How To Change Water In A Fish Tank

Changing the fish tank water at regular internals is imperative to the health and survivability of your fish. Changing the water is not only about removing water from the tank and replacing it. There are a number of important factors to be considered during water change, such as the condition of water being used to replace the tank water and the amount of water to be replaced. These factors can significantly affect the water quality and the state of your aquarium as well as its inhabitants. This article comes up with some important tips on how to change water in a fish tank. Read on to know the right way to do it.

Changing Water In Fish Tanks

Fill a bucket with the tap water that will replace the water in the fish tank. It is better to do this a day in advance. The general rule says to remove about 20% of the tank’s water. The most common tank size contains 40 gallons of water and 8 gallons is to be removed and replaced in this case.
Add tap water conditioner to the water in the bucket. The amount of water conditioner should be determined by the directions given on its container. If you have water processed in the reverse osmosis dionized (RO/DI) filter, you need not use the water conditioner.
Keep the filled bucket, an empty bucket and the tubing next to the fish tank, so that you are prepared to change the water instantly.
To circumvent any danger, turn off all the electricity. Excessive exposure to air may cause breakage of the heater in the tank, as it will react to the air outside.
Put one end of the tubing inside the tank and start suction by beginning to suck from the other end of the tube. Make sure that the end from where you are sucking is below the end of tube inside the tank, so that gravity pulls the water down into the empty bucket. Take care to place the tubing into the empty bucket, before the aquarium water makes way into your mouth.
Remove any solid waste from the fish tank. Siphon the gravel gently, to pick any settled debris and take it out of the tank.
Remove the tubing from the fish tank when you have almost taken out the required amount of water.
After you have removed the water, add the prepared fresh water to the tank.
You can now plug in any electrical equipment that you had unplugged earlier, to avoid over-heating.

Additional Tips

One of the other general rules to be kept in mind is to change the tank water every month. However, changing the water every week is not desirable, as it will reduce the accumulation of the fish poop.
Take care that you dilute the fresh water into the remaining tank water. If you replace all the water in the tank in one go, some bacteria that are beneficial for the sustenance of your fish will be drastically killed.

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