Exactly how to do a water change?

Question

I have a 5 gallon freshwater tank which is home to my pet betta.. he has a tetra whisper filter and I just got him so I know it isn't time for a change yet... at the pet store he said to do one about once a week.. but this is my first time owning a fish tank so if someone could give me a complete run down on how to do a water change to my tank I would really appreciate it because I really don't have a clue of what to do.

Answer 1

Okay here's what you do if your tank is cycled. Buy a small gravel vacuum/siphon at Petsmart. Use it to vaccum up any debris that might be in the gravel while at the same time it will suck out the water. Remove about 40-50% of your water but be careful that your betta doesn't get in the way. Then refill your tank with clean water that has been treated with water dechlorinator and make sure the water you add is almost the same temperature as the water in the tank.

If your tank isn't filtered or cycled then you want to use the cup your betta came in (or another clean container) to scoop your betta out and then put the lid on the cup. Then you can just dump/scoop out the dirty water and refill with dechlorinated water of the same temperature. Put the betta back and you're done. Feel free to email me if you have more questions.

Answer 2

First off, ALWAYS USE TREATED TAP WATER that is the same temperature and pH as the water in the tank currently.  Once you have that ready, then you may proceed with water changing.

Long, detailed answer:   http://www.bettatalk.com/water.htm

How I do it:

If there is gravel in your tank, get a gravel cleaner/vaccuum.  You can remove uneaten food and detritis gathering at the bottom with this and remove water at the same time.  Remove 25% of water (so about 1.25 gallons).  You can use a clean bucket or container to also scoop out water (assuming YOUR hands are clean too!)

Get a flow going between jug of clean treated water and tank using leftover airline tubing.  I use airline tubing becuz it's smaller, so the flow is nice and slow and won't shock the lil guy nor mess with my heater suddenly.  Replace the 1.25 gallons you removed.

Or if you're lazy sometimes like me, I pour the clean water into a large, clean, plastic cup (about 2 cups volume), and pour it into the tank slowly (so as not to disturb the gravel any further and send my betta in a whirlpool of death!) and wait 2 minutes.  Then do it again until all water is replaced.

Clean water, happy betta...

Answer 3

Back when I had a betta we were able to catch him in a small bowl and then dump the tank water.

Answer 4

well, first get a bowl or bucket full of room temp tap water. transsfer him into the bowl. empty his tank and re fill it with water and all his stuff. let the water get to room temp and put him back in. its best if the water temps are all the same so he doesnt get in shock.