Which Dechlorinator?

[Akasha72]

I used buckets at the moment but the plan is to get myself a python water changer this year at some point

 

[Byron]

First, you should only use a conditioner that deals with what you need for your particular tap water.  Dechlorinators, like any substance added to the aquarium water, will get inside the fish, in their bloodstream and internal organs, either via osmosis through the cells or via the gills.  The fish have no control over this, it just happens.  So you don't want to be adding chemicals that are unnecessary.  Sue made this very important point in her post about Prime...it does a lot that most of us do not need; I do not like the sound of something that messes around with the bacteria/nitrification processes, especially when the manufacturer admits they themselves do not fully understand how it does this.  Also, these products add TDS (total dissolved solids) to the water, and these also get inside the fish, and soft water fish in particular have real issues with TDS.
 
Second, avoid conditioners that include questionable (if not dangerous) additives, like the aloe vera.  A scientifically-minded friend of mine yesterday sent me a link to yet another study on aloe vera.  Suffice it to say, this stuff has no benefits long-term and is now believed to be detrimental to fish gills.  Another substance added to the Nutrafin (Akasha, you mentioned this brand in post #1) is valerian.  I used to use this conditioner until someone pointed this out.  There is absolutely no benefit to dumping valerian in a fish tank..why would one need to drug the fish to sleep?  So read labels carefully.
 
I am using API Tap Water Conditioner.  It deals with chlorine and chloramine (if you have just chlorine, like I do, you can use even less per dose, this is common with most conditioners) and heavy metals, but nothing more.  There are conditioners that do not detoxify heavy metals, but having tried them they have other issues so I will leave that topic.  I do not know the product fluttermoth mentions, it is not available in Canada (so far as I know), but from what I could see in her link it should be OK unless you can find it has something else in it.
 
Last comment...notwithstanding that pretty much every manufacturer of conditioners says you cannot overdose, or not harmful if overdosed, this is absolutely false.  I think I made clear why in the first point above.
 
Byron.

 

[Akasha72]

Hi Byron and thanks.
It was you mentioning the Aloe Vera thing on another post that started this so thank you. I had no idea it was potentially harming my fish and as I want the best for them, now I know, I plan to stop it's addition to my tank. I fell foul of the manufacturers ... you'd think by now I'd be more wary but I've used the Interpet TapSafe since I had problems with StressCoat way back (I got a dodgy batch from an online seller and ended up losing 20 baby peppered cories to the Nitrite spike it created) and I've never had an issue. It's readily available in my area and it's reasonably cheap. I thought it was okay - now I know different!
 
I agree with you regarding adding things that are not needed. In an ideal world I would be able to buy a dechlorinator that not only deals with my chlorine and metals but also with my phosphates too but hey - we can't have it all. Maybe one day someone will cotton on!
 
I'm still not decided on which I'm going to switch to. I want to see how much the API conditioner is at my local pet store. I also want to work out the price versus how long it will last for my tank size.
 
We all know this isn't a cheap hobby and so getting the most for the cash I spend is important - especially when it's only a dechlorinator. It's a necessary product but I'd rather spend my cash elsewhere .... maybe on some more cories

 

[Essjay]

I got my most recent bottle of API Tap Water Conditioner a couple of months ago from a shop in County Durham - I always get a spare when I'm half way through the current one so it is sitting in the cupboard with the price label still attached. My 118ml bottle cost £5.75 and will treat 6700 litres of water that contains chlorine (the dosage rate is higher for chloramine so it won't treat as much water). The bigger bottles work out cheaper pro rata, but of course have a greater initial outlay.
I would expect most 'real' shops to be similar.

 

[Byron]

I get my API Tap Water Conditioner online, because no store carries the large jug and with all my tanks and my significant water changes, it is considerably less expensive to buy the larger size.  This jug holds 1 US gallon (3.8 litres) which treats 75,000 gallons (288,800 litres), and I assume this is the lower dose for chlorine as Sue mentioned about chloramine requiring more.  This API is the most economical on the market, but that does not include the product that fluttermoth linked earlier which seems to be even more-so, but I know nothing about that conditioner.
 
I expect this jug will last me years, probably almost a decade.  I have been using it one year, and I can see from the markings on the side that it is not even down to 3 litres left yet, so in a year I have used perhaps half of 1 litre.
 
Byron.

 

[Akasha72]

thanks for that essjay and Byron. I am leaning toward the API now. Mainly because I hate waiting in for a delivery as my postman comes at random times! 
 
I know my local p@h sells the API conditioner but I can't find it on their website to price it up. I'll have a look next time I go

 

[Byron]

thanks for that essjay and Byron. I am leaning toward the API now. Mainly because I hate waiting in for a delivery as my postman comes at random times! 
 
I know my local p@h sells the API conditioner but I can't find it on their website to price it up. I'll have a look next time I go

 
I don't mean to be sounding silly with this, but make sure it is the plain API Tap Water Conditioner.  Their StressZyme is also a dechlorinator/conditioner, but contains the aloe vera.  Store people might not differentiate so much between the two.

 

[Akasha72]

I've used StressCoat and StressZhyme in past Byron so yes, I knew the conditioner was a different product

 

[Essjay]

I've just found it on P@H website - 120ml for £6.50
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
See Fish Tank Equipment and Maintenance -> Fish Tank Water Conditioners. It's on page 3.

 

[Akasha72]

thanks essjay - turns out I was looking in the wrong place! I was looking in the treatment section

 

[boshk]

Prime is probably the most economical for you, I believe its 1 capful 5ml per 200L! 
basically 1 cap each time you change water (80%)
works out to be roughly 20 pence per water change, if you double dose, 40 pence (10ml) per 200L water change.

 

[Akasha72]

the problem with Prime is it's not readily available in the U.K so I'd have to buy online. Buying it online is also difficult, it took me ages to find any on Amazon as only one online seller in the U.K had any in stock. I don't want to get into the complexities of having it shipped in from abroad. The postage alone would make it unaffordable.
The API conditioner is available to buy off the shelf from my local pets@home store and that's in walking distance for me - I can see their building from my flat. It just seems like the best option at the moment.
The other problem with buying online is having to be in to accept delivery and with a postal service that's unreliable in my area it's just far easier to walk to pets@home!
 
So decision made for the time being. API conditioner it is
 
Thanks all for your input

 

[OldMan47]

I have been using Seachem Prime for many years now. A drop per gallon seems to work just fine.