Jai

Hey u lovely ppl out there, i'm going to carry out my first H2O change, and not quite sure how to go about it. This is what I have in mind:

1) I will remove 25% of my water (96 UK ltr), I have "NUTRAFIN" chlorine remover, (if u all have heard of this). Would 1 capful of this solution be ok in my fresh new 25% of water, and how long do I wait until I can add the new water into my tank after this?

2) My tank is set at a temp of 24.2 celcius for my tropical lovelies, adding the new water will disturb my fish since the temp of the new water will not match my tank water for awhile?

3) About my filter pads; i'm going to throw away my white pad and replace it with a new one, then what about the other filter pads I have; 2xblue, green, & black?, Coz I know they have to be changed after a longer period. I mean how do I clean them?

I would like to say "thanks" to everyone in advance for reading this mammoth of a question and in helping me to solve this, so................thanks! 8)

Gwenz

I'm new to this too and haven't done my first water change yet, but I've read that before you add the new water to the tank you can add some hot water from the kettle into it to warm it up to the correct temperature for your tank. As for the filter pads, I know that you have to replace the white one once a week but the black one once a month. You can change the blue and green filter pads every 3 -6 months but not at the same time to prevent loosing the bacteria.
You don't need to clean the pads very often, but when you do squeeze them into old tank water, again to prevent loosing to much of the bacteria in the sponges.

I hope this is a help to you Jai. And good luck with your first water change!!

Gwenz 8)

Gunnie

1. It should tell you how much to add per liter. I go by gallons, and usually a capful of the brands I use treats 10 gallons. If you can't figure it out, please post the directions and we'll decipher it for you! Once you add the dechlor to the water, mix it a bit and it's ready. You don't have to wait.

2. You can try and match your tank temp. with warmer water from the tap or use heated water from the kettle as Gwenz suggested. Just make sure it's mixed up well so you don't have any hotspots and have a true temperature reading.

3. Don't change your white filter pad until you absolutely have to. If you can, get a cheap plastic pitcher or small bucket and with some old tank water, swish the filter media (white, blue, green or black) until some of the gunk comes off and put it back in place. Until the water flow is sluggish and you can't "swish" it anymore, don't change any of it, unless the black is just charcoal. You can just throw the charcoal away. It's not necessary for your filter.

Jai

The directions on the chlorine remover bottle says:

EVERY WATER CHANGE-

TO REMOVE CHLORINE:
10ml (approx. 2 capfuls) per 70 ltr (15 uk gal) (20 u.s. gal)
TO REMOVE CHLORAMINE:
10ml (approx. 2 capfuls) per 35 ltr (7.5 uk gal) (10 u.s. gal)

Do I have to perform both of these to remove both chlorine & chloramine?, how much will i have to add. I have a Juwel aquarium, i'm in u.k, it's 96 ltrs big, now i think someone told me that juwel is an american company, and someone else said to me it's british? is juwel company american? and if it is then 96 litres would be in american value? i'm so confused!...the dimensions of my tank are as follows:

81cm long, 46 cm up, 31cm coming out.

I'm so sorry to be a pest in this but I don't know where else to go

Gunnie

I think Jewel is British. It is not a widespread name here in the states. If you are not sure if you have chloramines, go ahead and treat for chloramines. It will not hurt your fish. Let's just round off your tank size to 100 ltr. Say you do a 25% water change. That would be 25 liters. You use 2 capfuls to treat 35 liters for chloramine. You can't overdose on the water conditioner, so I would go ahead and use 2 capfuls since measuring down to a partial capful is not necessary. Go with the 2 capfuls for 35 liter dosage, and measure accordingly. A little more won't hurt. If you do a 50% water change, go to 3 capfuls.

This is why we are here. Don't ever feel that any question is a dumb one.

Gwenz

Hi, I have a Juwel aquarium too but not quite as big as yours,15 galons(54 liters), I'm in Wales. I think the Company is British, but everything on their website seems to be in Euros, so I'm not quite sure.

If I was you I'd go with 2 capfuls of the Chlorine remover, but maybe add another half just to be safe.

Gwenz

vin

What I do to make sure my water conditioner mixes well is pour it into my clean bucket before adding the fresh water. I then add the water to the bucket. Also, I have two thermometers for my tank. One is an LCD that sticks to the outside of the glass and the other is a traditional bulb type that submerged in the water and is held on to the inside of the tank with a suction cup. I take this one out of the tank and put it in my bucket and use it to regulate the temperature of the fresh water. It takes guessing completely out of the equation.

Maybe these tips will work for you as well.

Gwenz

Vin, I do exactly the same!!
I have 2 thermometers too. One on the glass and a traditional one inside with a suction cup.

Great minds think alike!!!

Gwenz

vin