Everyday care and all the science

• Remove any uneaten food and dead plant matter.
• Top up the water if there has been any evaporation – remember to treat new water with Tapsafe before adding it to the aquarium.
• Check that the filter is working and there are no blockages.

Test your aquarium water levels for invisible ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH; you can buy specific test kits that make this job very simple – for more information read ‘Testing your aquarium water‘.

Complete a 25% aquarium volume water change – (see ‘Doing a water change’, and video) and clean the gravel with an aquarium gravel cleaner.

Replace your filter cartridge (where applicable) or clean the filter foams in a bucket of aquarium water and add a dose of Fast Filter Start to boost those all-important filter bacteria.

If you have live plants, spruce them up by trimming back excess growth and removing dead leaves.

Turn off the power to your filter and remove it from the aquarium.

Unclip the intake cage and rinse in fresh water, removing dead leaves or large pieces of dirt trapped in the intake grills. Next, remove the impellor cover and impellor.

Use a small brush to clean them and the inside of the motor where the impellor sits. Put the impellor and cover back together and install the filter back to the aquarium.

Switch it back on when correctly positioned. You might experience some harmless bubbles leaving the filter for the first minute or two.