Advice on cleaning a 3 gallon tank?

[chimes11]

It's coming up on my first time cleaning my betta's tank. I've had him since the 15th of August. What should the process be cleaning his tank? And how much water should I take out when it's time for a partial water change? It is filtered.

[clopez1]

When I had a 2.5 gallon I'd do 50% every 2 to 3 days. You just really need to change the water, check the filters and every now and then vacuum the gravel if you have any.

[lelei]

I do my Sapphire's 3 gal tank every week, about 90% just keep a lil water over the gravel, and siphon it. I usually do a 40-50% 1x a week, then the 90% toward weeks end.

[teeneythebetta]

I'm guessing your tank is not cycled..

In that case- do two water changes per week. 1-50% change and 1-100% change

[LizzyP]

In my 3 gallon I do 2 50% per week. If you do 100% you're loosing all the beneficial bacteria in the tank. By doing 1 50% with the scooping method (just scooping water out of it) and 1 50% by a gravel siphon you will be good to go :)

[teeneythebetta]

Originally Posted by LizzyP

In my 3 gallon I do 2 50% per week. If you do 100% you're loosing all the beneficial bacteria in the tank. By doing 1 50% with the scooping method (just scooping water out of it) and 1 50% by a gravel siphon you will be good to go :)

I agree it does remove BB. If you dont want to deal with fish in cycling, 100% changes are required.

You can do a fish in cycle but that requires special attention to water parameters. You should have a liquid test kit for best results.. and can read about it here; http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=107771