Fluoride In Water Question.

[NickAu]

The local council is about to start adding Fluoride to the water, The chemicals will be added to the water to achieve a fluoride level of 1mg/L.
 
How will this affect my fish?
 
 

 

[Baccus]

I'm not sure if it will effect your fish, my local council was adding flouride to the drinking water, but stopped due to public backlash and costs. I never noticedd any extra deaths/ diseases or illnesses that I could attribute directly to flouride. It certainly didnt seem to bother my shrimp, but fussier shrimp it might be an issue for.
Since flouride is a poison you could try running activated carbon in your tank all the time, continue to use water primers/ agers that remove other chemicals that are added to drinking water. You could also use pruigen in your filter, or if really desperate to avoid flouride use RO water and then add the necessary minerals and salts back to the water. But I see RO water as being extreme and a huge expense.

 

[carmstrong]

We have been adding Flouride to our water within Canada for many years (30+ as long as I've been alive and are aware of it)
Just looked it up, we've had it in our water since 1945..
 
I have been running my fish tanks with the same water for 1.5 years. 
(I don't run carbon in two of them)
 
I haven't had an issue thankfully. 
 
I usually let my water sit over the week closed, or let it sit overnight with the lid open and all chlorine, and additives they place in the water dissipates. 
Just make sure to condition it.
 
I don't foresee any issues with it, as I haven't had any myself.
 
Hope this helps ease your concerns..

 

[NickAu]

Thank you Baccus and carmstrong.
 
I just don't want anything to happen to my fish, Just recovering from the last mishap.
 
I guess when I change the water I can put the new water in a drum then add a powerhead filter with carbon and purigen to it and leave it running for a day or 2 before adding it to the tank?

 

[RobRocksFishTank]

There is nothing wrong with being careful but let me add this. There has been fluoride added to water in this area for a very long time. I've kept reef tanks. Water changes were done straight from the tap except for adding reef salt which was premixed and added immediately.
 
After typing this I decided to do some research on the effect of fluoride on fish. It turns out fluoride is found naturally in fresh water and even more so in salt. So much for the merits of my original train of thought that if it was okay for a reef tank, it has to be safe for freshwater. This quote from here: http/www.cascadebitz.com/Water-Treatments-And-Additives-Tropical-Fish-sc-644.html, explains it well. The sentence in red sums it up nicely.
 
 

Fluoride is found naturally in freshwater at concentrations of 0.01 – 0.3mg/l, and in saltwater at 1.2 – 1.5mg/l. In some regions, fluoride is added to tap water at a concentration of around 1mg/l, to reduce tooth decay. Whilst this is not a problem for marine fish and invertebrates, it is higher than freshwater fish experience in their natural environment.
 
There has been relatively little research done on fluoride toxicity to ornamental fish, so much of what is known comes from work on fish that we do not keep in aquariums and ponds. The toxicity of fluoride to freshwater fish depends on water temperature and water hardness, being more toxic in warmer, softer water. For sensitive species in soft water (e.g. specialist Discus aquariums), the fluoride levels present in fluoridated tap water might be sufficient to affect behaviour and long-term health. However, it is unlikely that it could cause any immediate harm.
 
As water hardness is reasonably high in many areas that are fluoridated, and many ornamental species are quite hardy, it is unlikely that the levels included in tap water will cause any harm at all. Flouride added in tap water will be removed over time by plants and other biological / chemical processes.
 
In most cases, it is unlikely that any action needs to be taken. However, concerned aquarium and pond owners can simply ensure that they only replace a portion of water at a time. For example, a 25% water change, using tap water containing 1mg/ fluoride, will give a total concentration of just 0.25mg/l. The need for using tap water in aquariums and ponds can be further reduced by using [water conditioners that I know nothing about].
 

 

[Baccus]

You could always increase your water testing of gH and possibly pH to see if there is an obvious impact on the water hardness once they start adding the flouride.
Since flouride can be more "toxic" at higher temperatures I would watch my tanks like a hawk in summer when we have our worst heat, I know my tanks can hover at ridiclously high temperatures almost all through summer, and after the cyclone with no power for days the tanks really sweltered along with everyone else.
As for running a filter on a tub/bucket of aging water this can be a good practice in itself for certain native species of fish and shrimp, one person I know advises to age all tank water (for native shrimp and fish) out in the sun for a week prior to using the water in tanks. This habit too I find does wonders for being able to collect live foods such as mosquitos for your fish to enjoy.
Some extra light reading for you
http/www.exposingtruth.com/how-to-remove-fluoride/

 

[StevenF]

The most commonly added fluorides are two sodium salts NaF, and Na2SiF6, and a weak acid H2SiF6.  These are alll solids.  Aging the water before adding it to the tank will not eliminate it from the water.  Only a ROKI system can ellinate it.   H2SiF6 might affect the ph of the water but given the very small amount added to water the affect on PH will be very small and will essentially undetectable due to the major affect Calcium and magnesium have on PH.
 
https/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation
 
fluoride has been added to most drinking water in North America for over 40+years.  It would appear that no one has noticed any obvious effects  but people do worry about it.
http/www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4841a1.htm