Cleaning my fish tank?

Question

i've had my twenty gallon aquarium for about two months.

it has already cycled.

but recently it has gotten cloudy.

i do not over feed at all.

i leave the light on from about 10 am to about 9 or 10 pm.

when i clean the tank should i vacuum down in the gravel or just the top of it?

i dont want to suck out the benifical bacteria?

and i also clean my tank once a week now.

i take out 4 gallons.

i have three fish, a red male swordtail, a molly, a hatchet fish, and two ghost shrimp, and a rubber lip plecco (he's small)

Answer 1

with my tank i jus change my filter every 2 weeks and jus suction the top gravel sometimes i dont even do that  the algae eater does most of the work u might wanna try and get a bbigger one. and change ur filter i also change some of my water i use disstilled water though  

Answer 2

I clean all of my marbles [i don't use gravel] to the bottom when I clean my tank. The bacteria is built up on decorations and plants already, you don't need to worry about taking it from the gravel.

As to the cloudy aspect.. I'm not sure. Try cleaning all of the gravel to the bottom with the vac.

I replace about 50% of the water every week. As I take out, I put more in so that the water level doesn't go below my filter intake so that I don't have to shut it off [I have bad luck with it turning off and on properly]. It also helps to stir up stuff from the bottom when you add more water.

Good luck!

Answer 3

if it get cloudy u either need a new filter or u feed ur fish to much =(

Answer 4

don't worry about killing all the bacteria, it's on everything in your tank by now. clean to the bottom. your light cycle is pretty long, you may want to buy a timer and use that to control the lights.

Answer 5

have you tested the water and found it is fine? if there isn't a prblem then it is nothing serious. my tank went cloudy after about two two months and i just kept cleaning it as normal (20 percent weekly with a gravel vacume) and it cleared itself in a couple of weeks. it may be time to clean out your filter, but just remember to wash it with the old tank water and not tap water. you could add more plants too, i don't know why but th more plants i have in any tank the clearer the water becomes. good luck!!