help need 2 clean it

[Rufio90210]

i need 2 move my fishtank in2 from my livin room 2 my bedroom and need 2 clean this whilst at it..

I no i have 2 leave 1/3 of the water in ther for the fish to swim in....but when topppin it up surely the tap water will be cold and un treated...i cant just put the tap water in then add the treatment thingy can i? surely it would effect the fishies...

mayb i have the absolute wrong idea , but cud some1 tell me how 2 clean a fish tank from scratch? its abotu 2foot long

CHEERZ

 

[Rufio90210]

HELP ME SOME1

 

[dirty332]

Hey ive got something for you if you like milk, or you can go to the store if they have one of thouse things with the filtered water that you can buy by the gallon and you could buy some of that and just put the treatment in after you empty them each time i usally use milk cartons(washedout) and then just keep refi,lling them but im in the same sicuation you ARE execpt iove got to go 30 mileslol well i hope the carton idea helps thats the way i do it

 

[Inchworm]

Hello Rufio90210

Cleaning your tank is not very hard. Do you have a siphon a.k.a. a gravel vac. You will need one to suck the dirt out of the gravel. It does a good job of this and for the health of your fish you should do it each week.

When you add more water, it should be at the same temperature as that of the tank you are adding it to. If you don't have a thermometer it would be a good idea to get one.

You will need to add dechlorinator to the water BEFORE adding it to your tank because the chlorine in the tap water can kill the beneficial bacteria and then you will have to recycle your tank, which you probably want to avoid.

By the way, how long have you had your tank and what kind of fish do you have? It is cycled, isn't it?

 

[Rufio90210]

my tank is a 2 foot tank, i have a angel fish, plecko and a barb something.

i moved house and the poor little fishys were in the house with a broken themometer near on dyin. I took them under my wing and got a new thermometer, their all fine and dandy now.

My filter has a tube which goes from the gravel and it has a thign which lets out bubbles on the top...so i guess it is a gravel cleanin one


How am i sposed 2 put water the same temp as the tankl in ther wen the thermometer is already in there with the 1/3 of water left?

Also do i just get a bucket and treat the water in that? then pour it in.....

 

[snowyangel]

I use those 1 gallon ice cream pale buckets to remove and add water. It works great. I usually figure out how many drops of declorinator to put in(usually directions are on the back on how many ml per 5gallons or so) the bucket, stir the water around with my [clean] finger and let the water sit just abit to let the chemicals settle, then i just pour it in gently. I don't measure my temp of water, i basically have a good idea of what it is and if not, i put my finger in the aquarium water then in my bucket to make sure they match. A couple degrees usually doesn't matter to my fish, but then again its better to be sure. There are sensitive fish out there to dramatic water changes. Walmart sells thermometers for only a couple dollars if you want to be sure with your water.

 

[my_fallen_angel]

I just use a bucket to fill my tank and use warm water from the tap which i treat.
Its never the exact temperature but usally pretty close
As i have a big tank using something little takes a very long time to fill the tank.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Rufio90210

How did the tank cleaning go? It sounds like you have an undergravel filter in there which can give you some problems.

Have you ever had fish before? If not, post back and we will be happy to help you learn all the basics of fishkeeping.

Good luck with your new tank!

 

[BettaBoyz]

hi Rufio! everyone's added their input, so i'll just add in mine as well ^^

you'll need something to hold the water and the fish. ice cream pails would be numerous for your size tank, so try a large sterlite tub or two. the kind people use for storage? you can find them at WalMart or Home Depot or Canadian Tire or whatnot. siphon the water into the tubs, all of the water, well most of it. just leave enough to cover a good portion of gravel, say 3/4 of it. move all the fish into one tub, all the decorations into another. put the filter media in with the fish, and anything else (heater, air stone, airline tubing) in with them. get someone to help you grab the other end of the tank, and haul it carefully into your room and set it down. tug the tubs in, fix up your decorations, refill the water carefully. a nice juice container works well for moving the water, and a bowl above the gravel will displace the water so the gravel isn't messed up. hook up everything that is left (heater, air pump, whatever) and let it all run for fifteen minutes, then add your fish in. i find it's better to do this, because the heater has just started working in the tank and heating it up, but the tub is cooling down rapidly. moving themlater could cause even more stress!

alright, the filter you mentioned, it sounds like an undergravel filter. UGF's are fine for desktop tanks and tanks under 10g, but most others will have a higher bioload that the UGF can't handle. if you can, before redoing anything, take the filter plate out of the gravel and replace is with a powerfilter, like an AquaClear. ask at your local pet store about powerfilters, they'll know what you mean and show you the best bet for your tank. you can still use the airstone, which is the thing that's really filtering your tank now, to produce oxygen for the fish. just bury it under the gravel and hook it to the air pump, and you'll get a nice effect of bubbles heading up from the gravel.

good luck with fishkeeping, Rufio!