The best fish tank cleaning kits

Keep your underwater buddies happy and healthy

fish tank

by Eleanor Weaver |
Updated on

Whether you're a new fish parent or you've been one for a long time, keeping your fish friends happy and healthy requires a few products and steps. For starters, you'll need a big enough fish tank, to ensure that they have plenty of space to swim around comfortably. You'll also need to make sure that they have the proper nutrition too, so you'll have to determine whether they need live food or not.

To create a healthy fish tank/aquarium environment for them, you'll need to get your hands on the best fish tank cleaning kits. These will essentially help to keep your aquarium clean, so your fish won't have to swim through a layer of built-up dirt and algae, while also maintaining a healthy environment for your underwater buddies.

How to clean a fish tank?

Adding a fish tank cleaning kit to your list of purchases for your fish will help you keep on top of caring for your scaly pals. Here's a quick rundown of how to clean your fish tank thoroughly:

• Scrub the algae and dirt off of the glass and crevices.

• Hoover up any dirt or algae from the first layer of the substrate.

• Clean the filter by removing the sponge in the filter and replacing it with a new one.

• Unless it is absolutely necessary you should never remove your fish from the tank when cleaning it.

Best fish tank cleaning kits

Best overall fish tank cleaning kit

Remove all the hard work out of cleaning with this brilliant electric gravel cleaner. It quickly and easily removes all the particles of the top substrate layer without removing anything from the bottom layer of gravel. This will seamlessly decrease and remove the build-up of harmful toxins in your aquarium.

Suitable for: Both freshwater and saltwater tanks

Best all-in-one fish tank cleaning kit
Upettools Aquarium Cleaning Tool

Rrp: £28.99

Price: £23.99

If you don't want to buy any extra parts, but just want a straightforward and ready to go kit, this product by Upettools should do the trick. This is a six-in-one fish tank cleaning kit, featuring an adjustable handle, a scraper, brush, fishnet, and a cleaning sponge. The brush head can rotate 180 degrees, so you can more easily clean those crevices and cracks, plus all products are made from durable ABS plastic and are anti-rust.

Suitable for: Freshwater and saltwater tanks

Best fish tank cleaning kit vacuum

The Marina MultiVac 3 in 1 Maintenance tool is a convenient battery-powered aquarium vacuum effectively spot cleans your gravel, scrapes your glass and gets into hard to reach areas. MultiVac is extendable from 30 to 50cm, providing ample reach for most aquariums.

Suitable for: All aquariums

Best fish tank cleaning kit for small cracks and crevices

This easy and small cleaning tool is perfect for removing algae and dirt quickly and effectively. It comes with three different blades, each best suited for a specific type of cleaning and the product is lightweight and ergonomic too. We also love that the handle is corrosion-resistant and adjustable.

Suitable for: Saltwater aquariums

Best hands-free fish tank cleaning kit
NEPTONION Magnetic Aquarium Fish Tank
Price: £8.98
Alternative retailers
Walmart$16.24View offer

We love how adaptable this fish tank cleaner is, available in three different sizes and boasting a premium quality built it'll fit seamlessly in any fish tank. It floats so you'll never have to worry about it sinking to the bottom of the tank and it's non-slip too. It quickly and easily cleans away any algae or build-up of it too.

Suitable for: Freshwater aquariums

Best cheap fish tank cleaning kit

This super-affordable fish tank cleaning kit won't break the bank and includes all the essentials like a water siphon to make removing water from your tank as easy as possible; a cleaning pad to easily clean away dirt; and a fish net for safe and easy removal of fish.

Suitable for: all coldwater, saltwater and tropical fish tanks

Best fish tank cleaning kit with accessories

Another excellent all-in-one fish kit, it can scrape algae, remove dirt and includes a spoon net to take out debris. With this kit, you won't need to individually buy a gravel rake or a glass cleaning sponge, this kit has got it all!

Suitable for: All aquariums

Best fish tank cleaning kit for gravel

This handy gravel vacuum tool will make light work of cleaning your fish tank. It's at the higher end of the price scale on our list, but its grooved design makes for efficient debris collection and there is a tube extension included for larger tanks and hard to reach areas. It has an integrated filter housing with Fine and Super Fine vacuum bags (sold separately) and a gravel guard to prevent any clogging.

Suitable for: Freshwater and saltwater aquariums

Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website, we never allow this to influence product selections - read why you should trust us