10 Gallon Tank Water Changes & Temperature Changes

All tanks are different, but a good rule of thumb is 25-50% a week. Not only are water changes used to lower nitrates, theyre also used to clean the substrate, balance the PH and replenish key minerals your fish need to be healthy.
 

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No. New tanks usually require more frequent water changes as the beneficial bacterial colonize and balance out parameters.
 
So 25% a week isn't too much for a fairly new tank?
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Since the bacteria isn't free floating in the water, water changes aren't going to disrupt your cycle unless you fail to add a water conditioner if you have chlorine in your source water. Water changes to keep the water fresh is the life blood in your tank.

Test your source water occasionally so you will know what you are adding. If it is all zeros then you should be golden.

Test your tank water. As long as you have gone through the cycle, IOW ammonia spike, back to zero, nitrite spike, back down to zero and see nitrates with zero ammonia and zero nitrites your tank is cycled.

At that point let the numbers be your guide as to how often and how much water to change.

I do a 30% water change for my 55, 50% for my 10, 75% for my 5 and 75% for my 2.5 gallon snail jar each week. That amount and frequency keeps my tanks right where they need to be to keep my fish healthy. It took a couple of months of testing to determine how much water to change and how often I needed to do it.

Even after 3 years I still occasionally run the tests including my source water to make sure nothing has changed.
 
In my opinion, provided the water roughly matches the one in the tank for pH, hardness, temperature and is free fom chlorine/chloramine and microbubbles, the more water you change the better - I struggle to think of many instances where fish would suffer because the water is too clean, it is more a matter of how much work you are willing to do. Some waste substances are easy to measure (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, phosphates) others not so much (bacterial count, desolved organics, etc).
If your tap water already has 25-35 ppm nitrates but is otherwise ok I would consider passing it through a nitrate filter before putting it in the tank.
When I do water changes I think: in for a penny - in for a pound, I change about 2/3 at a time.
Changing water frequently helps to mantain parameters stable, some fish are more forgiving and will live in far from pristine water, others are less forgiving. I do weekly water changes in 9 on my tanks but my discus tank has had daily water changes (240 out of 360 liters) since I got them 14 months ago.
 
So I have a 10 gallon tank with 5 neon tetras, a dalmatian molly, and a sailfin molly. I also have a 5.5 gallon tank with one betta and I do water changes once a week. How often though should I change the water of my 10 gallon?
 

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Nothing more than 30-50% per week. Also avoid cleaning the filter till at least 3-4 days after a water change so you don't do significant damage to the beneficial bacteria in the aquarium.
 

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I do water changes weekly regardless of the parameters.
 
When would it be a good time to do a water change ?
My water nitrates are at 20ppm
I'm using apI master test kit
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JP...

To keep fish healthy, I'd recommend at least a 50 percent water change done weekly. More is always better when it comes to changing the tank water.

B
 
Are you cycling? I do once a week but every tank is different. I try not to do more than 30% at a time because of fluctuations in the pH, so I’m not a believer of a big changes.
 
On my 75 gallon I do a 65/75% weekly. My other tanks (45g, 40g) I do 50% weekly. My 75 gallon has a larger stock so that's why I do a larger water change. My smaller tanks have 4 fish each so I do the 50%. The filters I wash out once a month (canisters & HOB's).
 
I've been doing 25-30% water changes the last 2 weeks and my nitrates haven't gone past 10 even before a change. Does this mean my water changes are enough or even too much?

It's a reasonably new (about a month) 10 gallon cycled with some LFS media and fluval biological booster for one week before adding fish. I have two honey gourami and 10 celestial pearl danios so I expected nitrates to be high and was doing 25% bI daily to start (was also concerned about my cycling) and have been spacing it out to a week when nitrates didn't really increase.

The tank only had a couple of plants.
Ammonia and nitrite are always zero.
 
I wouldn't say too much. There are other reasons to change water then simply because of nitrates. Minerals need replenished as well. So your amount sounds good.
 
As long as you’re on top of your parameters then I wouldn’t say its too much
 
You are doing well keeping your nitrates at 10. Just continue what you're doing
 

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I change proly 40% water every week in my 55 gal african cichlid tank. I use prime. Why does it look cloudy? What can I do to not make it look cloudy? Anything I can change or correct? TIA
 
The ammonia and nitrate are what you’re asking but both are 0. It shouldn’t be anything to do with my parameters. I added 2 fish 2 weeks ago and 2 more the other day. They are tiny thou.

Air driven sponge filters always helped in my cichlid tanks, particularly the overstocked ones.
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Where can I find those?
 

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Hello, it sounds like beneficial bacteria bloom. I had this happen the first 3-4+mo at first. I would scrub everything every time I did waterchanges(filter included). I learned that I was taking to much bacteria out of tank. The bloom was bacteria trying to catch up w/bioload. So started spot cleaning decorations, surface cleaning all gravel but only deep cleaning 1/2, only cleaning the filter when flow slows & doing waterchanges when nitrates between 20-40. Every tank is different so you may need to tweak a few things but this worked for me. Hope this helps!
 
Hello, it sounds like beneficial bacteria bloom. I had this happen the first 3-4+mo at first. I would scrub everything every time I did waterchanges(filter included). I learned that I was taking to much bacteria out of tank. The bloom was bacteria trying to catch up w/bioload. So started spot cleaning decorations, surface cleaning all gravel but only deep cleaning 1/2, only cleaning the filter when flow slows & doing waterchanges when nitrates between 20-40. Every tank is different so you may need to tweak a few things but this worked for me. Hope this helps!
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Hey ! Thank you for that info, it really helps! The cloudiness is not there anymore for some reason. It was there before my last water change and after. The flow of the tank is going great.. I don’t really want to change anything up bc my fish are thriving. I def will take underconsideration if the problem shows back up.
 
I have roughly a 2 gal tank for my betta (ik its small, pls don't harrass me), how often should I change the water?
 
depends on how high your nitrates are getting
Probably twice a week if it’s fully cycled
 
Welcome to FishLore!

Since your profile says that you are unaware of the nitrogen cycle, I'm going to assume this tank is not cycled. Does the tank have a filter?

Either way, I would recommend doing 50% water changes every other day using SeaChem Prime as your water conditioner. The reason I recommend Prime is because Prime will detox ammonia for 24-48 hours. Once you understand the nitrogen cycle, you will learn that fish constantly release highly toxic ammonia into the water. In a cycled tank, that ammonia gets turned into highly toxic nitrites, then the highly toxic nitrites get turned into far less toxic nitrates. Then in a cycled tank, you normally will do a weekly partial water change to keep the nitrate levels low enough to be non-toxic.

I highly recommend you read up on the nitrogen cycle, since it is the most important thing to understand when keeping fish. Betta's (like all tropical fish) require a heated, filtered, cycled tank. Sadly, most fish stores don't inform their customers of this.
 
Good Morning Fish folk! Ok so I’m in the middle of my nitrogen cycle, and I’m not gonna lie, these water changes are killing me. Any chance that there’s a hack or just a more logical and hopefully easier way of getting the water back into the tank?
Removing it isn’t a problem, I mean it’s fast with the syphon I have, but the refilling is a huge B.

Could anyone, pretty please give me some helpful tips for making the water changes easier or at least less of a PITA?
 
How are you currently putting in new water? I used to use my python to drain and fill, but now that I moved the tank away from a faucet that it could hook up to, my main method of filling is by using a gallon pitcher multiple times.
 

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Just posting my setup for possible inspiration:
I have an unused tank in my tank stand, which I fill up with a hose every now and again. There the water is conditioned, warmed to tank temperature etc.
When I do a WC, I flip a switch which activates a pump that tops the tank. Beats dragging buckets by a country mile.
 
How are you currently putting in new water? I used to use my python to drain and fill, but now that I moved the tank away from a faucet that it could hook up to, my main method of filling is by using a gallon pitcher multiple times.
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I bought three 5 gallon buckets from Home Depot that are only used for the water changes, I have a siphon vac that drains it quickly, but for some reason (maybe it’s a logical one that I’m ignorant to) when I try to reverse the siphon to refill it doesn’t work.. I have to keep pumping which would take FOREVER. So what I do instead is I pump the water down with the siphon until it’s low enough so I can get the pitcher in the bucket to fill it then I add water with the pitcher until there’s enough removed from the bucket to where I can safely pick the bucket up and pour in the remainder without making a huge disturbance to my fish. It’s a process!
There has to be an easier way.

Just posting my setup for possible inspiration:
I have an unused tank in my tank stand, which I fill up with a hose every now and again. There the water is conditioned, warmed to tank temperature etc.
When I do a WC, I flip a switch which activates a pump that tops the tank. Beats dragging buckets by a country mile.
Click to expand...

Oh wow!! This sounds awesome, I don’t have an extra tank or the space but I wish I did.
 
I bought three 5 gallon buckets from Home Depot that are only used for the water changes, I have a siphon vac that drains it quickly, but for some reason (maybe it’s a logical one that I’m ignorant to) when I try to reverse the siphon to refill it doesn’t work.. I have to keep pumping which would take FOREVER. So what I do instead is I pump the water down with the siphon until it’s low enough so I can get the pitcher in the bucket to fill it then I add water with the pitcher until there’s enough removed from the bucket to where I can safely pick the bucket up and pour in the remainder without making a huge disturbance to my fish. It’s a process!
There has to be an easier way.
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Siphons could be affected by:
Obstruction
Air leak
Height difference
Valves
Diameter of hose

As I understand, tank water flows out easily, but siphoning new water in is a pain. Maybe a stupid question, but: Do you place the bucket higher than the tank on refill?
 
As Loetje said the siphons work on gravity - water flows out of the tank into the bucket easily once you start water flow as the bucket is much lower. If you can raise the bucket higher than the tank this would work the other way but I don't think this would be very practical. I think one method is to add dechlorinator to the tank then run a python directly from the tap - though I'm not sure what else is involved in this method regarding temperature etc.https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/members/loetje.113588/
 
Some folks use a small pump to transfer water from container to tank. With a pump you won't be depending on gravity to move from bucket to tank. If the bucket is sitting on the floor I would think it would have to be a fairly strong pump.

The most I can lift is 4 gallons so when siphoning the water out I just fill my 5 gallon waste water bucket up the 4 gallon mark. Carry it out to where ever it is needed (I use all the water to water plants). I do this at least 6 times for my 55 gallon tank.

I have a 4 gallon and a 2 gallon bucket for refilling. The 4 gallon fits right under my kitchen faucet. I fill it with temp matched water. Add Prime while it is filling. I dip water from it over to my 2 gallon bucket and carry it to the tank. 2 gallons is the most I can comfortably lift and easily pour in the tank. Again I do this no less than 6 times. I know it sounds like a lot of work but it really isn't. It is a good thing I enjoy doing water changes
 
Invest in the python. It will change your life.
Get the hook attachment for refilling.
Make sure you measure the distance from the closest sink to your fish tank.

I started out with buckets. They're the worst. Save your back,energy, and time haha
 
Yes the python is the number one thing you need. Next I bought this under counter water filter and I use a carbon filter in it. I bought adapters so I could slide the python hose onto it DF9CD92C-09FB-41BF-AF6D-86482FDBB293.jpeg than I bought another adapter for my faucet.2EEBC447-D0B5-427C-8AF7-A5C371522603.jpeg Now the water goes through the filter and into the tank. With this setup I have never used prime.2EEBC447-D0B5-427C-8AF7-A5C371522603.jpeg 33D171CC-06A2-43A2-B314-DBA8CCE90F61.jpegCF810BDB-75C5-405F-BA0F-469417923518.jpeg The tanks will drain in reverse and with removing that filter. But it does go faster into the buckets. Hope this helps. Been doing this 20+ years .
 
What I do is that I use a pond pump to pump out the water. I rarely do a vacuum clean, maybe once a month but that's it. My pump is connected to the end of the python. When I refill I just hook the gravel vac portion back on the end and turn on the faucet and read a book until the tank is full.
 
Yes the python is the number one thing you need. Next I bought this under counter water filter and I use a carbon filter in it. I bought adapters so I could slide the python hose onto itView attachment 569187 than I bought another adapter for my faucet.View attachment 569188 Now the water goes through the filter and into the tank. With this setup I have never used prime.View attachment 569188 View attachment 569189View attachment 569190 The tanks will drain in reverse and with removing that filter. But it does go faster into the buckets. Hope this helps. Been doing this 20+ years .
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Nice system 86 ssinit! How long is your hose and are the parts on Amazon? I could bypass the water filter as well right?
 

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