dechlorinating water

[Johnny V]

hi, i have a quick question
When I do my water changes, I do it by buckets (man does it suck [55gallon tank]) and i was wondering, so far i've been adding the dechlorinater (sp) to each bucket for fear of having the chlorine kill my bacteria. It's a massive pain in the butt cause i have to figure out how much exactly to give each bucket. Could i just dump a bunch of water in, then add the dechlorinizer? Oh, and what a good brand for that anyway? I use stress coat. It has aloe vera in it. Is there a better way? Thanks -john

 

[freddyk]

water conditioners work instantaneiously, so yes, you can just add the dechlorinator to the tank. have you considered the investment of a Python system?

 

[BobK]

Hey Johnny. I always use a 5 gallon bucket when doing water changes on my 75 gallon. I don't find it to be a pain but I'm thinking about adding live plants and if I do I'll get a Python. Anyway, back to your question - I use AquaSafe and I contacted Tetra, the manufacturer, and found out that the precise dosage is 8 drops per gallon. I put 40 drops in the empty bucket and then fill it with tap water. By adding it before the water the dechlorinator gets spread throughout the bucket as it gets filled. I have two bottles of AquaSafe, a small one with a built in dropper and a big one that I use to refill the small one. I think Aquarium Pharmaceuticals is the maker of Stress Coat and you can call or e-mail them for the precise dosage if the one on the package isn't clear enough. By the way, I'm going to switch to Stress Coat because you can buy it by the gallon at big als online and it is sooooo much cheaper.

As freddyk said the dechlorinator works instantly on contact with the water. Double-check that Stress Coat works on Chloramine as well. Depending on your water source some municipalities use Chloramine as a disinfectant rather than Chlorine because it evaporates slower. Chloramine is a combination of Chlorine and Ammonia. I'm not 100% sure on this but I think the dechlorinators break the chemical bond which separates the Chloramine into Chlorine and Ammonia and then detoxifies the Chlorine. Some dechlorinators also lock the ammonia. If you have a well established healthy tank the amount of ammonia released from the Chloramine should be removed quickly by your biofilter. Some dechlorinations have a compound that locks the ammonia into a non-toxic form too. There are a lot of products out there but I believe Stress Coat is a great one. Here's a link:

http/www.aquariumpharm.com/aqwater.html

Okay, I read it now and it detoxifies Chlorine and the Chlorine component of Chloramine. It also detoxifies heavy metals which may be important depending on your local water supply.

Anyone else have something to add? I'd love to learn more. Oh, and Merry Day After Christmas everyone!!!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Johnny V

I would never recommend putting chlorinated water into a tank and adding the dechlorinator later. Chlorine is a powerful bacteria killer, which is why it is added to the water in the first place. I would not take any risks in this area.

What I do, since I can only carry smaller containers (2 gallon pots) is use a dechlorinator that is measured out in drops per gallon. Wardley's is a good one that can be used that way, and it is quite inexpensive. Just add the drops to the bucket when you begin filling it and it will be ready when the container is filled.

I do not like Stress Coat since it contains aloe vera, which can remain in the fish's gills.

 

[Johnny V]

wow, thanks a ton for all the usefull (and speedy) info. Thanks for the link also. I thought the aloe vera was good.. ahh well, seeing as i just bought a ton of it, they will just have to deal till i run out.