ok i do not understand 25% cleaning the water i am getting a vacum soon but i still do not understand the water thing i think i kind have an idea but i am not sure use to i would empty the tank clean the rocks and thenrefill it but it looks like i am doing it wrong plz help. send me some steps step by step
cleaning the tank
- Thread starter tollhouse
- Start date
WHne I do a water change I do the following.....
Get my Syphon started (I have a gravel vac on the end) and extract the water and as much mulm (poop / uneaten food etc) off the top of the gravel.
I then deep clean 1/4 of my gravel to get the really mucky stuff out (I have Plecos so there's lots of it!) - push gravel vac further into gravel!
I do 25% water changes aswell which on my small tank (30g) is 7.5g. I have a 5g container so I take out one and a half of those.
I refil with remineralised RO water (I have south american fish) at 3deg hardness PH 7.0
I refil the same amount as i take out and make sure the water is at a suitable temp before refilling (I get it a couple of days before and let it sit with airation from air pump to get to room temp which is pretty close to my tank tmep in my house.)
HTH
Get my Syphon started (I have a gravel vac on the end) and extract the water and as much mulm (poop / uneaten food etc) off the top of the gravel.
I then deep clean 1/4 of my gravel to get the really mucky stuff out (I have Plecos so there's lots of it!) - push gravel vac further into gravel!
I do 25% water changes aswell which on my small tank (30g) is 7.5g. I have a 5g container so I take out one and a half of those.
I refil with remineralised RO water (I have south american fish) at 3deg hardness PH 7.0
I refil the same amount as i take out and make sure the water is at a suitable temp before refilling (I get it a couple of days before and let it sit with airation from air pump to get to room temp which is pretty close to my tank tmep in my house.)
HTH
when you get the vaccum ..just use that to take out the water ..useing it to suck all the stuff out of the gravel ..you do not have to tear down the tnk and wash and clean gravel .. that would be just like starting over and you cant do that .. just siphon about a 1/4 of the water out of the tank to wht ever size tank you have ..and you can add just regular tap water .. if you just have regualr fish in your tank i wouldnt worry about the technical part of what charlie said .. like he said he has SA Cichlids .. pickier fish ..
even with my red devil cichlid we just put back regular tap water ..if you have the means to have a big bin to let your water sit out for 24 hrs then go ahead but it dont matter ...
good luck
Marn
even with my red devil cichlid we just put back regular tap water ..if you have the means to have a big bin to let your water sit out for 24 hrs then go ahead but it dont matter ...
good luck
Marn
To add to what Marn said, if you're using tap water, you need to treat it with a declorinator: Tetra Aqua-Safe, Amquel and Prime are some of the most popular ones.
First of all, you can't expect to get an instant reply to a question on a web forum. (Most) people aren't constantly monitoring this forum waiting for questions to be posted. Give it some time.
A siphon is a hose or tube used to drain liquid from some reservoir - in this case, water from an aquarium. One end is placed in the aquarium and the other end is placed in a bucket, or somewhere to drain the water, at a level below the intake end. You can suck on the lower end to start the flow, and water will drain freely through the tube.
Usually, people drain their water using a gravel vacuum. This is a siphon tube with a larger-diameter plastic end on the tank end. The suction from the siphon pulls dirt and stuff from the gravel and drains it with the water while leaving the gravel intact.
It is essential for a healthy aquarium that you make regular partial water changes and vacuum the gravel.
A siphon is a hose or tube used to drain liquid from some reservoir - in this case, water from an aquarium. One end is placed in the aquarium and the other end is placed in a bucket, or somewhere to drain the water, at a level below the intake end. You can suck on the lower end to start the flow, and water will drain freely through the tube.
Usually, people drain their water using a gravel vacuum. This is a siphon tube with a larger-diameter plastic end on the tank end. The suction from the siphon pulls dirt and stuff from the gravel and drains it with the water while leaving the gravel intact.
It is essential for a healthy aquarium that you make regular partial water changes and vacuum the gravel.