Can we use old tap water for fish without adding dechlorinator

Aniket

Fish Crazy
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One of my friend dont have bore well water and dechlorinator. is it possible to remove chlorine and chloramine (if present in water) by keeping tap water in direct sunlight for 2 days?
Here temperature is in between 28-40 degree
 
No. Any chlorine is detrimental to the health of your fish. Tell your friend that THEY MUST have chlorine remover. If you live near a walmart or something else you can go there an buy chlorine remover for a very reasonable price.
 
Yes, I like to use Tetra Aquasafe. It was like only $5 a bottle.

Even if your friend has good water already. You just never know. One day it might be chlorine free, the next day, all of his fish are dead. Use water conditioner. It’s a must in fishkeeping!!

I here that Seachem also makes a really good water conditioner, I just have only used Tetra brand AQUASAFE. :)
image.jpg
 
Short answer is yes to chlorine, no for chloramine.

Your friend will have to contact their water company and find out if there is chlorine or chloramine in the water supply. If it has chlorine then they are good to go; if it's chloramine, buy a couple of bottles of dechlorinator for them.

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I have copy & pasted my response from that thread here.

If by chlorine water, you mean chlorinated tapwater, then yes you can leave a bucket of tapwater (that contains chlorine) outside in the sun for a few days to get rid of the chlorine. You can also aerate the water for a couple of days and it will drive the chlorine out of the water.

If you have chloramine in the water, then you need a dechlorinator to break the chlorine/ ammonia bond before you can use it for fish. Chloramine is a mixture of chlorine and ammonia and it does not break down as quickly or easily as chlorine on its own.
 
In the distant past I once had to move. I reset up my tank with fresh tap water and put my angelfish right in. Ah... The ignorance of youth. Today I would never do that. Get a copy of your city's water analysis from the city water department in your town so that you know what you're up against. Today's water scares me. There are things like volatile chemicals and pharmaceutical drugs in it that no filter can remove. I am a big believer in RO units. They aren't too terribly expensive but the water is just so much better than tap. Then you can reconstitute it to your needs with the many good additives available today. Distilled water is best of all but expensive to buy or make. Killing one chemical, chlorine, with a chemical dechlorinator just don't seem right but that's just me. The foundation of your success is good water. Anything you do to ensure your having that will always repay your efforts.
 
Tap water seems safe for you to use, but it's not if you're using it for your aquarium. Learning how to make tap water safe for fish is essential if you are an aquarium owner. To handle harmful substances in tap water, you must first check a number of factors such as pH, calcium carbonate, heavy metals, etc. in tap water and proceed to remove them. Reverse osmosis can be used to remove chlorine as well as heavy metals from tap water.
 
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Tap water seems safe for you to use, but it's not if you're using it for your aquarium. Learning how to make tap water safe for fish is essential if you are an aquarium owner. To handle harmful substances in tap water, you must first check a number of factors such as pH, calcium carbonate, heavy metals, etc. in tap water and proceed to remove them. Reverse osmosis can be used to remove chlorine as well as heavy metals from tap water.
This is an old thread, the OP has probably already moved on. I agree with everything you said though. :)

Yes, I like to use Tetra Aquasafe. It was like only $5 a bottle.

Even if your friend has good water already. You just never know. One day it might be chlorine free, the next day, all of his fish are dead. Use water conditioner. It’s a must in fishkeeping!!

I here that Seachem also makes a really good water conditioner, I just have only used Tetra brand AQUASAFE. :)View attachment 91393
That picture brings back memories, lol.
 
I did not read the entire thread. But chloramine can be outgassed from water but it takes a whole lot longer than chlorine. The chloramine may need a few weeks to dissipate naturally. basically it has to break down into chlorine and ammonia for it to evaporate. The reason for using chloramine is that it is much more stable than chlorine.

The table below shows half lives for different ways of outgassing. A half life is how long it takes for any given concentration to be reduced by 1/2.
Chlormainedecayrate.jpg


from https://web.archive.org/web/2013111...rg/ajdelange/Brewing_articles/BT_Chlorine.pdf
(I realize this is a paper for the brewing industry, but the science of chlorine.chloramine removal is the same for water whether it goes into making beer or into a an aquarium.)

Finally, both chlorine and chloramine are way more dangerous to your fish than to the bacteria. Chloamine does not kill them, it puts them to sleep. Ammonia wakes them back up. Residiual chlorine is ususally so low that it disipates before it can fully penetrate the bioflim where the bacteria live, Full penetration takes 24 hours and the residual chlorine should outgas way before that.
 
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This is an old thread, but the consensus is:
well water with no chlorine or chloramine can be used immediately without treating
mains water treated with chorine can be used after standing for a few days, or immediately if treated with a water conditioner
mains water treated with chloramine should be treated with a water conditioner before use.
 

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