Proper procedure for water changes

I wanted to find out how other members do their water changes for dirted tank with fish. I like to find out the steps they take to perform a proper & safe water change. How much, how often, what equipment to use, when to add de-chlorination solution, should the water be heated from tap or done on a holding reservoir, should gravel be cleaned, how to do it for multiple tanks?

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Permalink Reply by Hmoobthor on November 23, 2011 at 12:49pm

http://youtu.be/p_HyBag2eTc

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Permalink Reply by Connor on November 24, 2011 at 4:55pm

when i do 25% water changes in my 10 gallon i sure pre conditioned water. I have 3, 2.5 gallon jugs from a grocery store and i filled those with my tap water which is municipal supply. I add water conditioner to the jugs and let them sit for days to distill and purify before i actually use them. so i have a cycle of 3 jugs that i do this for and it works out very well. i also use prime as my water conditioner.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Fritz on November 24, 2011 at 6:19pm

Drain water, replace with water that is dechlor if you have city water and try to match temp, hardness, PH and all that if you are doing anything with additives.

I dont use any of that except Prime to condition the water. I just drain old water out window with hose, hook up my python to sink and set the temp of tap water to temp of tank water and starting filling it back up. Right as it starting filling back up I add the amount of Prime for amount of the water I am replacing. Has worked fine for me for a few years now and sure beats carrying buckets of water all over the place.

I should add some ppl say to treat the volume of the tank while doing it this way, but I have yet to see a difference in how my fish or plants respond, besides this is what seachem said was the proper way to do it and I think they know how to use their products. Hope this helps you out.

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Permalink Reply by brosaquaticuniverse on November 26, 2011 at 7:46am

first i unplug heater and filter and airstone(i dont have one) then use a gravel vac syphon to suck up plant junk laying around but !!dont vac the dirt!! i drain into bucks about 30% then rinse my filter media in the bucket water from the aquarium. then dump buckets, fill em, add PRIME(water conditioner), and then fill the tank with syphon from bucket to tank. also refill HOB filter. then turn on equipment. and add anything i add to the tank ie ferts salt whatever needed. then kickback and enjoy. i do this once a week. I'll make you a vid for you. if you can send me a quick email just to be certain i don't forget. hope this helps