Most quotes you will get for aquarium maintenance are one number with no breakdown behind it. That makes it impossible to compare services, and it usually hides either corner-cutting on the low end or padding on the high end.
This is what an actual freshwater maintenance visit looks like, what each part of it accomplishes, and what it should cost in South Florida.
What we do on a standard visit
A complete freshwater service visit takes between 45 minutes (a small nano) and three hours (a large planted or stocked display). The work is the same regardless of tank size — the difference is volume.
1. Visual check (5 minutes)
Before anything else, we look. Fish counted, behavior assessed, breathing rate noted. Any new growths, frayed fins, missing scales, or unusual coloration goes into the service log. Equipment running. Heater on. Lights on the right schedule. Tank temperature within range.
This is the part most amateurs skip and it is the part that catches problems early. A fish that has been hiding for three days is a fish you can usually save. A fish that has been hiding for three weeks usually is not.
2. Water testing (10 minutes)
Every visit, every tank:
- pH
- Ammonia
- Nitrite
- Nitrate
- General hardness and carbonate hardness (monthly, or when something looks off)
- Phosphate (planted tanks, problem-algae tanks)
Numbers go in the log next to last visit's numbers. Trends matter more than any single reading.
3. Glass cleaning (5 to 15 minutes)
Inside glass first, with a magnetic scraper or a long-handled algae pad. Stubborn spots get a razor blade — on glass tanks only, never on acrylic. Outside glass with a microfiber and a tank-safe glass cleaner sprayed on the cloth, never on the glass.
4. Decor and hardscape (5 to 20 minutes)
Rocks, driftwood, and decor that have built up algae or biofilm get pulled, scrubbed under hot tap water (no soap, ever), and replaced. In planted tanks this is gentler — we are working around plant roots and trying not to uproot anything.
5. Gravel vacuum and water change (20 to 60 minutes)
A python or comparable siphon handles both jobs at once. We work systematically across the substrate, lifting detritus from every accessible area. Volume removed is tracked — usually 25 to 35% on a weekly schedule.
New water is dechlorinated, temperature-matched, and added slowly to avoid disturbing the substrate or stressing the fish.
6. Filter maintenance (10 to 30 minutes)
Filter media gets attention on a rotation:
- Mechanical media (sponges, filter floss): rinsed in old tank water every visit, replaced when falling apart
- Biological media (ceramic rings, bio-balls): rinsed lightly in tank water every 1 to 2 months, never replaced unless damaged
- Chemical media (carbon, Purigen): replaced or regenerated every 4 to 6 weeks
We never rinse media in tap water. Chlorine kills the bacteria you spent months culturing, and a stripped biological filter is how tanks crash a week after a "cleaning."
7. Equipment check (5 minutes)
Heater operating, thermostat accurate, return pump moving water as expected, lights at correct intensity and duration, CO2 if applicable, dosing pumps full. Anything that needs replacement gets noted for the next visit.
8. Feeding and dosing (5 minutes)
Top off auto-feeders, leave appropriate food for the week, dose fertilizers on planted tanks, dose Prime or equivalent if needed.
9. Service log (5 minutes)
Written log left at the tank or emailed: what we found, what we did, what we replaced, what we recommend before next visit. This is the part that lets us catch slow-developing problems before they become emergencies.
What it costs
These are realistic ranges for biweekly maintenance in South Florida (Broward and Miami-Dade). Weekly service is roughly 1.7x these numbers — not 2x, because the per-visit work is faster when the tank stays cleaner.
| Tank size | Type | Biweekly visit |
|---|---|---|
| 20 to 40 gal | Standard community | $75 to $110 |
| 55 to 75 gal | Standard community | $110 to $160 |
| 55 to 75 gal | Planted, CO2-injected | $140 to $200 |
| 90 to 125 gal | Standard community | $160 to $220 |
| 90 to 125 gal | Planted, CO2-injected | $200 to $280 |
| 150 to 220 gal | Standard | $220 to $320 |
| 240 to 300+ gal | Standard or planted | $300 to $500+ |
What is included in those numbers:
- All labor
- Water, dechlorinator, basic test reagents
- Filter media rinses and routine media swaps
- Standard fertilizers on planted tanks
- Service log
What is usually not included:
- Replacement equipment (heaters, pumps, lights)
- New livestock
- Algae outbreaks requiring extra visits or treatment
- Emergency calls outside the regular schedule
- Initial deep clean if you are coming off a neglected tank
The deep clean for a neglected tank typically runs $200 to $600 depending on size and condition. We cannot honestly start regular maintenance on a tank in bad shape without resetting it first.
What "cheap" service usually skips
If a quote is significantly under those ranges, ask what is being skipped. The usual cuts:
- No testing. "We do not need to test, we have been doing this forever." Translation: nobody knows what your nitrate is.
- No log. No log means no record of trends and no accountability for what was done.
- Tap water with no conditioner. This kills fish on a long enough timeline.
- Filter media replaced wholesale every visit. Throws away your biological filter; tank cycles repeatedly; fish die intermittently and the cause is never identified.
- Same time on every tank. Maintenance is not a 30-minute job for every size. If you have a 125 and the tech is in and out in 25 minutes, you are paying for a wipe-down, not maintenance.
Why people hire it out anyway
A 75-gallon community tank takes a confident hobbyist about 90 minutes every weekend. That is roughly six and a half hours a month, plus the trip to the fish store for food and supplies. For a lot of people the math eventually works out — biweekly professional service is cheaper than the value of those weekend hours, and the tank looks better because it gets done every time.
The other reason is consistency. The tanks we maintain in offices, restaurants, medical practices, and assisted-living facilities almost never crash, because they get the same visit, on the same schedule, from someone who has seen the tank a hundred times. The same tanks under inconsistent in-house care crash routinely — usually quietly, over several months, until the front-of-house staff finally calls us.
Getting a real quote
A good quote should include: visit frequency, expected duration, exactly what is and is not included, and what triggers an upcharge. If your current service does not provide that breakdown, you can ask for it — or contact us and we will write one for you, even if you do not end up switching.