Water changes

[TayHudson]

What is the best most efficient way to start to do small water changes in my 10 gal tank?

What should I buy if I need to and what are the best steps in making this go well for my fish and myself??

[starsplitter7]

You need a clean bucket and a dirty bucket. Label them, so you know which is which.

I keep an old towel handy for the times I spill water.

I use Prime for my water conditioner, since it is the cheapest and you use the least of it. 1 mL treats 10 gallons.

I have two vacuums. One clean and one dirty (if I have a sick tank). And I have a hose that has a thumb sized hole that I use to spot suck stuff off the substrate.

A nice towel to clean the water drops off the front of the glass.

When you get more tanks you can invest in a python.

[Diana]

There are different sizes of siphons available. A fairly small one (not the smallest) will work well in a 10 gallon. Here is a simple procedure:

1) Fill the clean bucket with new water. Add dechlor. Add anything else that you want. This water should be a couple of degrees warmer than the tank. It takes some time to do steps 2-4 and this water cools to tank temperature. The first few times I would check this water with test kits to be sure the GH, KH, TDS are similar to the tank. Some tap water varies a lot, and you want to be aware of what might be going on. If your water needs to stand overnight or some other treatment, then start ahead of time, and you can re-heat the water, or put a small aquarium heater in the bucket of water to keep it warm.

2) Unplug heater, filter and anything else that might be damaged by lower water levels. Set the light aside. I often stand it up sideways at the edge of the tank for more light to see into the tank.

3) Clip the outlet end of the siphon to the edge of the dirty bucket. Start the siphon. Plunge it into the gravel to pick up the waste that has settled into the substrate. Lift and allow the gravel to fall out of the siphon. The debris will flow with the water and end up in the bucket. Plunge it into another spot.
It helps to keep a hand on the outlet tube. If the gravel climbs too high in the siphon, or won't fall back out then pinch off the tube, slow or stop the water flow and the gravel will usually fall out. Lift decorations like rocks, caves, driftwood and ceramic merpeople to clean under.
You might only have time to clean half the tank in any one water change. That is OK. Do the other half next time. Lift the siphon out of the water to stop the flow.

4) Remove the filter media from the filter and slosh it around in the bucket of water you have removed from the tank. Put the media back in the filter. Keep reusing the filter media until it falls apart. There is a lot of beneficial bacteria growing on the media.

5) VERY SLOWLY pour the new water into the tank. I find it helps to put one hand at the surface of the tank water and allow the new water to hit my hand so it does not dig into the gravel.

6) Plug in the heater, filter, and anything else you unplugged, and make sure the filter restarts. Some filters need to be primed. Put the light back over the tank.