# 10 gallon tank



## kbjunior8 (Sep 3, 2007)

ok so i just got my ten gallon and it was very hard to put water in it today? How do you guys with big tanks make water changes?


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

gravel vacuums FTW. putting water in? i treat it in a big ol' bucket, and pour it in slowly. works for me.


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## kbjunior8 (Sep 3, 2007)

but arent most gravel vacuums a little to small and take a lot of time to empty a ten gallon tank


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2007)

A 10 gallon tank? No, ten gallons is a very small amount of water. Any gravel vacuum works fine for water changes and a 5 gallon bucket works well for that size tank to replace water. 
You can spend money on a Python which hooks up to the sink for water changes. It works well, but I wouldn't spend the money on one for a tank that small...


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## mesapod (Aug 18, 2007)

i just use a bucket to change the water and some airline hose.


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## kbjunior8 (Sep 3, 2007)

thanks for the advice guys. Wow you must have a humongous tank scuba kid because my 10 gallon to carry is like 1000 pounds lol. Its pretty heavy for me


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

sidenote: NEVER EVER carry a full tank, it can cause the seams to rupture and then you have a whole lot of water all over your floor.


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## kbjunior8 (Sep 3, 2007)

it said that on the manual and thats why i was wondering how to change the water lol


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

I hope you know that you NEVER change all the water. Just do 20 % each week or you will kill your fish.
Any questions? Ask away! 
Do You know about the cycling process?
DO NOT PUT ANY FISH IN THAT TANK UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND ALL AbOUT CYCLING.


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2007)

kbjunior8 said:


> but arent most gravel vacuums a little to small and take a lot of time to empty a ten gallon tank


Do not empty all of the water from your tank . When cleaning your tank, you need only change a percentage of the water, 20% would be fine. Emptying the tank doesn't allow it to become cycled and safe for the fish to live in.


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## kbjunior8 (Sep 3, 2007)

huh how do i cycle a tank


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2007)

Here's a great thread on the forums about it: 
http://www.fishforums.com/forum/general-freshwater/7125-nitrogen-cycle-basics.html


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

so if I want to put gravel and some trees in my tank how do I do that? Do i just take all the water out into a 5G bucket or something, put my fish in the then put in the stuff, also on my way to my house I was wondering, can my betta get sucked into a gravel vacuum, because I would obviously want to be extra precautious then


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

I didn't cycle my tank before i put my fish in does this mean it is going to die as indicated by that thread? Also I have no extra tank to put my betta in except and unplanted, no gravel .5G tank. What should I do now?


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2007)

Well, your hand's going to have to get wet.  lol

I'd take out some water, maybe a gallon or so, add the gravel and plants, and fill the tank up if that's necessary. If you do this carefully, you don't have to take your betta out. Just be gentle putting handfulls of gravel in. Or you could take him out temporarily until the gravel's in.

Remember to wash your gravel well before adding it! This prevents any excess debris from making your tank cloudy.

I've never sucked a fish up in a gravel vac before. I suppose it's possible, but it doesn't create so much suction that a fish like a betta would be sucked up, generally speaking.


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2007)

If you cycle your tank properly, in this case you'd be cycling it with your fish, your betta should survive. As long as you do water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrites from getting so high that they could kill your fish, you should be fine.

This is where the test kit really, really helps. 

"During the cycling process, ammonia levels will go up and then suddenly plummet as the nitrite-forming bacteria take hold. Because nitrate-forming bacteria don't even begin to appear until nitrite is present in significant quantities, nitrite levels skyrocket (as the built-up ammonia is converted), continuing to rise as the continually-produced ammonia is converted to nitrite. Once the nitrate-forming bacteria take hold, nitrite levels fall, nitrate levels rise, and the tank is fully cycled." Your tank needs to be able to reach a level where the ammonia levl goes up, but won't harm your fish in the short term.

"Your tank is fully cycled once nitrates are being produced (and ammonia and nitrite levels are zero). To determine when the cycle has completed, buy appropriate test kits (see the TEST KIT section) and measure the levels yourself, or bring water samples to your fish store and let them perform the test for you (perhaps for a small fee). The cycling process normally takes anywhere from 2-6 weeks."

This is what you're going to have to do "Should ammonia levels become high during the cycling process, corrective measures will need to be taken to prevent fish deaths. Most likely, you will simply perform a sequence of partial water changes, thereby diluting ammonia to safer concentrations."

This is another good link on the nitrogen cycle. http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

Wow that was really helpful, thanks i'm running over to petsmart to get s gravel vacuum, gravel, plants, pH test kit, Nitrate Test Kit and a Nitrite Test Kit. That should be all the test kits I need right?


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2007)

Don't forget the ammonia test kit


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

phew u really saved me there


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