Cleaning

This is where people mess up. Cleaning should not take more then twenty minutes. The tank does not need to be spotless, in fact, if it is spotless your fish will die. This is all you need to do, every 2 or 3 weeks:

• Remove 20 percent of the water from the tank. Syphoning is the easiest way. Syphon the water from the bottom, that way you can remove waste at the same time. I like to stir up the substrate a little first, then syphon. That way, all the waste is up and about, ready to be removed.
• Have treated water ready on the side. Refill the 20 percent of the tank you removed.
• Check filter pad, replace if necessary.
• If any decor needs cleaning, take it out and scrub it in warm water without any soap or cleaning chemicals.

And that is it. If you clean too much, then you will remove too much essential bacteria, and your fish will die. If you use my method, and stir the substrate, your tank may look its dirtiest after you've cleaned it. That's ok. Let your filter do its job.