Water changes

[Polly91]

When it comes to water changes what needs to be done to the water for it to be ready for the aquarium??? (For a tropical aquarium with american cichlids)
All i do is fill up a 20L bucket, add water conditioner and try and keep the water at the same temp of the tank. I then just add the water...

Is there anything else i need to do??? Salt??? Anything to ensure the pH is right?

 

[00youknowit00]

Nope, get temp as close as possible, add your water conditioner, and you're all set!

 

[Polly91]

Ive had a 5 foot tank for around 2 or 3 years now and ive never seemed to mastered the art of fishkeeping.
Is there anyother tips u can give me on fishkeeping??? Ive also posted a thread on maintaining a canister filter.

 

[00youknowit00]

Well the tanks cycled, right?

 

[Polly91]

When u say cycled u mean the filter has been running for a while with biological filtration???I have never been explained what cycling is exactly

 

[00youknowit00]

Cycling in short is growing your benificial bacteria colonies.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/i-just-learned-about-cycling-but-i-already-have-fish-what-now-116287.html

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/the-almost-complete-guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

 

[BakerBoy17]

Well after two or three years of the tank being up I'm pretty sure its cycled by now..

 

[Polly91]

Well yeh I guess I've done that.last time I tested ammonia and nitrate and nitrites they were all at a good level.

 

[00youknowit00]

Well after two or three years of the tank being up I'm pretty sure its cycled by now..

Haha sorry, missed that part..

 

[librarygirl]

If you've had the tank for a few years then yes I'd say it's cycled lol Unless you changed out the filter media and therefore got rid of the bacteria.

Are you having specific problems that you'd like to ask about?

 

[Polly91]

Well I've been keeping fish for around 3 or 4 years and I've never had anything perfect.
Like I had African cichlids and all they did was hide,although they still bred.now I have just introduced some American cichlids to the tank (no longer has Africans in there) and they have white spot.
I just found out that the carbon I had in my filter was only meant to be In there for a month yet I had it in there for ages cause I was never told to replace it!
I just feel like I should know a lot more than I do so I'm trying to learn as much as I can so my fish can enjoy themselves in my tanks!

 

[Mattefect]

Do you guys clean out the filter sponges? I squeeze the water in the sponges in the tank. Then I clean the sponges out with clean water, dry them out and then stick them back in the filter. Is this right ?

 

[librarygirl]

Do you guys clean out the filter sponges? I squeeze the water in the sponges in the tank. Then I clean the sponges out with clean water, dry them out and then stick them back in the filter. Is this right ?

No! Don't let them dry off!! If they dry completely you're killing all the beneficial bacteria your tank needs to stay cycled. During water changes, you can swish around the filters in old tank water before replacing them, that should be enough maintenance. Also never use raw tap water to clean the filters, that also kills the bacteria. Only use old tank water or dechlorinated tap water.

 

[Mattefect]

No I clean out the sponges because they get filled with waste and stuff. Then I dry it and put it in the tank. I musnt let it dry then how do I clean the sponges?

 

[Bubble_B0y]

how do I clean the sponges?

when you are doing your water changes,
wash the sponge and squeeze it using the dirty water!


simple. that's all it takes

 

[Mattefect]

So wait when I take the sponge out I must squeeze the water in the sponges back into the tank then wash them out ?

 

[DragonFish71]

So wait when I take the sponge out I must squeeze the water in the sponges back into the tank then wash them out ?

Do it in a bucket of water you've drained from the tank. That way you're not getting the crud back into the tank.

Remove, rinse, squeeze, repeat if needed, put back in filter.

 

[Mattefect]

I'm not getting you guys. Some saying I must put it in a bucket some saying I must not do anything someone just tell me a step by step process, like:
Take sponges out filter
Wash sponges out with normal water, and so on.

 

[alex07]

I'm not getting you guys. Some saying I must put it in a bucket some saying I must not do anything someone just tell me a step by step process, like:
Take sponges out filter
Wash sponges out with normal water, and so on.

You wash the sponge with old tank water.

 

[Mattefect]

Ok so I must keep old tank water from previous water changes. Ok. Wait or what happens?