There is definitely a difference between an aquarium that receives regular maintenance versus one that does not.
Not only is the aquarium more pleasing to look at but the fish benefit as well.
Maintenance does not simply mean tearing down the aquarium completely however.
By establishing a regular schedule and understanding how often and what method to use in each area, you will enjoy your aquarium more and so will your fish.
Although this article is a discussion on regular maintenance, I wanted to mention the importance of feeding the right quantities and the relation this has to aquarium maintenance.
Fish should not be fed any more than they can eat in a two minute period.
Overfeeding can lead to piles of uneaten food laying around the tank and poor water quality.
Feeding the correct amount of food is the best thing for your fish health wise and will allow maintenance to be done on a less regular basis since the tank will stay in better shape between maintenance.
There are many different methods of cleaning gravel however I would like to recommend a method that accomplishes two of your regular maintenance chores at once.
A contraption called a gravel vacuum will make the job of cleaning the filter a snap.
The simplest vacuums work like a siphon and suck water through the gravel out into a bucket to be disposed of.
Be sure to clean half of the gravel this time and half next so that the good bacteria that can be found in your gravel are not completely wiped out with each cleaning.
As a secondary benefit, this siphoning out and replacing of the water in your aquarium will help keep the water quality high.
Although the algae that may accumulate on the inside of the glass on your aquarium, it is not fun to look at.
A tool called an algae scraper which uses magnetic force to hold the scraper on the inside while you stay nice and dry on the outside makes quick work of the algae.
Another tool has a scraper on the end of a sick and can accomplish the same goal in a different manner.
At a minimum you will want to clean the surfaces that you look through on a regular basis to keep the glass and your view of the inhabitants crystal clear.
you will want to clean any mechanical filtration media on a fairly regular basis but do not be in such a hurry.
There are tons of excellent bacteria that live in this media that is actually the most beneficial part of mechanical filtration.
If you use a filter that has media that can be divided such as bio balls or cotton, changing only half the media at a time will prevent the active bacteria from being eliminated each time the filter is cleaned forcing the bacteria culture to start anew each time.
Fake plants will require more regular cleaning, but even live plants may need to be wiped of algae growth from time to time.
This task can be accomplished on an as needed basis.
Live plants will benefit greatly from having the algae removed as plants and algae are actually in direct competition with each other for the nutrients that they need to thrive.
In fact, aquariums with live plants should have all algae found in the aquarium cleaned up on a regular basis allowing live plants to benefit.