Dechlornator Help

[Anthony_19]

ok.i feel stupid asking this but better safe than sorry. I have nurafin aqua + or whatever it called lol it says on the instructions for the 3 things it treats that 5ml treats 38l / 10ml treats 38l / 10ml treats 38l. Does this mean that 10ml covers all 3 or is it 25ml for 38l? Thanks

 

[anwhyte]

ok.i feel stupid asking this but better safe than sorry. I have nurafin aqua + or whatever it called lol it says on the instructions for the 3 things it treats that 5ml treats 38l / 10ml treats 38l / 10ml treats 38l. Does this mean that 10ml covers all 3 or is it 25ml for 38l? Thanks

hi, i'd assume 10ml treats all 3.

 

[daveyravey]

Hmmm, i use the same stuff & i was under the impression that you had to add 5ml per 38lt

 

[Anthony_19]

i duno.5ml treats the chlorine i think.

 

[three-fingers]

With Seachem Prime, 5ml treats 200L . Much cheaper.

 

[waterdrop]

"With Seachem Prime, 5ml treats 200L . Much cheaper."

Yes, same thought I was having when I saw this thread. I often hesitate to say it too much for fear that its not fair to newbies who have just spent their money and after all there's plenty of feeling that "sodium thiosulfate" (or whatever the basic dechlor chem is, isn't that it?) is really just the same in all these products. (and not forgetting 3finger that you were just referring to cost, which is true) But there are additionally so many anecdotes over the years of members having better results from Prime during the early setup phases or when they are having particular problems that it just seems a good thing to recommend for that reason in addition to the way its so highly concentrated.

To me it almost seems reasonable to recommend it as an ideal way to go for the first six months or so no matter what and then to suggest the option of either sticking with the Prime product or at that point switching over to a highly concentrated Pond dechlor assuming its even cheaper. But I really think overall there seem to be enough advantages from the stories on TFF (although again, this could just all be us recirculating info among ourselves.. no science) to go with Prime over Pond or other products during the first six months.

I've also seen good reviews of Amquel+ but I'm not sure if that's a USA only product, not distributed in the UK, does anyone know? Maybe that's just that one review floating around, so perhaps that's not enough evidence. The positive comments about Prime seem to come from a wide range of experienced people here and there on TFF though.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[three-fingers]

Never seen Amquel+ in UK stores, but I know you can get it off the net. In the UK, Prime is available at any pet store that deals in marines.

I think they are exactly the same product, just made by different companies, but Prime is more economical due to it's higher concentration.

I would agree that Prime is excellent to have around when you are starting up a new tank, and it is fantastic for fish-in cycles if you end up in the position of doing one. Seachem even produce a great ammonia test kit that allows you to see how much of the ammonia is in it's ammonium form, which is what Prime converts ammonia to (I've used it a few times on fish-in cycle water samples).

 

[arobinson1984]

To answer the original question correctly you need to know what your local water company put in your water supply.

5 ml neutralises chlorine, whereas you need 10ml to neutralise chloramine which many water companies now use in water supplies.

If you knew for certain that your water supply only contained chlorine that 5ml per 38L would be fine but as I'm pretty sure you wont know what it contains you are best using the 10ml per 38L it states for chloramine to be on the safe side.

Also as mentioned, there are many other water conditioners that represent much better value for money such as the seachem prime or even pond dechlorinator as I use this myself, although quite expensive at £16 for the one I use, it only takes 7ml to dechlor my whole 125L tank and as it comes in 1L bottles it lasts for ages.

Andy

 

[waterdrop]

Never seen Amquel+ in UK stores, but I know you can get it off the net. In the UK, Prime is available at any pet store that deals in marines.

I think they are exactly the same product, just made by different companies, but Prime is more economical due to it's higher concentration.

I would agree that Prime is excellent to have around when you are starting up a new tank, and it is fantastic for fish-in cycles if you end up in the position of doing one. Seachem even produce a great ammonia test kit that allows you to see how much of the ammonia is in it's ammonium form, which is what Prime converts ammonia to (I've used it a few times on fish-in cycle water samples).

I couldn't find anything at Kordon LLC, makers of Amquel+, that seemed to have anything to do with Seachem of Georgia. Are they connected somehow, such that its the same product just by different companies? WD

 

[Anthony_19]

Ok another question, the seachem prime looks far better as 5ml treats 200l.now my tank is 125l.whats the best way to add the stuff because obv you cant change all 125l,do i add it in when the water has been changed.is it ok to add with fish. whats the best way ??

Thanks for help so far guys.

 

[waterdrop]

Conditioner is fine to dump in with fish (although I usually try to pour it into the output stream of the filter, for quick dispersal, and usually away from the fish at the moment). There are two common ways to use it. If you are re-filling the tank via buckets they you measure the correct dosage per the bucket. If you are using a Python or similar hose type system to simply refill the tank from the mixing tap in the bath etc. then you should dose according to the full tank water volume. What I do is dump in half the dose just before the hose refill and the other half at the end.

Note that another recommendation some make is to dose "delicate" stages of tank life with either 1.5x dosing or 2x dosing of conditioner (in other words, up to two times the dose the instructions tell you to use)... this being because its well known that many water authorities sometimes dump in "extra" chlorine or chloramine because of a temporary bacterial problem in their pipe systems. These "super-chlorinations" can kill a lot of your bacteria. My feeling is to just do that kind of "overdosing" of conditioner when you are fishless cycling or when you've had a problem with your tank, not during normal run of mill operation. Also, its recommended that you not go over 2x conditioner dosing during fishless cycling as that may slow the growth speed of the N-Bacs.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Anthony_19]

ok,il try that, btw how do you add the water to your tank,im using buckets but it causes alot of splashing and then bubbles on the glass.is the bubbles bad ? and whats the easiest and best way ?? thanks

 

[OldMan47]

I use a cheap plastic pipette to add my dechlor to my new tank water.

 

[alchemist]

I use buckets and pour onto an ornament that is in the tank to stop the substrate moving around.

I am going to look at making a DIY python soon - DIY Python - this sounds like a much easier way of doing things!

With the bucket method - I mix the dose for my entire tank (5ml for 200l) in the first bucket - and then just add additional buckets straight from the tap into the tank with no further treatment.

 

[waterdrop]

ok,il try that, btw how do you add the water to your tank,im using buckets but it causes alot of splashing and then bubbles on the glass.is the bubbles bad ? and whats the easiest and best way ?? thanks

Bubbles on the glass are quite harmless. They are caused by gasses (mostly CO2 I believe) in the tap water that stayed dissolved in the water because it was under higher pressure in the pipes but now has been let out into the tank which has lower pressure. I think they're acually kind of fun to notice.

Using a Python or a DIY Python is great in my opinion. Its still just about as much time fuss and using buckets but for those of us with bad backs, its a lifesaver!

Alchemist: That's very clever, mixing the entire aquarium volume dose in the first bucket, have not heard that one before but will certainly pass the tip on in the future!

Anthony_19: I have a gravel-cleaning siphon cylinder that attaches (with a cut-off at the attachment) to a long clear hose (clear so I can watch my danios go down it, lol, no, just kidding) which I run into a "last-catch" bucket in the garden (last-catch is indeed where I've saved my danios before!) and after I've siphoned 50 or 60% of the tank water out I take that far end and attach it to the bathroom faucet via a little brass adapter that has the right threading on each side. I happen to have a faucet that allows saving the temperature adjustment separate from the on/off/flowrate, so I've already hand matched the faucet temp to the tank temp. I make sure the gravel cleaning end is solidly inside the tank and then I turn the faucet on full force (I've already dosed half my conditioner directly into the tank) The tank refills quickly and I always make sure to watch it carefully towards the end so as not to be distracted and flood the room! Then I toss in the other half of my conditioner dosing, drain the hose, coil it and store it back under the sink along with the little brass adapter.

~~waterdrop~~