StuStu
New member
Obviously everyone has their own system for doing a water change so i thought i would post mine.
First off im using a 30 Gallon tank, i know this because it said it on the box when i bought it
and this step by step guide is for a half tank change.
Personally i do a half tank change one week and do a full tank change the next and suck up any uneaten blood worms with a turkey baster before feeding each day.
1. This is my tank at the start of the water change.
2. First I take everything out. This will cause debris to float around and will settle after a few minutes. Everything goes onto an old towel to start with and will be washed later.
3. Position the empty tub on the floor below the tank.Buying the right tub is essential! the first one i bought (the blue one) looked good but was thin plastic and 15 gallons of water is very heavy! The sides started to bow out when full so i bought a much stronger tub and placed the blue one inside.
The trick to using a siphon is understanding gravity! Air bubbles will always rise in water (normal, earth based air that is!) so to start the siphon I place my thumb over the hose end and then fill the tube end in the tank. As the hose end is lower the air in the hose will rise up to the tube end.
4. To speed the process up you can release your thumb from the hose end then quickly place it back on when the water shoots out.
Once all of the air is out of the hose you dip the tube end back into the tank, release your thumb and the water will continue to stream out of the hose end from the tank until you stop it or the tank runs out of water.
5. Now that you got the water flowing you can use the tube end to suck up all the debris. Once the tub is full take the tube end out of the water and the flow will stop.
It takes a while for water to siphon so i use this time to clean the tank. i have a sponge that i use to clean the inside of the tank, remember your little dude/dudette might still be in the water if you didn't take them out so try not to move your hand too quickly in the water.
6. As my bathroom is on the same floor as the tank i can drag the tub to the bath and empty the water there. 15 gallons of water is heavy! Don't overfill your tub!. When in doubt, less is best!
I don't think i need to show everyone a picture of me cleaning the tank contents but i usually clean them in the bath with a sponge and the shower head. Make sure you clean your filter well. Probably best to wait till your tub is full and you have stopped the drainage before starting the cleaning, last thing you want is to be busy cleaning and flood your floor from the tank drainage
OK you're now at the half way point, you've taken everything out and cleaned it, drained half the tank of water into a tub and emptied it and hopefully there isn't water everywhere now it's time to fill it back up.
7. Place the empty tub on top of the tank. Make sure the sides of the tub are hanging over the edge of the tank...again, make sure you have a sturdy tub that can hold all of the water without bending! As i use tap water i add dechlorinator and some bio support chemicals to the tub then pour buckets of water into the tub. The tub i use holds roughly half of the tank water when full so i add chemical amounts based off of 15 gallons of water
Remember that dramatic temperature changes are not good for Axolotls so make sure the water you put in the tub isn't super cold. Use a tank thermometer in the the tub to check or do a touch test. Dip your hand into the tub then dip it into the tank. If the water in the tank feels much warmer than the tub water adjust it. Remember that feeling when you jump into a pool and the water is freezing and it catches your breath...you don't want your Axolotl to go through the same thing!
Once the tub is full place the tube end of the siphon into the tub, thumb the end just like you did before and aim the water into the tank. Once you have the flow going place the hose end of the siphon into one of the corners of the tank and the tank will start to fill up. Up to you if you want to put the tank items back in or wait until you are done.
8. Once the water has drained from the tub to the tank take the tub off and pack everything back into your tub and you're done!
Again, everyone is different so I'm sure other people have different ways of doing a water change but if you have any questions feel free to reply to this post
EDIT: oh i forgot to add, it took me a few tries to master but the whole process takes me 20-25 minutes now and the longest part of that is waiting for the water to drain out and back in and unless i do something drastically wrong there is never any spillage
First off im using a 30 Gallon tank, i know this because it said it on the box when i bought it
and this step by step guide is for a half tank change.Personally i do a half tank change one week and do a full tank change the next and suck up any uneaten blood worms with a turkey baster before feeding each day.
1. This is my tank at the start of the water change.
2. First I take everything out. This will cause debris to float around and will settle after a few minutes. Everything goes onto an old towel to start with and will be washed later.
3. Position the empty tub on the floor below the tank.Buying the right tub is essential! the first one i bought (the blue one) looked good but was thin plastic and 15 gallons of water is very heavy! The sides started to bow out when full so i bought a much stronger tub and placed the blue one inside.
The trick to using a siphon is understanding gravity! Air bubbles will always rise in water (normal, earth based air that is!) so to start the siphon I place my thumb over the hose end and then fill the tube end in the tank. As the hose end is lower the air in the hose will rise up to the tube end.
4. To speed the process up you can release your thumb from the hose end then quickly place it back on when the water shoots out.
Once all of the air is out of the hose you dip the tube end back into the tank, release your thumb and the water will continue to stream out of the hose end from the tank until you stop it or the tank runs out of water.
5. Now that you got the water flowing you can use the tube end to suck up all the debris. Once the tub is full take the tube end out of the water and the flow will stop.
It takes a while for water to siphon so i use this time to clean the tank. i have a sponge that i use to clean the inside of the tank, remember your little dude/dudette might still be in the water if you didn't take them out so try not to move your hand too quickly in the water.
6. As my bathroom is on the same floor as the tank i can drag the tub to the bath and empty the water there. 15 gallons of water is heavy! Don't overfill your tub!. When in doubt, less is best!
I don't think i need to show everyone a picture of me cleaning the tank contents but i usually clean them in the bath with a sponge and the shower head. Make sure you clean your filter well. Probably best to wait till your tub is full and you have stopped the drainage before starting the cleaning, last thing you want is to be busy cleaning and flood your floor from the tank drainage
OK you're now at the half way point, you've taken everything out and cleaned it, drained half the tank of water into a tub and emptied it and hopefully there isn't water everywhere now it's time to fill it back up.
7. Place the empty tub on top of the tank. Make sure the sides of the tub are hanging over the edge of the tank...again, make sure you have a sturdy tub that can hold all of the water without bending! As i use tap water i add dechlorinator and some bio support chemicals to the tub then pour buckets of water into the tub. The tub i use holds roughly half of the tank water when full so i add chemical amounts based off of 15 gallons of water
Remember that dramatic temperature changes are not good for Axolotls so make sure the water you put in the tub isn't super cold. Use a tank thermometer in the the tub to check or do a touch test. Dip your hand into the tub then dip it into the tank. If the water in the tank feels much warmer than the tub water adjust it. Remember that feeling when you jump into a pool and the water is freezing and it catches your breath...you don't want your Axolotl to go through the same thing!
Once the tub is full place the tube end of the siphon into the tub, thumb the end just like you did before and aim the water into the tank. Once you have the flow going place the hose end of the siphon into one of the corners of the tank and the tank will start to fill up. Up to you if you want to put the tank items back in or wait until you are done.
8. Once the water has drained from the tub to the tank take the tub off and pack everything back into your tub and you're done!
Again, everyone is different so I'm sure other people have different ways of doing a water change but if you have any questions feel free to reply to this post
EDIT: oh i forgot to add, it took me a few tries to master but the whole process takes me 20-25 minutes now and the longest part of that is waiting for the water to drain out and back in and unless i do something drastically wrong there is never any spillage
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