When you guys do a water change to you treat the tap water before you add it to the cycled water or do you let the cycled water mix in with the tap? I usally empty all the water out of my bass tank and then clean the gravel by hand but since the temps are getting colder I am starting to change like 50% of the water adding tap and not putting prime in since there cycled water already has it.
Water Changing
- Thread starter Bluegill
- Start date
Water is usually not "cycled", the aquarium as a whole is cycled (meaning that it has gone thru the stages to create the right sized bacteria colony to complete the nitrogen cycle). Tap water has chlorine or chloramine in it which are deadly to fish. Add something to neutralize it. Your existing aquarium water may or may have enough prime left in it to neutralize the added chlorine, but may not. Don't risk it, always add a dechlorinater of some sort. Bottles of sodium thiosulfate cost less than 5 bucks usually, and you only use 3 drops per two gallons. Cheap and easy.
I add the dechlorinator to the aquarium before I start refilling it. Better safe than sorry.
