Spring Cleaning Round Two

In case you didn't know, having an aqaurium with a filter does not excuse you from the responsibility of changing the water. Most goldfsih bowl owners know this is a basic for keeping fish. It's the same with a tank or aquarium that has a filter, or an algae eater, the water still should be changed periodically to keep the tank fresh and smelling clean.

After you have vaccumed your tank, you will need to put new treated water back into the tank to replace the amount you took out while cleaning it.

Here's how you should start. The water you pour into your bucket should be an apporpriate temperature. Remember you don't want to shock your fish with a drastic temp change, so run a thermometer under the water. When the temp is just right for the type of fish you have, and only 1-5 degrees different than the water already in the tank, fill up the bucket.

The next step after getting water at the right temperature is to treat it. Untreated water could harm your tank environment. You don't want to have difficulties with Nitrates, and your pH balance should be very similar to the pH balance of the water in your tank.

You can use a standard Start Right disk, or liqiud. There are also perfect pH tablets available. Place these into your 'new' water. After these items dissolve you can pour the treated water into your fish tank.

You should also pour a few drops of 'Stress Coat' in the tank so that your fish are calm and won't freak out while the tank itself is adjusting to the new water.