If you are looking for help to get the water quality just right for your goldfish family in their aquarium, or just want to learn more about goldfish water quality (and more!), we recommend you check out the best-selling book, The Truth About Goldfish, on Amazon today. If your water level is still too low, repeat steps 3 and 5. Make sure to double check that your water level is high enough for your filter to work properly and to at least hit the “fill line” on your heater. Once you’ve added the clean water to the tank, you can plug your electronics back in and restart everything. Slowly pour the clean water into the tank, taking care not to stress your fish or move tank plants or décor around. It’s a good idea to make sure the clean water is close to the temperature of your tank water to ensure you do not accidentally shock your fish. You can begin adding the clean water back to your tank at this point. Your water conditioner should remove chlorine and chloramines, and neutralizing ammonia and nitrite is a bonus but not a requirement. Allowing the water conditioner to sit in the clean water before you add it to the tank allows it time to neutralize or remove toxins before the clean water is added to the tank. Fill up your clean water container and add the water conditioner. This step and step 2 can be performed in an alternate order if you prefer. Image Credit: Andrey_Nikitin, Shutterstock 3. Think of the places in your tank where the most waste might accumulate and focus your vacuuming in those areas. Make sure you vacuum in crevices, the substrate, and in and around tank décor. You will either due this with a hand pump that is built into the tubing or by putting the end of the gravel vacuum into the tank, flipping it upside-down, and allowing it to fill with water until suction is created. If you forget to turn your filter off before removing water, you may burn out the motor. If you forget to turn your heater off before removing water, it may explode. Unplug everything to ensure water doesn’t drip into the outlet.

Turn off the heater, filter, and other tank electronics. The 6 Steps for Goldfish Nano and Small Tank Water Changes 1.

Goldfish tank pump and filter