Water

[critterena]

i was talking to a betta breeder in Vancouver and he said that instead of using chemical dechlorinater that if you just leave the water you are going to use out over night that it does the same thing. What do you guys think? If so wouldn't it save a lot of money and be better on the fish? I've had Bettas react really bad to the water treatment stuff...... I've been trying it and my Bettas seem to love it.

 

[dmarie04]

From what I understand leaving your water to age cuts out the chlorine but not the chloramine. You'd save a couple dollars but why risk it?

 

[sparky_555]

Apperently if you leave a bucket of water for 24 hours the chlorine decreases, but if i were you i'd still buy the dechlor. Alot safer

 

[zoekin8yg]

The cholrine will dissapate but the chloramine and heavy metals will not. Use a water treatment.

 

[critterena]

I've been doing that for awhile now (leaving water out over night) and then I tried to use the chemical stuff and 4 of my Betta's died!!
I've gone back to leaving it out over night and my Betta's seem happy....

 

[Jozlyn]

I've been doing that for awhile now (leaving water out over night) and then I tried to use the chemical stuff and 4 of my Betta's died!!
I've gone back to leaving it out over night and my Betta's seem happy....

You must've dosed the water wrong, used too much or used the wrong thing, I use dechlorinator for my Betta (and my other tank) and I've never had a problem. Always use only the dosage on the bottle no more, no less and measure your water accurately.

You really do need to use a dechlorinator to remove the chloramine, it is deadly to fish, and I can assure you that your water company will not tell you if they decided to change from chlorine to the cheaper chloramine. It's always much better to be safe than sorry and given that a bottle of dechlorinator is very cheap and lasts for a long time, you wouldn't be saving anything more than a bit of loose change in the long run.

 

[liz2]

I leave water out but also use tiny drop of water treatment. In a hurry you can also put tap water in a bucket and put a fast air stone in...dunno what it does but it works.

 

[t.ropical_m.istx3]

i have never used a dechlorinator up until recently when i'm changing all of my tanks at once and i need more than two gallons worth of water at once, store twenty gallons of water would be a pain . i've always let my water sit out for at least three days before i use it when i sit it out though. i haven't lost any of my bettas with or without the dechlorinator. i've only lost a few fish in my 10g community but i cant say that was due to the water and it was when i first started. i haven't lost any recently.