anpa1019

I just bought a new 6.6 gallon tank for my betta. He is currently recovering from fin rot so I put him in the conditioned water right away so he can have a filter and heater in his tank...big upgrade from his 1 gallon tank. However, I realize the tank is uncycled so how often should I be changing his water. Also, this is my first real tank so I am not sure how to clean it. 2 buckets...one to set out the clean water the day before, one for the dirty, and a siphon to get out the water and vacuum the gravel? That's what I have learned from the other posts but I don't know if I am on the right track.

fishrule101

Well I can't really tell you how to do tank maintenance since I have a SW tank, but for new tanks I say 50% every other day ( since your tank is small and won't take much water). If you have alage problems get a mag-o-float. I think your on the right track. Are you the person that was wondering if you should put you betta in a new uncycled tank?? Do you have gravel or and places for the betta to hide??

jdhef

You should probably be doing 50% water changes every day.

You also need to get a water testing kit if you don't have one. Most around here will recommend the API Master Test Kit for Freshwater. You can learn about the nitrogen cycle here:
http://www.fishlore.com/Articles/TheNitrogenCycle.htm

You do not have to let the water set out over night, but you do need to use a water conditioner such as Prime to remove chlorine/cloromine and any other heavy metals that are in your water.

You could use a gravel vac to siphon out about 50% of your water into a bucket. Or you could scoop it out with a cup. You can then dump that water and put an equal amount of tap water into the bucket. Use a thermometer and make sure the tap water is the same temperature as the tank water. (About 80 degrees for a Betta). Add the water conditioner, then siphon or use a cup to add the water back to the tank.

One additional thing, if using a gravel vac, while cycling, go easy on actually vacuuming the gravel since much of the beneficial bacteria lives in that gravel.

Good luck

P.S. Do not overfeed!