8 Safe Chemicals to Clean Fish Tank You Can Use

Whether you consider fish tank as furniture in the house (read more : 10 harmful effect of household chemicals for plant growth) or consider it as house of your beloved fishes you do not want to have your fish tank in jeopardy because you simply do something wrong but you do not even realize it and suddenly all your fish start dying one by one. Anyone would agree seeing them leaving this world is must be horrible sight.

It would be more depressing when you figure out all this kind of thing happen because you simply choose wrong cleaning formula to clean the tank. This case is most likely happen to us and would be such a loss to have it. To clean fish tank you need to know what are the cleaning formula or cleaning product that are safe for fish and will not contaminated their water with the chemical.

For that reason you have to know what are the safe chemicals to clean fish tank so this horrible even would not happen to you as listed below :

1. Chlorine

There are so many bleach product that the based component are chlorine. It is said that cleaning your fish tank with chlorine is safe for the fish as long as you do not mix the chlorine-based-bleach with other toxic chemical for fish such as soap.

With chemical symbol of cl, this cleaning agent is safe for your fish if it is used properly. By properly I mean only use it under it suggested concentration that is 10% and only mix it with plain water (read more : 10 list of inorganic water pollutant). After cleaning the fish tank do not forget to rinse all the chlorine left with plain water, as it is the key in cleaning fish tank. As long as you rinse all the chlorine and neutralized it with plain water your fish house will be clean and safe.

2. Acetic acid

We might be more familiar with this chemical product that is vinegar. Vinegar is made of about 5–20% acetic acid (CH₃COOH), water, and other trace chemicals, which may include flavorings. To clean you fish tank there are some cleaning glass product that based on acetic acid or vinegar.

Because vinegar is not a strong acid (read more : acid in water reaction) it would not harm the fish or contaminated the water afterwards you cleaning the tank with it. Even though it is harder to find this vinegar based cleaning product, it is worth to search for.

3. Aspartic acid

As same as vinegar which is also an example of organic compound, this chemical with formula of C₄H₇NO₄ is mostly used in safe aquarium cleaner product. In some of safe fish tank cleaner product this chemical is used under small concentration of only 1%. Even though it is safe to use this acid (read more : difference between acid and base) for cleaning fish tank it is still suggested to completely rinse the water after cleaning the fish tank and if it is possible wait up to twenty four hours before you put the fish inside the fish tank.

4. Methylthioninium chloride

This widely known chemical is also known as Methylene blue. Most of people considering this chemical or product to cure some fish decease associating with bacteria in fish tank that also effecting the fish. Surprisingly,this chemical with formula of C₁₆H₁₈ClN₃S also act as cleaning agent in the fish tank. It will make the water in fish tank more clear and blue. Of course, it is very safe to use in fish tank and relatively less expensive than other fish tank cleaning product. 

5. Sodium hypochlorite

This chemical is also found at bleach. As it is know there are several bleach based compound one of them are sodium percarbonate. This chemical with formula of NaClO will be effective in cleaning the fish tank. It works by treating the water waste in fish tank.

However do not put any this chemical bleach based while your fish in the fish tank, simply move them to temporary place then treat the water fish tank with this chemical bleach with 10-15% solution. After finish cleaning the fish tank, do not forget to rinse it to remove all of the leftover sodium percarbonate.

So those are safe chemicals to clean fish tank. There are many tips in cleaning fish tank other than cleaning it with a solution. Some of them including changing the fish tank water regularly, feed the fish with only enough amount so not many of them left and settles in the fish tank, and maybe put some natural fish tank cleaner bio organism.

Harmful Effect of Not Cleaning Fish Tank

Not cleaning your fish tank regularly could be harmful not only for your fish but also for you. What are the harmful effect of not cleaning fish tank regularly ? Below are the list that we have gathered :

1. Shortening fish lifespan

Not cleaning the fish tank would be such a nightmare for the fish. Most fish like beta and gold fish would not survive in cloudy and even dirty water fish tank. So not cleaning fish tank water would be like a death sentence for the fishes in it.  

2. High fever

With the rise of dirty water in fish tank it would be causing some problem especially for kids. Kids most likely  put their hands on the water and dirty water is known to be the heaven of bacteria. When the bacteria infected kids, it is possible that the kids could be having high fever.

3. Diarrhea

Still associated with the bacteria, study found that dirty water could be the place of Salmonella paratyphi B. This study is found in Australia and the researcher claimed that 12 to 14 percent of Australian households have ornamental fish and as many as 12 million American and 1 million Canadian families own domestic aquariums, together with the young age of most affected patients.

For this harmful effect of not cleaning dirty water on fish tank it is very suggested to clean it regularly or if you have no fish in it just drain the fish tank up and save it on your garage or warehouse compartment. Remember to always use the safe chemicals to clean fish tank.