Owning an aquarium can be a joy, but cleaning it often seems like a lot of work. It doesn't have to be that way. Here are some tips and products that can make cleaning and maintaining your fish tank a breeze.

It's typically recommended that you start by replacing 15-20 percent of the water every two weeks. While there are a number of ways you can do this, one of the easier methods is to use a plastic gravel cleaner with a hose attached. While cleaning your gravel, you can suck up the water you want to replace and drain it into a bucket.

Here's a tip: Don't throw out that drained water yet. Use it to clean some of the items in your tank like your filter. You don't want to clean your filter under tap water as this will kill the beneficial bacteria in it that processes the fish waste. Use that drained water to keep the beneficial bacteria alive.

Speaking of beneficial bacteria, another way to keep your tank clean is by using Bioverse's All-Natural Fish Tank cleaner. This is a chemical free product that uses beneficial bacteria to improve water clarity and reduce excess nutrients and ammonia. One bacteria packet lasts 30 days. Simply place the dispenser in the tank and it will work with your existing filtration system. It is vital that you maintain healthy bacteria levels in your tank.

Another time-saving maintenance tool is a magnetic algae scraper. This allows you to attach magnets to either side of the aquarium glass and move your scraper from the outside of the tank. Just connect the magnets at the top of the tank and easily scrape each section of the wall. These can be used on aquariums with thickness up to an inch and a half. These also work on acrylic aquariums.

With the right products, keeping your fish tank clean can be fast and easy, leaving you with happy and healthy fish as well as more time to enjoy the ambiance of your aquarium.