| Yes, the most important thing for your new | | | | gently siphoning the gravel to pick any settled debris. |
| freshwater fish tank is changing the water. Why? | | | | Imagine a checker board on the bottom and clean |
| Well, water changes involve more than just removing | | | | square by square. Keep the vacuuming end close to |
| water from the tank and replacing it. You have to | | | | the gravel so you won't suction any fish. |
| consider the condition of the water you are replacing | | | | When the bucket is almost full remove the tubing |
| it with, and the amount of water to remove. These | | | | from the fish tank to break the siphon, and dispose |
| can affect the water quality, and the state of your | | | | of the water. |
| aquarium's health. | | | | After removing the desired amount of water, you |
| Colonies of beneficial bacteria grow on every surface | | | | can start adding your fresh water. If you will be |
| in the tank. These bacteria are part of the biological | | | | adding water from the bucket, rinse it first and use |
| filter; allowing them to thrive will help improve the | | | | any conditioner while the water is still in the bucket. |
| quality of the biological filtration system. | | | | If you use an auto-filling siphon that connects to your |
| Every time you clean you fish tank, you should | | | | faucet, dissolve the conditioner in a bit of water and |
| remove 10-15% of the water and replace it with | | | | add it as soon as the tank is full. |
| fresh, dechlorinated tap water (bowl and small tanks | | | | Plug any electrical equipment that you unplugged |
| need larger water changes more often). While you | | | | before. |
| are doing this, you should use your siphon to vacuum | | | | Just some notes: |
| some of the debris collected in the gravel. If you | | | | -Use a gravel cleaning siphon whenever you do a |
| have an under water filter it is very important to | | | | water change to remove all the trapped particulate |
| clean the gravel when you do your water changes | | | | from the gravel and also remove dissolved pollutants. |
| every week, or every other week, and this will | | | | -Although I love to use the auto-filling siphons and so |
| remove waste particles, and oxygenate the | | | | far I have not had any problems, be aware that |
| substrate as well, allowing nutrients and oxygen to | | | | adding untreated tap water into your tank can lead |
| reach the biological bacteria living on the gravel. | | | | to disaster. You might prefer to precondition the |
| Usually, you can clean 25-33% of the gravel when | | | | water before adding it to your system. |
| you siphon 10-15% of the water. | | | | -Always use water at room temperature, never use |
| What do you need? | | | | hot water to adjust temperature. Hot water contains |
| · A siphon | | | | a greater quantity of heavy metals like copper and |
| · A dedicated brand new 5 gallon or larger | | | | lead. Heavy metals can be removed from tap water |
| bucket | | | | by the addition of "slimy" water conditioners. These |
| · A source of water | | | | products contain chemicals that will bind these metals, |
| Place the bucket and the siphon next to the | | | | rendering them harmless. Carbon and certain resins |
| aquarium in preparation for the water change. | | | | will also remove heavy metals from the water. |
| Turn off all electricity to avoid any dangers. Heaters | | | | -It's better to do smaller water changes more often |
| can break if exposed to excessive air as it will try to | | | | than one large water change. Doing this will keep the |
| heat the room's temperature. Filters can go dry if | | | | water quality from changing too drastically. |
| water levels go below the suction tubing. | | | | -You can change the water during cycling. Normal |
| Place the vacuuming part of your siphon in the tank | | | | water changes will not affect this process after 2-3 |
| and start suctioning. How you do this depends on the | | | | weeks. |
| type of siphon you have. Make sure the other end is | | | | -Always allow your tap water to run at least five |
| below the end in the tank so that gravity pulls down | | | | minutes before using it. This will help decrease the |
| the water into the bucket. | | | | dissolved heavy metal content. |
| Remove any solid wastes inside the fish tank by | | | | Happy fishes!! |