How do you go About A water change?

[boojncarla]

i really need to make a water change because the water of my tank isnt clean at all. the colr of the water is kinda green and yellowing. please give me a step by step procedure of how to do it. my tank is a FOWLR tank. im about to start placing corals but i want to do a water change first. i have 8 fishes in the tank. hoping for your quick response. thanks.

[Poseidon]

First thing is make sure to mix the new water the night before. It should set for at least 24 hours before adding it to the tank. Also it is important the water is the SAME SG and Temp.

Then I just remove the old water and pump in the new water. Personally I don't touch the gravel, I let the critters take care of that.

Don't make it hard, it is a simple process.

[boojncarla]

First thing is make sure to mix the new water the night before. It should set for at least 24 hours before adding it to the tank. Also it is important the water is the SAME SG and Temp.

Then I just remove the old water and pump in the new water. Personally I don't touch the gravel, I let the critters take care of that.

Don't make it hard, it is a simple process.

but how much water do i remove from the old tank?

[zhenya]

but how much water do i remove from the old tank?

How big is your tank? Generally, 20% water exchange per month should be fine. If your water is discolored,try running some carbon in either power filter or place it in the sock in the sump in the high flow area. Replace carbon after couple of weeks and run it for couple of weeks more and see if that helps.
I'd still do a water change,regardless if you run carbon or not.

[boojncarla]

How big is your tank? Generally, 20% water exchange per month should be fine. If your water is discolored,try running some carbon in either power filter or place it in the sock in the sump in the high flow area. Replace carbon after couple of weeks and run it for couple of weeks more and see if that helps.
I'd still do a water change,regardless if you run carbon or not.

thanks gene... my tank is 75 gallons and i have carbon aready placed in the sump. but so far no change really. im not really familiar also on how to do a water change thats why im asking for easy tips to follow in changing the water. im afraid that if i do a water change i might stress my fishes and they might die.

[zhenya]

Hi boojncarla,

Like it was mentioned in previous posts, make sure that salinity and temperature is match to your tank's water before you do actual exchange,age your water at least 24 hours as well. You can shot down your tank's pumps/returns and use a hose or any other special purpose hoses(like the python w/change hoses) and syphon out water from your tank(the same amount that you had prepared of the new water) and replace it with new water. I my 75g tank I usually exchange about 15g a month but I do a by-weekly water changes.Easier and quicker for me this way Less water to mix and lag around.

[boojncarla]

Hi boojncarla,

Like it was mentioned in previous posts, make sure that salinity and temperature is match to your tank's water before you do actual exchange,age your water at least 24 hours as well. You can shot down your tank's pumps/returns and use a hose or any other special purpose hoses(like the python w/change hoses) and syphon out water from your tank(the same amount that you had prepared of the new water) and replace it with new water. I my 75g tank I usually exchange about 15g a month but I do a by-weekly water changes.Easier and quicker for me this way Less water to mix and lag around.

thanks very much. ill try water changing on saturday. il just buy the salt mix tom or something. thanks again. but anyway i hope the carbon does work... how long does the carbon take 2 work and also how much carbon do i need to place? at the moment i placed 3 bags of carbon in the sump but im not sure if thats enough. where exactly should i place it?

[Poseidon]

It's not real critical WHERE you put it, as long as it is in a high flow area. This is not ROCKET SCIENCE, by your posts it sounds like you are making this to hard. If you mix up 20 gallons of new water, then remove 20 gallons of your tank water. How long has it been since you did a water change anyway?

[Tattooedlife]

thanks very much. ill try water changing on saturday. il just buy the salt mix tom or something. thanks again. but anyway i hope the carbon does work... how long does the carbon take 2 work and also how much carbon do i need to place? at the moment i placed 3 bags of carbon in the sump but im not sure if thats enough. where exactly should i place it?

I do a 10% water change by-weekly, more if needed. Always keep some mixed, on hand at all times. Saves alot of trouble.I use a syphone and skim a few inches from the top of my sand, close enough to remove some of the gunk from the sand. It works best for me to turn off all power heads, filters, and skimmer. I use a turkey baster to blow sand and any waiste of of my rocks and let it settle at the bottom, then syphone out. This works good for me. Just read the directions on the back of your salt. Follow the steps ,make sure you stir, or shake the salt regurely, depending on what kind of container you use. (or use power head on larger buckets.) Let sit atleast a day, make sure all salt has desolved and check your salinity again. This is my opinion. Good luck.

[boojncarla]

I do a 10% water change by-weekly, more if needed. Always keep some mixed, on hand at all times. Saves alot of trouble.I use a syphone and skim a few inches from the top of my sand, close enough to remove some of the gunk from the sand. It works best for me to turn off all power heads, filters, and skimmer. I use a turkey baster to blow sand and any waiste of of my rocks and let it settle at the bottom, then syphone out. This works good for me. Just read the directions on the back of your salt. Follow the steps ,make sure you stir, or shake the salt regurely, depending on what kind of container you use. (or use power head on larger buckets.) Let sit atleast a day, make sure all salt has desolved and check your salinity again. This is my opinion. Good luck.

ok i will try doing the 20% water change over the weekend. i hope all goes well. thanks.