im trying to ask this question so you can undestand it i just got a fish tank and i usally clean it by taking out the fish i know your not suspposed to i only have 5 fish i shipon the dirt then add fresh water then add fish but what i want to do is shipon the dirt with the fish in the tank then add declrinated water but how can i put alot of declorinated water all at the same time because i dont have anything big enough to hold that much water or can i add the water then put the declorinter in right after i put the water in sorry if it sound confusing its hard to explain.
2007-04-20 17:13:54 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Not hard to understand at all. The best thing to do is siphon out all the water that needs to be removed (about 25% for a weekly water change is good) then start adding the water back in. I find a new mop bucket that isn't used for anything but the fish tank to be a great way to go. Fill the bucket with water nearly the same temperature as your tank, add dechlorinator to the water in the bucket and pour it right in. It may take several bucket loads, but each one can be treated as you go. If you have a smaller container just do the same thing and don;t worry about adding too much dechlorinator to the container, it's ok if you have more than is called for on the package.
Hope that helps
MM
2007-04-20 17:47:57 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can go to any pet store and pick up a siphon. Then get a clean 5 gallon bucket which you can find at wal-mart or home depot. Use the siphon to take out about 25 to 50 percent of the water. The siphon should have an attatchment on the end to move around the gravel and pull out the crud at the bottom. Then refill it with the bucket making a couple trips waiting until the water is at room temprature. I personally have double the filtration required for my size tank and a couple algea eaters as well as a plecostamus. They help keep things clean too. I also have a rope fish and figue 8 puffer that like to follow my hand around as I'm cleaing. =) From what i know, it's pretty stressful to catch the fish and take them out each time you clean the tank. Also there's bacteria in the water that's good for fish so you don't want to replace all of the water and lose most of that bacteria.
Hope this helps!
2007-04-20 19:16:08 · answer #2 · answered by lclark53738 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I never do a full water change on my 2.5 gallon with a betta, they're not that messy to require a 40% and then a full all in the same week. A gravel vac is probably just the ticket to keeping up on your 2.5. Since you have just the one fish in the little tank (I'm assuming) you could probably get away with just doing the 40% change once a week, or if water tests indicate otherwise, do a 30% twice a week. I do the once a week change of 50% in my little tank with the same vac I use for my 10 gallon, but if a turkey baster would be more handy for you then use that. It is not an uncommon method among fish keeps with small tanks. And using the vac or baster is much less disruptive and stressful for the fish than totally removing him from the tank. And the lady at the store is right in the respect that a 10 gallon never needs a full water change if everything is running smooth. Anything 5 gallons and over just needs partial changes. To do a full change will disrupt the water quality and eliminate all the good bacteria you're growing in the cycling process. To do a 100% would be essentially starting from scratch again and again. Generally I take out about 30% of the water in my 10 gallon once a week when doing a water change. As my fish population grows (guppies, the reporductive mice of the fish world X_x) I bump up to doing a 20%-30% change twice a week. Depending on what you plan to keep, the bumped up changing schedule may or may not prove to be an issue for you.
2016-05-20 01:05:57 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think this is what you are looking for:
You add the dechlorinator to the tank immediately BEFORE adding the water. The active elements of the dechlorinator will remain active until it comes into contact with chlorine. Many people, including myself, fill the tank directly from the faucet with a device called Python, which is a hose that drains and fills a tank from the sink and skip the bucket entirely.
Only change about 25% of the water at a time. This way things will remain stable and the fish can remain in the tank. If you do this every week or two and vacuum the gravel at the same time, all will be well.
2007-04-20 17:51:31 · answer #4 · answered by Ghapy 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They sell siphons that you can use to clean the gravel. Remove about 1/4 of your water this way. Have some water that you treated and let go to room temperature waiting to add.
2007-04-20 17:17:56 · answer #5 · answered by 354gr 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Get one of those razor blades that is on a long handle made for scraping off the algae from the inside of the tank. Also get one of those siphons that will vacuum up any crud and scraped-off algae. Leave the fish in while you are doing that.
2007-04-20 17:23:10 · answer #6 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can siphon the water while the fish are in the tank - after you add all the new water, immediately add the de-chlorinator
2007-04-20 17:19:18 · answer #7 · answered by lyllyan 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1.) use a gravel siphon, take 50% of the water out.
2.) clean the glass with a washrag or a sponge.
3.) fill the tank up with water, and add ur chemicals. (conditioner, stress coat, ect....
2007-04-20 18:27:31 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have turtles and they are very messy. I use a rock cleaner that I hook up to a hose that has enough suction to get the crap out of the rocks but not enough to suck the rocks up. You can vacuum the rocks some, then add some water, vacuum some, then add some...just an idea
2007-04-20 17:20:10 · answer #9 · answered by John M 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1. Use a filter 2. take out half the water and replace it clean water.
2007-04-20 21:03:31 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋