How do I clean/change the water in a 40 gallon tank?

Question

Hi, I have a 40 gallon tank, I have a great filter, the emperor 400, which works up to 80 gallons.

I am brand new to the fish/tank game and I would like to know...I change the filter cartridges every few weeks but I also need to change 25-50% of the water from the tank...now this might be a very stupid question, but how do i get the water out of the tank? since i cant simply lift the tank, what are the usual ways to get the water out....

especially for people with 50, 80, 100 gallon tanks....thank you for your answers.

wow thank you ALL for your wonderful detailed answers. I appreciate them all.

Answer 1

a syphon vaccuum..you put the big end in the tank, and start the water coming out into a bucket just like getting gas out of a gas tank.
this also cleans the bacteria and gunk that collects in the rocks..just vaccuum accross the bottom in the rocks and it will clean out all the poop and waste collected there.

Answer 2

Gravel vacuum the tank once a week will help with sediment on the bottom of the the tank and allows for a 1/2 water change. The Vacuum uses gravity to pull the water from the tank, once you get it started all you have to do is watch you don't suck fish up in it and watch the level of the container you are emptying it into. These can be purchased in any pet department in any store that sells fish. Meijer, or Walmart carry a limited selection.

I use a one to do half changes on a 55 gallon tank, using a 5 gallon bucket to put the water into as I take it out, then rise the bucket out and use it to fill the tank back up.

I have added a link to Petco so you can get a basic Idea of what you are looking for.

Answer 3

don't change your filter that often... when you syphon your water (which was already explained in some other posts) catch the water in a clean bucket (make sure it has NEVER had any cleaners in it) then swish your filter media around in the tank water a little bit to get any big chuncks out. Then put it back in the filter. The filter media is where a lot of the good bacteria that keep your tank cycled live. If you toss that, it's like tossing the very thing that keeps your tank cycled. google NITROGEN CYCLE.

When you HAVE to change your filter (when water WON'T go through it any more) Cut a section of the filter media off of the old filter. Put it next to the new one. This will "seed" the new filter so you won't loose your good bacteria and starte a mini cycle!

Good luck!

Answer 4

you should never have to compleatly change the watter, and aftr a few months of having your aquarium the watter changes will be less frequent. the easiest way to get the water out is to just take the lid off and use a bucket, but some people like to put their aquairiums in places where there isnt much room above the aquarium. if this is the case there is another method that is just as simple. get a small hose or tube that is long enough to reach from the bottom of the inside of the aquarium , over the side of it and down below the aquarium. put the end thats outside the aquarium in a bucket to colect the water. it should work on its own. the water in the aquarium will floww through the hose simply by gravity. make sure the end inside the aquarium is pointin upward so that the water flows through it. the end outside
HAS to be below the end on the inside or it wont work, keep that in mind. once your aquarium has fully cycled i would suggest putting live plants in there. the plants will filter the bactiria amonia and nitrates that the filter will not. in tern making water changes unessisary, however filter changes will need to be more frequent. but that is much less of a hassel. contact me if you have anymore questions~
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Answer 5

I would get a PYTHON as mentioned above. i used to use the 'ol syphon into a 5 gal bucket method. But this is like painting a room with a toothbrush!

For my 75 gal this became very time consuming, not to mention all the water that gets spilled on the floor....With a PYTHON you hook up to a faucet, and it creates a "water pump" which sucks your water out of your tank into your sink (the pressure from the faucet does this, so you don't have to worry about sucking tank water into your mouth)....when you're done removing water, you simply flip a switch and the water from your sink goes into you tank to fill it up...just remember to add some stuff to remove the chlorine/other chemicals...

Go to any pet store, or visit a place like bigalsonline.com for one!

Answer 6

esiest and cheapest way is to get a piece of pipe hose pipe will do about 3ft aprox and a bucket put on end in the tank and the other end in ya mouth suck kinda hard until the water gets most the way up the pipe point it in the bucket job done it will syphen the water out easily once the buckt is full stick ya thumb over the end othe pipe that is in ya bucket to stop the water and place it in the tank and repeat this ubtil you have emptied your 25% job done hope this helps good luck

Answer 7

To get the water out, use a syphon and draw it off into a bucket. To replace the water, I use a device called a Python. It connections to my kitchen faucet, there's a 20 foot hose that runs from the faucet to the tank. It's a lot quicker than hauling buckets of fresh water.

Answer 8

change 20-30% of the water every 2 weeks. to get it out you buy a syphon tube which u suck and quickly put it into a bucket.

Answer 9

A gravel siphon from the pet store is the best way to go. Grab one and the directions are very easy to follow.

MM