Some basic maintainance methods

[Mugwump]

Weekly maintenance
For a basic freshwater set up with sturdy tropical fish species, changing roughly 25% of the water each week is recommended. The replacement water must not be cold, since this will shock your fish. If you use chlorinated tap water, use a dechlorinator to treat the water before you pour it into your aquarium. Changing the water can be a little messy and take a long time at first, but you will soon get the hang of it.

Keep the glass clean and remove any algae from it.

Vacuum the substrate.

Less frequently
Once in a while, the filter media in your mechanical filter (if you use one) will need to be washed. Only remove half of the filter media since this will allow the remaining population of bacteria to continue their work. They will also be able to repopulate the other half of the filter media if something goes bad during cleaning. Rinse out the filter media in water of the same (or slightly lower) temperature as the water in the aquarium. Hot water will instantly kill the bacteria. Never use any type of detergent.

[P4Angels]

Words of wisdom form the master.  cant agree more....