What is the best method for a water change?

i run hot water into a bucket from the main bath tap and top up with cold to get the right temp, add de-clorinator, have a big stir, and pour slowly into the tank. the guppys and cardinals think it's play time when i do this each week! instead of getting scared and hiding, they relish the new water and RIDE THE WAVES MAN!! not only have i cleaned crud from the tank, but i have given my fish a bit of fun once a week, after all, they give me entertainment every day. today tops it all..... i watched one of my guppies give birth....! wow!! anyway, the point is, syphon the crud/crap out and give them fresh water, they will love you for it!
 
Aqualung said:
No, a slight decrease in temp is not an invite for health problems. In fact, many fish enjoy the cooler water and can be induced to spawn that way. Putting warmer water in is far worse than using water that is a bit cooler.
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I think the reason why everybody has a different view of this is because everybody keeps different types of fish. Some are sensitive, some are not.
 
Water change

I have a new 35 G tank that I added fish to in way too short of time so it hasn't cycled, so I am doing a fishy cycle (I lover learning things AFTER the fact! :) ) I keep battling ammonia even though I am doing water changes about every 2 days right now so I tested my tap water. The ammonia level in my tap water was higher than my tank (my tank is hoovering between .25ppm and .5 and my tap water is over 1.0ppm). Is this common that the tap water is even worse and what can I do about that??? I do have one of the testers that has two chemicals that are added so it isn't detecting ammonium and giving a false positive, this is ammonia.
 
attiladahun said:
when you do a water change, do you vacuum the crap out of the gravel with the change water, or do you just let water siphon out of the tank from the mid-range?
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i vacuum poop and water from the bottom (digging into the gravel with the vac a bit)
 
joylynn said:
I have a new 35 G tank that I added fish to in way too short of time so it hasn't cycled, so I am doing a fishy cycle (I lover learning things AFTER the fact! :) ) I keep battling ammonia even though I am doing water changes about every 2 days right now so I tested my tap water. The ammonia level in my tap water was higher than my tank (my tank is hoovering between .25ppm and .5 and my tap water is over 1.0ppm). Is this common that the tap water is even worse and what can I do about that??? I do have one of the testers that has two chemicals that are added so it isn't detecting ammonium and giving a false positive, this is ammonia.
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I do not think that is normal for the majority. On the tap water readings, did you let the water sit out overnight in a shallow dish then test or was it as soon as you drew the water? You might want to start a new post with your issue vice this older post. Please mention how many and what kind of fish you have in the tank, what kind of filtration you have and how long the tank has been up and running.
 
joylynn said:
I do have one of the testers that has two chemicals that are added so it isn't detecting ammonium and giving a false positive, this is ammonia.
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Just because it has two chemicals does not make it a "two step" test kit.

A two step kit has two testing procedures. One for ammonia NH3 and one for ammonium NH4+. They are separate tests.

Which kit are you using?

As, as Bob said, can you start a new thread please?

Roan
 
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