acrylic (organic) glass, scrapers made of the same glass are used. It is suggested to use a plastic ATM card or a plastic lid for tin cans instead of a blade in a standard scraper, fixing it on the handle. With heavy fouling, the blade showed the best result, but in general the idea is not bad, especially for acrylic aquariums.
There are scrapers that are a sponge attached to a plastic handle. The handle is usually extendable and has a “fork” at the end, which is convenient for loosening the substrate or adjusting plants. When using scrapers with metal blades, you must be careful because they can scratch the surface of the plexiglass or cut the silicone sealant in the corners of the aquarium, and then the consequences will be most dire. Although this will not necessarily lead to an immediate water leak, in any case it will weaken the joint between the two glasses. It is safer to use scrapers with plastic blades.
Scourers made of fishing line or synthetic mesh work well. One of the favorite professional tools is multi-colored two-layer sponges, which are usually sold in packs of 10. All these things are suitable for cleaning aquariums made of any glass. Also, in severely neglected cases, using a safety razor blade is practically the only way out.
Unlike magnetic ones, ordinary scrapers can be used to clean all glasses: the back, front, and side ones. But it is more convenient to clean the front glass with a magnetic scraper. Another scraper is a sponge on a wooden handle. It is also quite convenient for cleaning aquarium glass, but it is not suitable for deep aquariums. However, you can clean plastic aquariums with a sponge, whereas a magnetic scraper easily scratches their walls.
You can use a hard dishwashing sponge and even waterproof sandpaper to clean the glass; they will not leave marks on the glass, but will even smooth out 
irregularities and scratches. A double-sided sponge is very convenient. On one side there is foam rubber, on the other a hard, fibrous coating. It is precisely with the help of this hard part that green fouling on the walls and equipment of the aquarium is very easily cleaned off. If there is no scraper at all, then you can either use a clean new dish sponge or use an old nylon stocking. When cleaning plexiglass, be especially careful, since plexiglass is softer than silicate glass and can be scratched by grains of sand trapped in the fabric. Keep in mind that all methods of removing algae using a sponge or stocking require great physical effort.
When cleaning the glass, try not to scratch it. If the scraper has fallen to the bottom and soil particles have stuck to it, they must be removed before continuing cleaning. You need to be especially careful if your aquarium is made of acrylic; such glasses are very soft and easily scratched. Acrylic is cleaned with scrapers made of materials close in hardness to acrylic itself. Oddly enough, an ordinary plastic card is ideally suited in this regard.
Cleaning the cover glass. Limescale deposits on the cover glass can be removed during water change. Hot water and Sera pH-minus will quickly clean the glass. A “dirty” cover glass significantly reduces the light intensity necessary for proper plant growth. Do not delay this. Limescale deposits on heaters or filter connections can be removed using Sera biofibres or a soft brush. A new medium-firm toothbrush and Sera pH-minus are also suitable.
Cleaning stones, ceramics, and other aquarium equipment.
Have you ever tried to clean stones, ceramics, and decorations from annoying green, diatom, blue-green, and other types of algae using brushes and other devices? Isn’t it a troublesome task and not always resulting in an ideally clean outcome. There is a much simpler and more practical way. Stones, corals, ceramic products are best bleached. Place stones, ceramic products, etc. (except for natural driftwood, etc.) in any container, pour water, and add laundry bleach.
The product is diluted with water in a 1:10 ratio, decorations are placed in the solution, and the bleaching time depends on the degree of contamination and the concentration of the solution. Usually, one to two hours is enough. After a while, you will not recognize your decorative ornaments; it will seem as if you just bought them. Even sandstone, to which any type of algae attaches very firmly, will be cleaned in this way to its original appearance. Attention, after bleaching, all decorations must be thoroughly rinsed under running water (at least an hour) until the smell of chlorine disappears, otherwise you risk poisoning your fish!
Stones, driftwood, ceramic and plastic products must be periodically removed and washed. Bleaching was written about above. This is done with all corals and light non-porous stones. Other decorative elements made of plastic, clay, or silicone are simply washed under running water using a brush or a hard sponge to remove dirt.
Stones and driftwood heavily overgrown with algae are difficult to clean and it takes a lot of time. There is an easy and reliable way. Wet stones and driftwood removed from the aquarium are enough to sprinkle with a large amount of baking soda on all sides, rub them slightly with a brush so that they are covered with a paste of soda, and leave for about 20-30 minutes. After this, the soda is thoroughly washed off with warm water. You can lightly go over it with a brush to remove easily removable plaque. Then the stones and driftwood are placed back into the aquarium. Do not be frightened by the remaining amount of algae. They will completely dissolve in 1-2 days.
If you brought corals from the sea yourself, you must carefully prepare them before putting them in the aquarium. The fastest and easiest way is boiling, although after this corals become more fragile. After boiling, wash them with a brush under a strong stream of water to remove the remains of soft polyps. A longer, but gentler method is treatment with a non-concentrated bleach solution and subsequent soaking for two to three days with constant water changes.
Gorgonians cannot be used because they inevitably rot in fresh water. It is better not to boil shells, otherwise the nacre fades. To prevent mollusk parts from remaining inside the shell, you can use this non-standard method: put them in an anthill for a few hours, then wash them — and you can be sure there is no organics left there.
How to clean the relief background.
It is convenient to clean the relief background from fouling with a dishwashing brush, the bristles of which should be soft enough not to damage the background coating, you can use salt or soda. Do not try to clean the background in 5 seconds! Use tools of different sizes, it is better to do 5 areas well than one badly! After cleaning, rinse thoroughly and reinstall in the aquarium. Another way: if there are no live plants in the aquarium, then you can use chemical agents to combat algae. Also, suckermouth catfish from the family Loricariidae, such as *Ancistrus*, *Sturisoma*, *Otocinclus*, can help; they simply will not let the background become overgrown.
Why do aquariums collapse? Front panel bowed, Glass scratched.
The most common mistakes of beginners. 
