How To Do A Water Change?

[Teacher Martyn]

If your hot tap doesn't come from a copper tank, yes.

If it does you may have metals in the water that some believe could be dangerous.

My hot water comes from the mains through my boiler so I just use it to take the chill off.

Basically, I syphon while cleaning gravel via a gravel cleaner attached to a hose. This runs off from a hosepipe into bath (I fill a bucket or two first for watering my plants).

Then, I use buckets that I sit on a plank of wood over the top of the tank so that they can syphon into the tank slowly. Each bucket is treated with dechlorinator for the amount in it.

Remember to clean your glass before you syphon so that gunk goes away with the water change.

Put a towel on the floor!

 

[RossC]

I do 30-50% change depending on amount of solid waste in the gravel. Fill large buckets with hot+cold water and use a jug to gently add it back to tank as bucket is too large to lift high up to siphon. Also rince filter cartridges and intake cover every 2 weeks in water taken from tank. Not a problem yet

 

[TenaciousG_]

Thanks everyone! I'll bare all your advice in mind I have a plec so the algae isn't a big problem on the glass but I do use a gravel cleaner to do different sections every time I do a water change, split into 3 parts