# Turkey baster used for tank maintenance?



## chicagojo (Oct 13, 2011)

I am about to move our bettas into new 2.5 gallon tanks as soon as their heaters arrives, which is supposed to happen tomorrow. I am thinking of not using any substrate in the new tanks to make cleaning easier. I could have sworn I read somewhere on this forum that one could use a turkey baster to remove waste and uneaten food from the tank. Is this true? If so, does it have any impact on the water change frequency or %? The tanks will be unfiltered. Thanks!


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Yes using a turkey baster to remove waste and uneaten food makes a big difference. Even if you remove the waste and such your Betta will still expel ammonia, so I would suggest two 50% per week just pure water changes seeing how it'll be a bare bottom tank.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

For anything under 5 gals unfiltered you will want to do 1 50% and 1 100% per week, even if you use the baster. Or you could do 3 50%s a week since the baster would remove the waste off the bottom.


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## tlyons01 (Jul 5, 2011)

I use a baster as well when mine are in their QT tanks, and agreed that it should not reduce the amount of water changes that you perform.


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## chicagojo (Oct 13, 2011)

Thanks, this is very helpful. It's good to know that 3 50% water changes is an option because our boys do NOT like to be netted/cupped and if I can avoid weekly 100% changes that would be great, maybe I could to those on a less frequent basis like every other week or once a month. I have test strips so I could monitor to make sure water parameters are looking ok. I assume I should still remove and rinse any plants or other decor at least once a week though?


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## valleyankee (Oct 21, 2011)

My boys hates the net. I hate changing the water.


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## chicagojo (Oct 13, 2011)

valleyankee said:


> My boys hates the net. I hate changing the water.


I learned from someone here to try using a clear plastic cup instead of the net. I think it is better than the net (mine hated the net too) but they still don't love it. I just make sure to thoroughly rinse the cup under hot running water to remove any possible chemical residue. The nice thing is, they can just stay in the cup swimming around while you do the water change so you don't have to move them around multiple times.


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## valleyankee (Oct 21, 2011)

I wonder if they appreciate the wonderful fresh water?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

The reason you need to do at least 1 weekly change on an unfiltered tank is because the water change is only diluting the ammonia.

If you take the waste out and do a 50% water change you still have the ammonia left in the other 50% of the water, so the next time you do a change you're going to have even more ammonia in your tank.

In my experience a 2.5 gallon tank with one betta should be fine with just a single 100% change a week, provided you aren't over feeding. That in conjunction with removing the uneaten food/waste with a turkey baster should be just fine. You can always top off if you have evaporation in the tank over the course of the week.


You can get your fish used to netting or cupping by conditioning them to the net or cup. First start by just feeding them with the net visible on the outside of the tank, then feeding them with the net inside the tank, then slowly work towards getting them to swim into the net for feeding. It can be done, just takes a little effort.


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## Thunderloon (Feb 6, 2011)

Use a siphon instead. The issue with turkey basters is they can build up nasty bacterial colonies inside the rubber head, mildew and anerobic bacteria. The main point of using substrate in small tanks is to have a layer in the bottom that hides the waste and unused food as well as keeps the fish flying past from stirring it back into the tank. There are small one inch siphon tools that you can use and a siphon will clear out the dense mineral ammonia as well as the waste and dead food from the bottom. Siphoning is a much better option.

Turkey basters will also dribble stuff back into the tank.


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## Bambi (Sep 11, 2011)

For a small bare bottom small tanks it's easier to just cup your betta and do 100% water changes. ^^ My smaller tanks get a 100% water change every couple days.


To do a 50% water change with a baster though,just suck up the waste on the bottom and some water until it's half empty and refill with water the same temp that you dechorlinated before hand. Also,be sire to take the baster apart and clean it in hot water between water changes to keep it clean,just as you would if you used it for cooking.


ETA: I siphon my larger tanks. My grandma is on oxygen so we have a stack of air hoses i can use. ><


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## chicagojo (Oct 13, 2011)

Pardon my ignorance but what is a siphon?


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## tlyons01 (Jul 5, 2011)

No pardoning necessary, here is a link to one
http://www.amazon.com/Aqueon-06232-...405A/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1320495933&sr=8-5

The reason I chose to link this particular one, is that it has a siphon bulb included with it. With a tank of your size, a regular siphon that you need to bob up and down to start, would stress your betta out and all of the movement would get water everywhere. I don't actually own this brand, but I did buy a bulb starter seperately and I have no idea how I ever lived without one! I have tanks that range in sizes, largest being a 42 gallon and the smallest was just upgraded to a five gallon. I have one on a bookshelf that is hard to get into the top. This type of cleaner is a life safer for maintenance. I still think using a baster for on the spot poo/food cleaning is a good idea, as long as its rinsed clean and well taken care of. It would take you forever to siphon 50% water out with it though. When you look at the cleaners, you will see what I am talking about, with the self start siphoning. You can also find how to gravel vac video clips on youtube, if you want to see before you buy.

I should also mention, that when you siphon, you want to keep the bucket lower than the tank to keep the water flowing and when adding you clean water, you can also siphon from the bucket into the tank, so it disturbs your betta less, and you should not use a bucket that has had soaps or detergents in it before due to residues being harmful. Walmart in my area carries buckets under 2-3 dollars in the cleaning isle


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