6 Gallon Tank

[corygirl]

How often should i do water changes for a six gallon tank and what percentage of water should be changed. also what percentage of gravel should be vacuumed for a six gallon tank. thanks.

 

[chibi]

You should vacuum all the gravel whenever you change it. If you aren't overstocked, 15% every week or two should be fine. If you're a little overstocked, 20-40% every week to be on the safe side.

 

[honneebee]

Well, it really depends on a few factors such as

1) What kind of Bio Load do you have. Some fish are messier than others so the water would need to be changed more frequently and more of it.

If your tank is cycled then I would change 25 % of your water once a week and vaccum your gravel every other week. Making sure to use a dechlorinator EVERY time!

That is if it were MY tank.

Cheers!

 

[Yazan]

You should vacum 1/3 of the gravel not all of it and a 20% water change is fine once a week.

 

[chibi]

I'd also like to answer your question you posted in another thread...

i am planning on adding a couple cories to my tank after it cycles. salt will harm them but all the other tropical fish benefit from salt and i want to have them in my tank too so what do i do? and do i need to somehow remove the salt that i already added to the tank?

You can't remove the salt you've added in already, but I have some suggestion for the future. Many people say cories don't tolerate salt. I've added 30 tsp in my 30 gallon and they were fine. However, I've heard that you shouldn't add salt unless there's sickness, and never too much. If you want to add some salt to your tank if you have fish like livebearers just to keep disease at bay, put 1 tsp per 5 gallons. That's what I do. Corys don't like salt, but I've never had one die from it. Just be very careful not to overdose.

 

[corygirl]

okay, thank you. the tank is not cycled yet, im in the process of cycling it with 2 guppies. i want to also have a couple cories and im also thinking about a molly or platy or a couple oto catfish. i had read that small tanks need to be cleaned more often so i just wanted to make sure if once a week is enough then. i have never had fish before except for in one of those stupid fish bowls they sell......

how often do i have to change the water while its cycling? i read every three days?

 

[corygirl]

I'd also like to answer your question you posted in another thread...

i am planning on adding a couple cories to my tank after it cycles. salt will harm them but all the other tropical fish benefit from salt and i want to have them in my tank too so what do i do? and do i need to somehow remove the salt that i already added to the tank?

You can't remove the salt you've added in already, but I have some suggestion for the future. Many people say cories don't tolerate salt. I've added 30 tsp in my 30 gallon and they were fine. However, I've heard that you shouldn't add salt unless there's sickness, and never too much. If you want to add some salt to your tank if you have fish like livebearers just to keep disease at bay, put 1 tsp per 5 gallons. That's what I do. Corys don't like salt, but I've never had one die from it. Just be very careful not to overdose.

thanks chibi, i forgot to say i will also be adding a 2nd female guppy. i am using fake plants and rock/coral decoration thingies. just in case any of this makes a difference for anything.

 

[honneebee]

While your tank is cycling, the ammount of water changes is determined in essence by the quality of your water. A fishy cycle can be a lot of work if you want to keep your fish healthy. If you have a test kit, test your water for ammonia and nitrites every day, and change your water acordingly. For example if you test your water and your ammonia level is say 0.5, then you would want to change out 50 % of your water. I use PRIME during my cycling, it may make the cycle process a little longer but your fish aren't exposed to such toxic levels. I also put some driftwood into my tank to naturally lower the ph of my tank. A temperature of 77 and a ph of 7-7.2 will allow the ammonia to get higher but still safe. The higher the PH the more toxic the ammonia is at lower levels. Aquarium salt is also not a bad Idea, it helps when the nitrites get high. Never change out more than 50 % of your water at a time. It is dangerous to your fish. If water conditions are critical it may be necessary to to back to back water changes. This is alright. I definatly agree with a lot of people on this board, fishless cycles are the way to go, but sometimes we don't find this out until its too late. Good Luck!


I've never heard of vacuming 1/3 of your gravel....anyone else do this? It is my understanding that vacuming doesnt' harm the bacteria colonies on the gravel....anyone??

 

[corygirl]

I've never heard of vacuming 1/3 of your gravel....anyone else do this? It is my understanding that vacuming doesnt' harm the bacteria colonies on the gravel....anyone??

thats what it says on every web site ive read about vacuuming gravel...

 

[corygirl]

here is a picture of my tank

 

[corygirl]

here is my tank again, a little different. still not how i want it yet. i have one female guppy, one molly, and 1 dwarf platy in there.

i would still like to know if anyone else has an opinion of vacuumming all or 1/3 of the gravel?

 

[Yazan]

Nice work on a little tank. Why don't you fill your tank up to the black band?

 

[Robbylikestofreestyle]

I'd also like to answer your question you posted in another thread...

i am planning on adding a couple cories to my tank after it cycles. salt will harm them but all the other tropical fish benefit from salt and i want to have them in my tank too so what do i do? and do i need to somehow remove the salt that i already added to the tank?

You can't remove the salt you've added in already, but I have some suggestion for the future. Many people say cories don't tolerate salt. I've added 30 tsp in my 30 gallon and they were fine. However, I've heard that you shouldn't add salt unless there's sickness, and never too much. If you want to add some salt to your tank if you have fish like livebearers just to keep disease at bay, put 1 tsp per 5 gallons. That's what I do. Corys don't like salt, but I've never had one die from it. Just be very careful not to overdose.

Yes I agree they do fine with a little salt, also don't over dose your chemicals either it is really easy to do so in a small tank I used to change 50 percent of the water every week and clean out all of the gravel when I had my 7 gallon nano. It was a little overcrowded but my fish did fine. I do a 40 percent water change weekly in my big cichlid tank and clean all of the gravel, but that is just me I like to have very low nitrates and 0 nitrites. (and cristal clear water!)

 

[dwarfgourami]

The vacuuming 1/3 only of the gravel is probably a hangover from older times with less efficient filters, where you probably did want to be careful to keep every single bacteria. Modern filters are more efficient and it is now thought that a relatively small proportion of the bacteria live in the gravel anyway, so vacuuming it all shouldn't be a problem. I do find with corys that it is VERY important to keep the gravel clean as they can easily get bacterial infections from dirty gravel, particularly in hot weather.

 

[corygirl]

Yes I agree they do fine with a little salt, also don't over dose your chemicals either it is really easy to do so in a small tank I used to change 50 percent of the water every week and clean out all of the gravel when I had my 7 gallon nano. It was a little overcrowded but my fish did fine. I do a 40 percent water change weekly in my big cichlid tank and clean all of the gravel, but that is just me I like to have very low nitrates and 0 nitrites. (and cristal clear water!)

what chemicals are you referring to? am i supposed to be adding something else to the water? or do you mean the dechlorinator? so ill plan on doing a 50% change every week and vacuum all the gravel. how often should check the amonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels?
my tank is going to be a little overstocked. im going to have the ones i have now (one guppy, one balloon molly, one dwarf platy) plus 3 pygmy cories and one sparkling dwarf gourami. they are all less than one inch except the molly and guppy.

The vacuuming 1/3 only of the gravel is probably a hangover from older times with less efficient filters, where you probably did want to be careful to keep every single bacteria. Modern filters are more efficient and it is now thought that a relatively small proportion of the bacteria live in the gravel anyway, so vacuuming it all shouldn't be a problem. I do find with corys that it is VERY important to keep the gravel clean as they can easily get bacterial infections from dirty gravel, particularly in hot weather.

oh, thats important info to know, thank you