dechlorinators!

[Whitey]

How much are dechlorinators (yeh thanks sly) going for (£uk) and how would u go about doing a water change without one?

I heard about leaving water in a bucket for a few days? i dunno.

 

[Slyspy]

Guess you mean dechlorinators? Price - next to nothing. Worth - priceless. Leaving water out may not working, depending on what your water company adds to your water. Play safe and buy some Stress Coat or similar.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I use AquaSafe dechlorinator in my tanks, you need dechlorinator to remove the chlorine in tap water the goverment puts there which stops bacteria growing in it, incidently this also kills off the good bacteria in your tank which keeps it cycled so you need to use dechlorinator to remove the chlorine so bacteria can grow and keep the tank cyled.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Can't remember the price offhand but it's in the region of 2 or 3 pounds I think, so would seem silly to spend all the money you have to spend to set your tank up and get your fish and then risk it all by skimping on a few pounds.

 

[pnyklr3]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the dechlorinators remove both chlorine and chloramine? And a standing bucket of water only releases chlorine? Not sure though, but I think it's the case. I find it easier to have the dechlorinator on hand because of the large volume of water needed for bigger tanks. I don't have the space for the buckets of water to change my 55 gallon.

 

[gadazobe]

Leaving the water for a day or two in a bucket will get rid of the chlorine - BUT it will not get rid of the chloramine and other harmfull (to fish) base metals that are present in the water.

 

[Bloo]

and with London water being as harsh as it is, it's just not worth even trying without.....
Edit: that's to say if you are in "London, United Kingdom"

 

[rdd1952]

How much are dechlorinators (yeh thanks sly) going for (£uk) and how would u go about doing a water change without one?

About the only 2 ways I know of that you can do it without dechlorinator is either with RO water (cheaper to go ahead an buy dechlorinator) or if you have well water that hasn't had chloramine added. Of course our tap water supply isn't something many (if any) of us have control over. You either have city water or you have well water but not both. As already stated, leaving it out will get rid of the chlorine but not the chloramine.

 

[mlee0332]

some one told me i needed to purchase RO water b/c dechlorinators only removed the actual chlorine and the metals were left behind. If I continue to use city water, the metals will build up and kill my fish over night. This usually take 2 yrs or more..



~Is that some salesman's bull####?

 

[Tolak]

Wish my 6 year old plecs knew about that 2 year thing.

Well water is prone to having heavy metals in it more so than municipally supplied water. They keep a close eye on the quality, the government doesn't want any law suits over bad water. Private wells only get tested when you have them tested, city water has a slew of regulations concerning quality control. Ironically, bottled water has less testing & regulations than city water supplies.

Tolak

 

[Inchworm]

some one told me i needed to purchase RO water b/c dechlorinators only removed the actual chlorine and the metals were left behind. If I continue to use city water, the metals will build up and kill my fish over night. This usually take 2 yrs or more..



~Is that some salesman's bull####?

Hi mlee0332

It is a ridiculous statement. If you do regular water changes, you are removing chemicals as well as other soil, so nothing is going to build up.

If cost is a factor, Wardley's Chlor-Out is a very inexpensive product that removes both chlorine and chloramine, is available both in the US and the UK, and can be measured out by drops per gallon which makes it perfect for doing water changes in small tanks as well as large ones.

 

[vantgE]

Chlorine will disapate usualy within fifteen minutes but it should be left overnight as a precaution, this is more effective with air bubles. However there are many other toxins in your tap watter that won't disapate, notably chloramine, and metals. Following the intructions on the back of the watter treatment will remove most. When adding directly to the tank as the water treatment should be added with a dosage for the total tank volume. Some products will also require double amounts to remove chloramine read the instructions carefully this may not be clear. It would be advisabel to let your watter sit with treatment for at least fiuftenn minute though I myself add dwatter directly to tghe tank via python and add watter treatment to tank.
For priceing one of the best water treatments is seachem prime it should also work out the cheapest, (solid products are even cheaper but don't offer the variety of protection that solutions will) when purchaseing try to avoid products with aloe vera or "natural"components their effectiveness is limited and they rot in the tank
HTH