Water changes are very important in any aquarium tank. If not done properly it can result in sick fish or even death. Fish tanks can be beautiful and exotic but without the proper care, it is a short lived dream.

How often do you need to do a water change?

Water changes will all depend on 1) Size of tank 2) number of fish and 3) if you have a good filtration.

Although we should not over stock our tank, lets be honest we have a fish or two we should not have inside the tank. I know I have a tank that they breed and overstocked the tank themselves. If you are overstocking your tank then you need to do water changes as often as 1 once a week.

If you are not over stocking a tank, you can get away without doing a water change 2-3 weeks. Do not over feed your fish if you do not plan to do frequent water changes.

How much water to remove during a water change?

If you take away to little water, then you leave behind a lot of ammonia inside of the tank. If you take away too much, then you also took away the good bacteria. The goal is to remove just enough that the ammonia is low. You can test your tank using an aquarium test.

A good rule to go by is 20% of the tank. If you have 100 gallons take away 20 gallons of water. If you tested the water and you see the water is very concerning do 30%. Give the tank a day or two and re-test it, if the results are still high then do another water change.

Temperature

The temperature of the water you are putting into the tank should be about the same. If your tank is set up to be at 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit, then the water you add should also be that temperature.

Keep in mind the smaller the tank the quicker the changes are felt. You can shock your fish if the water is way off. I have killed my fish once, I out the water too cold. I can still to this day see the poor beta going into shock.

What do you need for a water change?

If you are trying to keep cost low, all you need is a siphon( trust me is is worth the price), a bucket and some tap water conditioner. This is the bare minim you will need.

Depending on the size of the tank and the layout of your house, it might be worth the expense to invest in a pump. this can save you the trouble of carrying around buckets of water. There are some siphons you can use to connect to the water so you can refill and drain your tank.