cleaning a 25 gallon tank
- Thread starter zigzag131
- Start date
When you're doing a water change, it's usually best to just vacuum the gravel to suck up waste, excess food, etc. as you're removing anywhere from 25 to 50 percent of the water (depending on what you're nitrates are and how often you're doing changes, you want to keep them below 40, and ideally under 20. Most of people do them weekly or biweekly). There's no need to remove the fish, and it's probably better not to, as it stresses them out to be handled. Also, as far as "cleaning" the tank, you really only need to vacuum the gravel, rinse the filter cartridges in dechlorinated tank water, and you can wipe off the glass, etc. Other than that, excess cleaning can actually kill off good bacteria, and that's the opposite of what you want to do. You also never want to clean anything in regular tap water, as the chlorine will also kill off the bacteria. I hope that makes sense. If I forgot anything, someone else chime in. Also, here's a link to a gravel vac in case you don't know what that is. Marineland Siphon Kleen Large
ok well ive got a vac just like that. now as for removing the water would it be easiest to take it out with the vac while im sucking the poo and food and stuff out? and as for adding the water back would i just use regular tap water from like a tub or something and put the chemicals my neighbor lets me borrow in it? i have tetra aquasafe water conditioner, clear water clarifier ( supposed to remove cloudiness from the tank water ), and some ick cure.
would it be safe for me to put some of the water conditioner in with the new water and let it settle for a little before i put it in the aquarium or can i just put it in?
would it be safe for me to put some of the water conditioner in with the new water and let it settle for a little before i put it in the aquarium or can i just put it in?
Yes, that's exactly right as far as the water getting removed while you're doing the vacuuming. Regular tap water should be fine unless you have really delicate species. Most people just put the chemicals in, then add the tap water (at the same temp as what's already in the tank). The clear water clarifier isn't necessary, and you shouldn't add ick cure on a regular basis, only if you actually have ick. Even then, most of us recommend the heat/salt method instead of chemicals. I would also recommend investing in some Prime water conditioner, it seems to be the best one out there. Another thing you can do is test your tap water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If your tap has any of those in it, you might want to let it sit for a day or 2 before putting it in the tank. That's what I do cause my tap water has ammonia in it. If it doesn't, you can probably just put the conditioner and the water in at the same time, just make sure you add enough to treat the whole tank, not just what you're adding.