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How often to clean a 5 gal tank with 3 guppies 1 pleco 1 red claw crab & 1 cory2007-11-24 23:34:52Answers:

Once the tank is cycled, like I told you in the other answer, all you need to do is your weekly partial water changes and stir the gravel once a month.

Stirring the gravel gets the debris (uneaten food and fish poop) up in the water column so the filter can remove it. Then you just change out the filter floss or rinse the cartridge and replace it, whichever you have.

I have tanks that have been set up almost 5 years without tearing them down. Almost all of them have been up and running at least two years.

My isolation tank for new fish is the only one that gets torn down at all and then only if the new fish are sick when they are brought home. That rarely happens because I buy most of my fish at local fish club fish auctions and the hobbyists that sell fish typically take very good care of them.

The only reason to tear down a tank is if it becomes infected with some virulent disease and you lose all the fish, then you need to bleach it to make sure no disease organisms are still in the tank when you restock it.

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so long as you are not over feeding, and I mean less than a pinch of food every day (tiny bit for that amount of fish)

and your filter is pumping properly - you should not have to clean it more than once every 2 - 3 months or so. Simply top it with filtered treated water when it's low and keep the temperature consistant. Watch the filter- if it's looking grungy, clean it and cut back on the food you are giving them.

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Test your water. If the nitrates are too high then you need to do a water change. I can't tell you how often that will be and unless the people here have tested your water then they are just taking a guess.