cleaning cycle for tanks

[AlfaTheBeta]

i have a question about the amount of time needed in between water changes. right now i have a 2.5 gallon tank that i change weekly. I was thinking of upgrading to a 10 gallon tank in the next month. i was wondering how often i would have to do water changes. btw i only have one beta, he would be the only one in the tank.

[Scienceluvr8]

sorry I can't answer you about the ten gallon tank, but I would like to know(since I just recently got a 2.5 gallon) how much water do you change from your tank? Do you use a siphon? Thanks

[AlfaTheBeta]

i do a 100 percent change weekly, i do not use a syphon, i just poor the water into the sink

[TaraHanon]

I have a 10 gallon. I do 50%-75% changes weekly and 100% change monthly. I don't know what other people do but that's what I do unless there is something wrong with my fish. My tank houses one male Betta and 8 whiteclouds.

[AlfaTheBeta]

thankyou

[Scienceluvr8]

Oh ok, I was contemplating about doing 100% changes, but won't that mess up the bacteria and cycle that is occuring within the tank? I would do 100% with my 1 1/2 but, I still don't know about the 2.5....I don't have a siphon though

[Cerulean02]

Wow 50%-75% a week? 100% on a 10g every month? Seems a bit much! I have a 10g tank and do 25% water changes a week and then just vacuum the gravel once a month...cleaning it 100% every month means your tank never really gets a chance to cycle because it can take up to a month to properly cycle.

I did 100% twice a week when Noel lived in 1g bowl, i would think doing 100% with a 2.5g once a week should be fine. I wouldn't worry about cycling unless you have 5+ gallons. The less water you have the more you have to clean to make sure there isn't a build up of waste.

[AlfaTheBeta]

what do you need to cycle a tank, what tools?

[Cerulean02]

Umm...well a lot of patience and time. I used plants and substrate from an established tank for the "waste", you need something to build up ammonia. Some people dump in fish food. I filtered it and eventually bacteria will turn ammonia into nitrites, then turn the nitrites into nitrates. If you don't use fish, (which I wouldn't recommend because usually the "test" fish will die, although it makes the process quicker) it'll take up to 8 weeks but you won't have to do water changes every few days. Also, get a test kit, when your ammonia and nitrite levels are zero and there is nitrate present then your tank has been cycled. Once that is done do partial water changes every week. (I do about 25%) Luckily once it's cycled it is pretty stable and worth the wait.

[AlfaTheBeta]

when its cycled do you have to do 100 percent water changes