im a little confused

[goin_all_out]

ok im a little lost here, how do u do a water change? i plan on getting one of those vacuum thingiesno that takes the water out what do i do with the water i put in?

 

[mlee0332]

just take the vacuum and push it down in to the gravel and pick up. Repeat until 20-25% of the H2O is out of the tank. Then dechloronate the same amount of fresh water and pour it back in the tank.



*You'll need a bucket to put the water in while vacuuming.

 

[goin_all_out]

what put it in a bucket or something? like one that hasent been used for chemicals of course.

 

[dwarfgourami]

"what put it in a bucket or something? like one that hasent been used for chemicals of course. "

That's the one. I bought a couple of 10-litre buckets, with graded measurements, for fishtank use only, one for clean and one for dirty water. (then last week, I decided this process needed speeding up, so invested in 2 more buckets, only 1.99 each and fit into one another so don't take up more space).

You use the gravel vac to get out the dirty water. I pur it down the loo or down the drain as I don't fancy the idea of fish-do in the sink....

In the clean bucket you put cold water, with a little boiling water from the kettle to bring it nearer to tank temperature (I find 1 litre boiling to 9 ltrs cold is about right), add dechlorinator, swirl it round and then add gently to tank. (I use a plastic measurement jug- again for aquarium use only- because I find I can't pour from a bucket without upsetting everything. Also a handy piece of equipment for adding medicine etc). Dechlorinator should work pretty instantly.

 

[goin_all_out]

where can u get buckets like that? hardware store or even the lfs?

 

[mlee0332]

Wal-mart sells some for like 90 something cent, or they used to.