Suffolk County Fish & Reef

We have said it before, and we’ll say it again; the most important thing you can do to safegaurd the health and well -being of your fish is to do frequent water changes. We typically recommend at least a 10 to 20% water change once a week in order to remove any particulate or dissolved wastes that may be causing harm to your fish. A lot of people balk at this. After all, if you have a big enough tank, you may end up having to remove and replace upwards of 15 to 20+ gallons of water every week. While this may seem like a lot of work, it is absolutely essential to the well-being of your aquarium. And really, once you get the hang of doing a proper water change, it shouldn’t take you more than 15 to 20 minutes (again, depending on the size of your tank).

So how exactly do you do a proper water change? And what do I need to do one? Keep reading to find out!

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:

1. Empty buckets – Usually available for sale at your local aquarium shop, empty buckets are every aquarists best friend. You’ll want to have on hand at least two or three, depending on how large your tank is.
2. Gravel Vac/Siphon – A gravel vac is a length of clear, flexible tubing, attached to a wider, more rigid clear plastic tube. As it’s name suggests, gravel vacs are used for vacuuming the substrate at the bottom of your tank. Again, you will want to make sure that you have the appropriate size gravel vac for your tank. For the siphon, you can use the gravel vac itself, or a seperate length of clear flexible tubing.
3. Water Conditioner – An additive that you will use to remove ammonia and other harmful chemicals from your water source. We typically recommend Prime by Seachem.
4. pH Buffer – Additives that either raises or lowers your pH level, usually available in powder form. You will want to test your source water to determine whether you need to raise or lower the pH to match the specific water parameters for your aquarium.

Those are the basics that you will need to do a water change. Of course, there is other equipment that you can use for a water change, but what is listed above are the bare-bones products that you must have.

HOW-TO:

1. Prep your area. Turn off any lights and make sure that the opening of your aquarium is accessible. This may or may not require you to remove a canopy if you have one. To protect your flooring, you may want to lay down a drop cloth, but this is not necessary. If you have enough buckets, you may want to prep your water first, but, again, this is not necessary. You don’t have to turn off your filters, although some people choose to do so. Just make sure that if you do turn them off you remember to turn them back on as soon as you are finished with the water change; if the filters are left off for more than two hours, the good bacteria in your aquarium will begin to die off. If your aquarium decorations are dirty, you can take them out of the tank now and set them aside for cleaning. Otherwise, just move them to the other side of the tank.
2. Check the water quality of your tank water. This way, in case there is a problem, you will be able to monitor whether or not it improves after the water change.
3. Start your siphon. There are three ways that you can do this: (1) Place one end of your hose or gravel vac in your tank, and suck on the other end until the water begins to flow; (2) Use the powerhead on your pump (if applicable) to push water through the hose in order to start the suction. Once water begins to flow, submerge the end of the siphon to begin cleaning; (3) Submerge the entire gravel vac or siphon in your tank. Once the hose has filled with water, place your finger over the opening, drop that end into your bucket, and remove your finger. This works the same way as when you sip through a drinking straw and cover one end; you can then remove the whole straw from your drink without it spilling.
4. Starting at one corner of your tank, press the end of the gravel vac into your substrate and wiggle it in until you hit bottom. The suction will cause dirt, gravel, and sand to be lifted into the vacuum (keep an eye out if you have a sand substrate; if the flow through the vacuum is too powerful, the sand will start to flow through the hose and into your bucket). You’ll be able to see the gravel or sand getting swirled around inside the vacuum, and any sort of uneaten food or fish waste being sucked through. Hold the hose where it is (you can twist it back and forth to make sure you are getting a thorough cleaning) until you see the water flowing through the vacuum run clear. Once that happens, lift the vacuum slightly and begin working your way around the tank in this manner until you have cleaned all the substrate.
5. Once all the substratel is clean, check your water level. By this point, you should have removed 10 to 20% of the water in your tank. If this is the case, you can remove your gravel vac or siphon and put it aside. If you haven’t removed enough water, just let your siphon run for a few minutes until the desired amount of water has been removed. Once you have removed enough water, you can dump your buckets down the drain or out the door. If you happen to be an aquarist with an interest in gardening, you can store your water and use it to fertilize your plants and flowers.
6. If you haven’t already prepped your replacement water, do so now. Remember, you’ll want to make sure that the water you put into the tank is the same temperature and pH that your fish require. To adjust the pH, you will want to use some sort of buffer. Depending on your particular needs, you will need a buffer to either raise or lower your pH. We recommend the series of pH buffers produced by Seachem. You will also want to condition your water. This will remove any ammonia or other harmful chemicals that are in your source water. We recommend another Seachem product, Prime, for this purpose. Just follow the directions on the package to determine how much of the buffer and conditioner you need to add. Finally, if you are doing a water change on a saltwater tank, you will want to make sure that your salinity is correct in the water you are preparing. Actual parameters will differ from tank to tank, but we recommend using Seachem Salinity for a reef tank to maintain a 30 ppt level, and Coralife for a fish-only tank to maintain a 25 ppt. Another thing to keep in mind is that you will need to replace however much water you removed. For example, if you end up siphoning out five buckets of water, you will need to replace five buckets of water, so make sure you have enough buckets.
7. Once your water is the right temperature and pH, and has been conditioned, you are ready to pour it back into your tank. If you are planning to pour the water directly from the bucket, make sure that you don’t fill it up so much that you can’t lift it! Or you can simply use a cup and pour water from the bucket back into the tank. Some trial and error may be in order to figure out what works best for you, but whatever method you choose is fine.
8. Once you have your water back in your tank, you can go ahead and rearrange any plants or decorations that may have been disturbed during your water change.
9. Let the water in your tank settle for a few minutes, and then test it again. You’ll want to make sure that the mixing of the old and new water hasn’t changed any of the parameters in your aquarium. You can never test too much!
10. Sit back, and enjoy your nice, clean aquarium!