# STEP-BY-STEP water changing 2.5g WITH PICS



## Neelie (Feb 18, 2010)

thought id stick this up for anyone thats not sure on how to go about this the best way. this is how i do it anyways and my fish are happy with it ;-) hope ye enjoy. ill bump up the divider tutorial also, incase anyone is making some over xmas hols and need some inspiration  
_maybe make these 2 threads sticky?
_
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WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE YOU START

*This is the equipment i use:*
kitchen sponge
net
towel
a cup (tuppa wear in my case)
water conditioner









*Step1: Take note of the temperature in your tank(s)
*Here in my tanks its a brown 77 F.








*
Step2: unplug heaters (and filter if you have one)*
This is important to ensure you and your fish are safe 
(and the fuses in your house too lol)

*Step3: Take fish out*
I net the lil buggers that i cant scoop, and carefully forward them into the cup from the net. thats super gentle and you dont have to waste time trying to scoop them and stressing them.









*Step4: Off into the bath...*
I wash my tanks in the bath. its spacious and for me its the handiest. dont forget the cushion for your knees! wash out the tank with the sponge, and rinse all decor. if you have gravel, swirl it with your hand in the tank and pour out the dirty water. 









*Step5: Add water to the clean tank*
When you have your tank (and gravel) clean, add some tap water from the bath tap. i use 1/4 hot water and fill to the top with cold. in a 2.5g that will roughly give you your 77 F. check the thermometer to ensure water has same temp as old water!!! very important!!!









*Step 6: Add any chemicals (WATER CONDITIONER)*
When the temp is good, your tank is clean and your happy to continue, add the water conditioner. it says on the bottle how much you need to add. dont improvise or estimate lol ;-) its not healthy.
also, if you have any meds to add for your fish, do it now as its easiest to mix.
swirl all the water with your hand to ensure its well mixed and the conditioner does its job.









*Step7: Add your washed decor
*Just add your decor now  
Wait for 5 min to make sure the water is fully treated and the temp is stable.
*
Step8: dry off the outside of your tank*
as above.... with a fluffy towel. we dont want water stains lol









*Step9: plug heater back in and add your fish to the tank*
plug everything back in and gently let your fish back into your clean tank :-D









*Step10: Sticky note!*
I use sticky notes to remind me of the last water change.









*Last but not least:*
Clean all your used equimpent! I use antibacterial hand soap. rinse well, and its ready for your next water change.









Thats you done! Your fish will thank you with lots of these!








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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

Very good! Needs to be a sticky!


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## Neelie (Feb 18, 2010)

thanks :-D i enjoy making tutorials alot ha. so do my fish lol


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Good job....however, a couple of things I would change and/or add

Wash hands before and after

Use diluted bleach instead of antibacterial soap to clean fish supplies if you feel the need to clean them

Make a fish cleaning bucket and label all fish related cleaning items "Fish only" and keep in the bucket to be used only on the fish

I really like your sticky note idea to remind you of the last change


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## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

Also you have to make sure your temp is the same as the fish water or it could go into shock.


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## Neelie (Feb 18, 2010)

very true OFL! thanks for adding that 



danifacetastic said:


> Also you have to make sure your temp is the same as the fish water or it could go into shock.


ummm i did say that... :-?


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## LikeDiscoSuperfly (Oct 18, 2010)

Oldfishlady said:


> Make a fish cleaning bucket and label all fish related cleaning items "Fish only" and keep in the bucket to be used only on the fish


Hehe, thats what I have. I use the same bucket (it's actually a kritter keeper) and use that for when I am cleaning my tank to dump water/add water, and keep all my fish things stored in it when I am not using it for water changes.

but if I had a tank smaller than a 5 gallon, I would just carry it to the sink or tub too.

and I love your sticky note idea, I am really forgetful.. I always write it down on my calendar.. which happens to be by my tank, so I always notice.


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## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

Oops. Sorry about that.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I like the sticky note idea, too.


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## Neelie (Feb 18, 2010)

^^^ thanks  well you wouldnt believe how forgetful i am!!!
its awful haha... 

have ye any idea for next tutorial?  i love making them!


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## Rain Drop (Jul 4, 2009)

Great!!
One thing I'd add has to do with the heater.
With some heaters you have to wait 15 minutes from unplugging it to taking it out of the water. Just so that it doesn't get damage. Same with when putting the heater back into the tank, you have to wait for 15 minutes or so for it to acclimate.


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## Neelie (Feb 18, 2010)

Rain Drop said:


> Great!!
> One thing I'd add has to do with the heater.
> With some heaters you have to wait 15 minutes from unplugging it to taking it out of the water. Just so that it doesn't get damage. Same with when putting the heater back into the tank, you have to wait for 15 minutes or so for it to acclimate.


thanks 
i did hear bout that. but thats only the case if the heater stays out a long time or you out it into a tank with different water temps. in the 5min during this water change the temp of the heater hardly changes and the water temp is the same as the old water ;-) 

i had a heater crack on me once when i stupidly put a warm heater into a cold tank... LOLz...


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## Rain Drop (Jul 4, 2009)

Oh whoops! The fish didn't get...electrocuted, did they? D:


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## Neelie (Feb 18, 2010)

Rain Drop said:


> Oh whoops! The fish didn't get...electrocuted, did they? D:


no no it wasnt plugged in luckily haha. i plug them in very last when all tanks are done and happy. thank god for that ha. my face was probably really funny tho! :shock: <-- like that


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## HarleyRigid (Dec 26, 2010)

Thank you Neelie, some very good ideas there. With some more help like yours hopefully I wont 'noob' my first Betta to death.


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## Neelie (Feb 18, 2010)

HarleyRigid said:


> Thank you Neelie, some very good ideas there. With some more help like yours hopefully I wont 'noob' my first Betta to death.


aw dont think that ;-) you've done quite alot right already if your on this forum my friend!


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## bloo97 (Mar 6, 2010)

danifacetastic said:


> Oops. Sorry about that.


 Ditto.


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## addie (Jan 8, 2011)

This was very helpful! Thank you!!!


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## Neelie (Feb 18, 2010)

^^^ very welcome. glad this thread is of use to ppl


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## ILoveMyBetta50 (Jul 14, 2011)

i just got my fish skittles and today i find him making the bubbles in the last photo.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

I usually recommend to disinfect the tank with a bleach . And i never put it on the forum because i was thinking that people will say that i am wrong. Now i can do that recommendation here on the forum.
Thank you!


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## Neelie (Feb 18, 2010)

ANHEL123 said:


> I usually recommend to disinfect the tank with a bleach . And i never put it on the forum because i was thinking that people will say that i am wrong. Now i can do that recommendation here on the forum.
> Thank you!


i never use chemicals if i dont have to ;-) if there is no disease on the tables and the tanks/fish are all healthy i wouldnt use anything like bleach.

welcome


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## Bettawolf19 (Jul 15, 2010)

I wish I could use this method. The bad thing is the 2 different phs in my water. The water I use is straight well water with a ph of 8.6? but my heated water has softener salt in it so I don't use it. Lol though I did try to warm up water with hot water..didn't work. Now I have it to the point where I have a 8 gal rubbermaid tub that I put my water in and it sits over night bringing it to 73ish. When I had kritter keepers I would empty most of the water into a bucket and put the heater in there as well as my betta overnight as the water warmed up. Worked well lol


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

Sorry i meant i would use diluted bleach only to disinfect the tank from sick fish. But i think i recommend it to someone on this forum and people were so skeptical so i never recommend it again. 
I did it a few times and i used 1 bleach to 10 water and i also put soap. And i washed like million times with water wiped it and washed it and let air dry and stay on the son for a few days. And i have betta in that tank now for about 2.5 years. So i think it the best disinfection from sich fish.
Just hot water will not kill all bacteria and fungus, well may be only if you boil it....


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