Conditioning Filtered water

[Jello]

I'm new to the hobby and am in the process of doing a fishless cycle of my 25 gallon tank. When I do my water changes I am using filtered water from a local water dealer. Do I still need to add water conditioner ?

 

[JamesTasker]

Probably not. I use filtered water and I do, just in case.

 

[BobK]

It all depends what they consider filtered water and what they filter out. Water condioners remove more than just chlorine. They remove or render harmless chloramines and heavy metals too. Water conditioners are cheap and it's much safer to use them.

 

[Jello]

When using the water conditioner, do I add the amount of conditioner in conjunction with the water taken out (ie. 25%) or to the total of the tank...25 Gallons?

 

[BobK]

I add only the amount of conditioner needed to condition the water you're adding back. For a 25% change, add only enough conditioner for the 25% you're adding back.

Some people dose the entire tank. I view it as a waste, however, if you're using a product like stress-coat, it may not be a bad idea because this supposedly adds a protective slime coat to the fish. But if your tank is healthy it probably isn't necessary. You can't go wrong either way but it is more expensive to dose the entire tank.