When to change the water?

[Gari]

I have a 10 gal tank with a heater and no filter (yet)
And it's not cycled.

I have one betta fish.
When should I do a water change to keep the ammonia down?
And how much should I change?
I dont have a test kit but when I get the cash I'll pick one up.

Also will the tank ever cycle itself? or will I have to keep doing frequent water changes?

EDIT: The water is begining to turn murky, I believe thats because I need a filter correct?
I'll be getting on as soon as I can but money is tight right now.

Maybe I should do a water change tomorrow?

[nav2008]

Yes if the water ever looks cloudy you need to change it, make sure you dechlorinate if its city water, and water conditioner is highly reccomended. dont change 100% water at a time, 50% is usually good. (i change unflitered 2 gallon tanks every 4-5 days... but i dont know about a 10 gallon sorry.

[Meatpuppet]

if the tank is cycling it is totally normal for the tank to bloom and become cloudy. are you doing a fishless cycle? if so dont change any of the water, it will just make the cycle take longer.
but if you have your betta in there then you need to be doing 30% water changes every couple days so they ammonia doesnt get too high for him.
i recomend you pick up a filter and test kit. the filter holds most of the benificial bacteria during the cycle. so get one asap. same with the test kit, without it you wont know where you are in the cycle and you wont know when its done.

[Gari]

Yeah, I have the betta in the tank.
I've only had him for a day and the water started going murky

I'll do a 30% today

I was told to take him out of the tank when I do the water change, is that right?

[Meatpuppet]

no dont take him out of his enviorment, that will just stress him out.

you can chage the water by scooping it out, or using a turkey baster, or a siphon.
do you know what you doing with your cycle. what is your ammonia source?

[Gari]

I'm not sure, I guess the betta? I'm not adding any in myself.
I set up my ten gallon a few days ago then a friend of mine bought me the betta.

So the tank isn't cycled.

I havn't really read up on cycling yet either so I'm a bit in the dark.
I just want to make sure that I dont give the little guy ammonia poisoning.
He seems pretty happy right now.

[nav2008]

sorry, i thought you meant that it had become cloudy overtime.

[iamntbatman]

I agree with what Meatpuppet said. The filter media in your filter is usually where a huge amount of your beneficial bacteria grow, so adding that filter will give the bacteria more surfaces to grow on to help along your cycle. Also, getting a good liquid test kit and keeping track of your water parameters will tell you when you need to do your water changes. Whenever the ammonia or nitrite gets above 0.25 ppm, it's a good idea to do a water change. Once the tank is finished cycling, you shouldn't ever get readings for ammonia or nitrite and instead you only need to do periodic (every week or so) water changes to keep the nitrates down.