Water conditioner before or after?

[Tomie]

Hello. Today me and my partner was doing a water change , we fill our tank up by going back and forth with a huge bowl and tipping it straight into the water. We put the water conditioner in each bowl then drop it straight in the tank. Was just wondering if this is what we have to do or can you add the water conditioner after you've added the water? We use API.

Would it be down to preference or is their an actual way you should do it? May seem like a stupid question but we was curious.

 

[Byron]

Hello. Today me and my partner was doing a water change today, we fill our tank up by going back and forth with a huge bowl and tipping it straight into the water. We put the water conditioner in each bowl then drop it straight in the tank. Was just wondering if this is what we have to do or can you add the water conditioner after you've added the water? We use API.

Would it be down to preference or is their an actual way you should do it? May seem like a stupid question but we was curious.

It is not a stupid question, and it gets asked a lot. If you use a bucket (bowl seems a bit work-intensive, unless this is a very small tank...maybe a pitcher for fish use only would be better?) you can add the conditioner to the bucket of water, then pour it in. Use only what you need; one drop of the API Tap Water Conditioner treats a full gallon, and there is no point in over-using it because it wastes it and the fish don't need it getting inside them. If you have chloramine, I believe the API says to use two drops per 10 gallon instead of one. I use this, and only have chlorine.

You can also add it to the tank as you start filling. I do this on my larger tanks which fill directly from the taps through the Python hose. But small tanks can easily over-fill quickly using the Python.

 

[Tomie]

It is not a stupid question, and it gets asked a lot. If you use a bucket (bowl seems a bit work-intensive, unless this is a very small tank...maybe a pitcher for fish use only would be better?) you can add the conditioner to the bucket of water, then pour it in. Use only what you need; one drop of the API Tap Water Conditioner treats a full gallon, and there is no point in over-using it because it wastes it and the fish don't need it getting inside them. If you have chloramine, I believe the API says to use two drops per 10 gallon instead of one. I use this, and only have chlorine.

You can also add it to the tank as you start filling. I do this on my larger tanks which fill directly from the taps through the Python hose. But small tanks can easily over-fill quickly using the Python.

Perfect, thanks Byron. Can always count on you lol!

By the way, a quick update on my tank. All the fish I moved over from my 25 litre into the 120 litre seem to be happy and healthy. They love exploring the tank, whereas when they was in my 25 litre they didn't really do much but stay in one spot. I've been doing tests everyday for Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrate's and all remain at 0. We added some more fish yesterday. We now have 4 Rosy Tetra, 4 Lemon Tetra, 2 Harlequins (we are adding more of these but we didn't want to add too many at once) and 2 gourami's! We did a test last night after the fish had been in the tank for 10 hours and Ammonia was still at 0!

 

[Colin_T]

I'm going the opposite way to Byron. I use to fill my tanks directly from the tap using a hose. I turn the tap on and let it run for a couple of minutes to flush the old water and hose softener out of the hose. I added dechlorinator at double dose while the tank was filling up. This worked fine for several years until one day the Water Corporation added a lot more chlorine without informing anyone. 5 minutes after I filled the tank I lost every fish in it to chlorine poisoning.

*NB* I mention hose softener because most garden hoses have a softening agent in them to keep them flexible as they age. This softening agent is extremely toxic to all animals, birds, fish, and people. So it is recommended hoses are flushed out with running water for several minutes before using to fill buckets or tanks for fish.

Adding tap water directly to a tank and hoping the dechlorinator will come in contact with all the chlorine/ chloramine molecules before they touch the fish is asking for trouble. I know hundreds of people that do it and many get away with it, for a while. But every now and then you get horror stories like mine where people lose an entire tank of fish minutes after doing the water change and filling the tank directly from the tap.

The other problem that can occur is the fish suffocate because the tap water is under pressure and can lose all the gasses in it. This means the water going into the tank can be void of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. And without dissolved oxygen in the water, the fish die.

The best thing to do is get a clean bucket used for the fish only. Fill it with tap water and add the required amount of conditioner. Most conditioners treat chlorine and chloramine but you need to check the label and use the appropriate amount. You can add extra dechlorinator without any adverse side effects but if you under dose, you risk poisoning the fish with chlorine. You should then aerate the water with conditioner in for at least 30 minutes before using it. This allows the dechlorinator time to come into contact with the chlorine/ chloramine molecules and neutralise them. It also gives the water a chance to get dissolved gas levels back to normal, where they should be.

For people with small tanks you can use a 10 - 20 litre plastic bucket. If you have a bigger tank you can use 75 litre plastic bins. I know a few people that use the 200 litre plastic wheelie bins for water changes. They wheel them into the house and fill with tap water. Add dechlorinator and aerate for a while. Then they use a small water pump with a hose attached, to pump the water out of the bin and into the tank.

My own setup involved having 3 tier stands. The top row of tanks were used for water holding and I filled them with tap water, added dechlorinator and aerated for a week before using them. Each week I would drain the bottom tanks and use gravity to siphon water from the top tanks into the tanks below. After the water changes I would fill the top tanks up, add more dechlorinator and aerate until the following week.

 

[NickAu]

Adding tap water directly to a tank and hoping the dechlorinator will come in contact with all the chlorine/ chloramine molecules before they touch the fish is asking for trouble.

I agree, I have a 100 gallon tank and do 70 gallon water changes and would never consider adding water t the tank that hasnt been pre treated.

 

[seangee]

This worked fine for several years until one day the Water Corporation added a lot more chlorine without informing anyone. 5 minutes after I filled the tank I lost every fish in it to chlorine poisoning.

Our council always chlorinates on a Friday (Thursday if its a long weekend) to cope with the weekend demand. It always smells of chlorine over the weekend - so I try to do my changes on a Wed or Thur.

 

[Fin & Feather]

I condition the water Before it goes into the tank. I have a made it a habit to condition the water as it goes into a bucket and mix the water around, then raise the bucket higher than the tank and let it drain into the tank. This reduces any chance of fish being burned by clorine or other contaminates by adding uniformly purified water. As I conditioner I use Safe. It is Prime in concentrated, powdered form. This is more economical for large tanks. It runs about $10 for 8.8 oz bottle which treats 60,000 gallons or 240,000 liters. I have a few tanks of varying sizes and this lasts me a year. It also neutralizes (besides chlorine and cloramine) ammonia, nitrates, nitrites if you have a toxicity spike. (increase dosage). It fixes the water instantly. I have proved this with my API Master tester kit. Even if you use something else to dechlorinate I would keep this on hand for an emergency. It also helps speed cycling of a new tank by converting the ammonia quicker and making it more bioavailable (edible) for your beneficial bacteria. Prime and Safe are made by Seachem.

 

[Fin & Feather]

For Safe useage I also purchased online. A set of micro measuring spoons ranging from ¼-1/32 teaspoon size. Very cheap.

 

[Fin & Feather]

Safe comes with ¼ teaspoon but this is for larger tank dosage. You need smaller dosages for micro tanks so I get the mini dosing spoon set. My fish thrive with this conditioner.

 

[NickAu]

It also neutralizes (besides chlorine and cloramine) ammonia, nitrates, nitrites

It only binds Ammonia Nitrite and Nitrate for 24 to 48 hours.

1. Prime will bind ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate for 24-48 hours. At which point, if they are still present, will be released

http://www.seachem.com/support/forums/forum/general-discussion/1803-prime-questions