How Does Dechlorinator Work?

[ev_michael]

i have two african dwarf frogs, and i do water changes every week and when i fill the tank, i add a little water, then add dechlorinator then more water. I was just curious how it DE chlorined the water?

 

[Essjay]

The water company adds chlorine or chloramine to the water supply to disinfect it. Most dechlorinators also split chloramine into chlorine and ammonia, so whichever the water company uses, you end up with chlorine.

Dechlorinators contain a chemical called sodium thiosulphate, or thiosulfate for our American members (at least, mine does). This reacts with the chlorine, turning it into chloride. Chloride is harmless - it's half of a lot of salts eg sodium chloride is common salt that we cook with. The dechlorinator only makes a small amount of chloride, so it won't turn freshwater to marine levels.