Eclecticoldsod
Fish Crazy
How long would one have to store tap water for the chlorine to vanish from the water naturally? I find products like Aquasafe a strain on my budget.
Chlorine In Tap Water.
- Thread starter Eclecticoldsod
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Jaymz
Fish Fanatic
I heard storing it for 24 hours dissipates the chlorine, but I've never actually done it myself so don't take that as true.
In fact it'd be interesting to know if that's right or wrong from someone on here.
In fact it'd be interesting to know if that's right or wrong from someone on here.
three-fingers
Fish Connoisseur
It should do, but that's no good anyway if your water company puts chloramine in the water too - and most do seem to put it in it seems.
'Aquasafe' is a very uneconomical product. You should use seachem prime, or better yet, pond dechlorinator. They are the same thing, just much more concentrated. One bottle of pond dechlorinator will last you years - and costs little more than one medium sized bottle of 'aquasafe'. You use like one drop to get rid of the chlorine and chloramine of a whole tanks worth of water.
'Aquasafe' is a very uneconomical product. You should use seachem prime, or better yet, pond dechlorinator. They are the same thing, just much more concentrated. One bottle of pond dechlorinator will last you years - and costs little more than one medium sized bottle of 'aquasafe'. You use like one drop to get rid of the chlorine and chloramine of a whole tanks worth of water.
Rooster
Fish Herder
Ive just swapped over to "Prime" for this very same reason... its a quite a shock to see how much Prime you need after using "aquasafe" ! 
I use a 2 gallon bucket for all my tanks, and with the Tetra it was a GOOD squirt... now with Prime its TWO DROPS !!!!
This £9.99 bottle will last forever
I use a 2 gallon bucket for all my tanks, and with the Tetra it was a GOOD squirt... now with Prime its TWO DROPS !!!!
This £9.99 bottle will last forever
As a general rule the chlorine in tap water should come out of the water within 24 hours once it is exposed to the air. If the water is aerated then the chlorine will come out quicker. If you have more than the average amount of chlorine in the tap water (usually in very hot climates like Australia) then it can take up to 2 days to come out.
Sunlight will help break down chlorine and a shallow container of water in the sun will be free of chlorine in a couple of hours. Deeper/ taller containers of water take longer.
As three-fingers mentioned, if you have chloramine in the tap water (common in the US) you will need to add something to break the chlorine ammonia bond so the chlorine can be removed from the water. Chloramine can remain active in water for about a month so you will need to add something if your water supply has this.
Using a water conditioner for ponds is a much cheaper way to go. And check the directions, some products are cheaper but you use more of it to treat a certain amount of water. I found Wardley's Tristart was one of the more economical dechlorinators.
If you can get Sodium Thiosulphate, then that is what they use in most dechlorinators. It is a small pale brown crystal or granule and you don't need much to treat a heap of water.
Sunlight will help break down chlorine and a shallow container of water in the sun will be free of chlorine in a couple of hours. Deeper/ taller containers of water take longer.
As three-fingers mentioned, if you have chloramine in the tap water (common in the US) you will need to add something to break the chlorine ammonia bond so the chlorine can be removed from the water. Chloramine can remain active in water for about a month so you will need to add something if your water supply has this.
Using a water conditioner for ponds is a much cheaper way to go. And check the directions, some products are cheaper but you use more of it to treat a certain amount of water. I found Wardley's Tristart was one of the more economical dechlorinators.
If you can get Sodium Thiosulphate, then that is what they use in most dechlorinators. It is a small pale brown crystal or granule and you don't need much to treat a heap of water.
andywg
Bored into leaving
With regards to chloramine, one could look at the research found a while ago by bignose which suggests that ammonia and nitrite oxidising bacteria can utilise the amine part of the molecule as food indicating it is not going to be all that much of a problem if it enters a tank.
A couple of far from scientific or conclusive tests by members of another forum has found no ill effects when stopping using dechlorinator for water changes with chloraminated water.
However, with the comparatively tiny cost of using pond dechlors, and the knowledge they can bind up heavy metals too (though have I read that dissolved organic compounds do this too?), it isn't too much of a hardship to use a dechlorinator when changing water.
A couple of far from scientific or conclusive tests by members of another forum has found no ill effects when stopping using dechlorinator for water changes with chloraminated water.
However, with the comparatively tiny cost of using pond dechlors, and the knowledge they can bind up heavy metals too (though have I read that dissolved organic compounds do this too?), it isn't too much of a hardship to use a dechlorinator when changing water.
OP
OP
Eclecticoldsod
Fish Crazy
Many thanks, guys. I knew that you would come up with the answer.
I am so old that I remember: "Once a year - you was bloody lucky..! We got left on the radiator, in a jam jar, fed a pinch of coal dust every two weeks, and got a water change in the form of a block of ice chucked in end of February - every other leap year..!"
I am so old that I remember: "Once a year - you was bloody lucky..! We got left on the radiator, in a jam jar, fed a pinch of coal dust every two weeks, and got a water change in the form of a block of ice chucked in end of February - every other leap year..!"
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