Water Changing Methods

[zmzfam]

Somebody PM me this question :

"I recently got my 2 trios of killies into those 1ft guppy tanks. Am wondering what you guys use to do water change as the regular siphons from LFS's seem to be too big and probably will suck up the moss along with the water."

I think it is most appropriate if I post this question on the forum as I believe people will learn from this and there are others with perhaps better method(s).

Normally what I do is I will scoop out the top few cm of water. I won't worry too much about the poop at the bottom. Of course, if you are feeding too much or your fishes are still adjusting to the environment, there can be uneaten food at the bottom. If that is the case, I just use a small hose - such as an airline hose - and use that as a siphon. Otherwise, just lift up the moss for a while and siphon away.

[timebomb]

Normally what I do is I will scoop out the top few cm of water.

In my case, I simply tilt the tank and pour away some of the water. The water surface tends to have a layer of oil and also many unhatched brine shrimp eggs so this method of changing water can be quite good. If there's too much scum on the bottom of the tank, I use an airline to siphon it out.

Loh K L