changing water?

Really simple question but need to ask it, I'm new to this. When I change the water of a tank how much water should I keep, or should I keep any at all. When I put the new water in and put some dechlorinator in there, should I leave the newt out of the water or is it safe to put them in there. I was just thinking where would I keep them while waiting for the water to dechlorinate.

The more important question, I think, is why are you changing (or cleaning) the whole tank? This is something I would almost never recommend doing. Maybe you should think about changing the entire cleaning routine.

filter broke so im waiting for my new one to be deliverd.

I think we need to know how big the tank is and how many newts you are housing in it. I change about 20-25% almost weekly in my adult tank (10 Gallon w/ two fire belly newts in it - now using a divider so we get no more eggs!) There is about 5 inches of water in it and my % is just a guess. For my larva, daily changes are needed. More larva (10-20 in 5.5 gallon and 10 gal.) and more uneaten food and waste housed in tanks with several inches of water. I'd say about 20% is changed out daily with a total change weekly.

I dechlorinate my water in gallon jugs and let it sit, preferably overnight, before using it. So, I usually take out the water from the tank, then add the fresh water in, rarely removing the newts. For a well-established tank, I don't think a complete is needed unless something weird happened that would compromise the health of survivors. There's a great link here on water and cycling a tank. Check under FAQ perhaps? Otherwise, I'll find it and send it.

Good luck. I'm not experienced here either but trying to learn quickly,
Dana

Sorry to hear about your filter, it happens to the best of us. If you are in a remote place that requires you to ship them in, it may be a good idea to go ahead and get a second back up, just in case...

Generally, a well maintained tank can survive a day or two with just aeration. (depending on size and bioload of course) As for water changes, about 20% is the most you should ever remove and replace, any more than that risks destroying your ammonia cycle.

A complete water changes requires the usual 30 day minimum cycling period before it can safely sustain caudates.

Thanks for your help people. My filter came today and i have my tank cycling nice.

Ed