My System No Dechlorinator

[itiwhetu]

There are about 20 drops in 1 ml. I need to check the actual number.

Doesn't that depend on how big the hole is

 

[Essjay]

My 1ml pipette gave 20 drops.
Back years and years ago in chemistry practical lessons doing titrations we were told that 1 dop from a burette was 0.05 ml.

My dechorinator has a dropper in the lid which I use to measure drops. If they made made the lid with the hole in it, I have been assuming that they mean to use I drop using their dropper.

 

[itiwhetu]

My 1ml pipette gave 20 drops.
Back years and years ago in chemistry practical lessons doing titrations we were told that 1 dop from a burette was 0.05 ml.

My dechorinator has a dropper in the lid which I use to measure drops. If they made made the lid with the hole in it, I have been assuming that they mean to use I drop using their dropper.

I have never liked the dropper method, with anything to do with fish. I don't believe the bottles are made to a high enough standard to be accurate

 

[Essjay]

Does that apply to my eye drops as well? I don't want to risk going blind.......

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

( assuming a drop is a mil )

Best not...I suspect there'll be a natural variance in drop size, dependent upon a variety of factors.

 

[itiwhetu]

Does that apply to my eye drops as well? I don't want to risk going blind.......

I'm sure as a chemist, you would be doubtful of the accuracy of them. It depends on the product and it's toxicity whether it is important or not.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Just to throw a pebble into the glassy-surfaced pond...
To those of you who have a 5 or 10ml syringe, put 5ml into each of your test kit tubes and gaze in wonder at how far off the indicated 5ml line on the tube is.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I do not use dechlorinator....but I do have a bottle of it in the fish spares cupboard (Aquadip H2O Maker brand - also negates damage by ammonia like Prime but less expensively).....I only use it when I am running low on my bottled water supplies and have no alternative but to use the disgusting tapwater (its smells and tastes foul, I refuse to drink it and thus will not force my fish to live in it)

I buy bottled water in bulk for my aquariums and for me. Suits us absolutely fine, no algae issues (the tapwater is loaded in phosphates), no chloramine/chlorine, no heavy metals or any other potential nasties.

What I do is keep to the same bottled water label on each aquarium...so I have two aquariums using only Highland Spring, one is using Volvic, one is using Evian and the other is using Buxton....that has been the case since the aquariums were set up so full water continuity on each aquarium is kept. The current aquariums have been set up at different times over the last 7 or so years. I hold a small stock of other branded water for my own use and as top up/emergency for the aquariums, all of which match the pH etc, so no issues with pH bounces.

The fish are nice and healthy. Death rate is low, average 2 or 3 per year in total across all 5 aquariums. No disease or illness (never experienced disease of any sort since starting to keep fish in the 1970's)

Regardless of where I lived, if I used the tapwater I would always use the dechlorinator as to me you can never be too cautious with tapwater. The water companies are duty bound to notify of changes or potential issues caused by pipe bursts or repair/replace work but they rarely ever do so. So I would prefer to play it safe than chance it.

 

[Essjay]

As a chemist I would not have used a dropper or a scoop to measure things. I would have used very accurate scales, calibrated every day, which could could measure down to micrograms. Unfortunately I don't have one of those at home.
But we don't need to measure anything to that degree of accuracy. How accurate are the litre markings on my bucket? How can I check the accuracy of my bucket since I don't know the accuracy of my measuring jugs, or my kitchen scales to check the measuring jug?
And even - how many of us know the volume of water in our tanks to the litre?

 

[Beastije]

Such an interesting discussion. I have never used a dechlorinator, to be honest I have never ever heard of one either.
For the past 10 years, I have always connected a garden hose to the tap, put it on the coldest setting ( to avoid warm water contamination), and I let it slowly fill up my tank. To speed up the chlorine removal, I would put the hose above the surface, so the trickle would always travel through air, and resulting splash on the surface makes the gas leak out of the water.
To be honest, if we KNOW water irritation removes Co2, why would we doubt it removes chlorine?

We drink the tap water here, if it were chockfull of chlorine, wouldnt it be harmful to us when drinking it? My water supplier says the concentration in my water is 0,06 mg/l of chlorine, of chloride it is 23,8 mg/l. Their recomendation is to let the water sit "for a minute" to get rid of it.

I have kept cyprichromis leptosome, which are surface dwellers ( closer to the exchanged water) and chlorine sensitive, and never once have I had a reaction to the water, no gill redness, no death after water change.

Are you sure the issue is as bad as it is presented by those who make and sell the dechlorinator products?
Just curious

 

[Deleted member 149562]

The water from my taps smells like a swimming pool...tastes like one too...it's HORRIBLE!

 

[Myraan]

Use the correct graduated pipette and 1ml can have 1000 drops or more - but I realise that's not helpful

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Use the correct graduated pipette and 1ml can have 1000 drops or more - but I realise that's not helpful

Four hundred and thirty two...Four hundred and thirty three...Four hundred and thirty four...Oooooooh look! A Shiny Thing!...now then, where was I?
One...two...three...four...five...etc..

 

[AbbeysDad]

If it doesn't remove the bacteria itself vacuuming will remove the bacteria's food source. Never understood vacuuming tanks.

The Under Gravel Filter is like any other filter that requires/benefits from some routine cleaning. If not, it can become a plugged up 'nitrate factory'.

What vacuuming does is very basically remove fish poop and debris that could cause a ammonia spike that could affect the livestock.

True as excess detritus can overload a system. However, once decomposition is completed, the resulting sludge is relatively inert material. Assuming routine periodic partial water changes, problems typically only develop with over populated tanks, larger - messy fish, and or over feeding.

You get no anaerobic pockets with under gravel filtration and a gravel base.

True, but there are typically anoxic or anaerobic regions in any deep substrate which is fine - It's only a potential issue if/when organic decomposition occurs anaerobically. This is why I prefer undisturbed sand as nothing organic gets way down under.

I buy bottled water in bulk for my aquariums and for me. Suits us absolutely fine, no algae issues (the tapwater is loaded in phosphates), no chloramine/chlorine, no heavy metals or any other potential nasties.

Many/most bottled water is pumped from deep wells, often filtered, then bottled. Although I've had issues with high nitrates, I appreciate that I have a private well for the aquariums (although we too drink bottled water).

We drink the tap water here, if it were chockfull of chlorine, wouldnt it be harmful to us when drinking it? My water supplier says the concentration in my water is 0,06 mg/l of chlorine, of chloride it is 23,8 mg/l. Their recomendation is to let the water sit "for a minute" to get rid of it.

Municipalities have been using chlorine to ensure water safety for countless years with no objective evidence of any health issues. Frankly, there would be far more health issues if the water was not treated!
Although @itiwhetu's water (and perhaps yours) may contain low enough levels of chlorine to 'get away' with letting is stand, or spray for a time to allow the chlorine to dissipate, I believe that this would not be the case everywhere and certainly doesn't work if/when chloramine is used.
If you're on a municipal water supply with any hint of chlorine/chloramine, the best and safest approach is to use a a conditioner that dechlorinates the water.


EDIT: @itiwhetu - I worry that your post could all too easily convince a newer hobbyist that he doesn't need a conditioner for chlorine and this could be devastating in regions with greater chlorine or chloramine. A post like yours needs a warning or a disclaimer because although it may appear to work for you, it surely won't work for everyone.

 

[itiwhetu]

I don't think my Thread needs a disclaimer. The members of this forum are going to kill and harm more fish by keeping them in tanks with the incorrect lighting, no or very few plants, medicating for no reason, doing huge water changes and keeping fish outside of their natural parameters than they are using this method of water changing. I am not telling anyone to do it, I am saying this is the method I use.
My father was a Professor of Chemistry, Bio Chemistry and Bio Physics. when I used to come home from Aquarium Society meetings and talk to him about the medications Aquarists used he was horrified. He used to say nothing should be going into the tanks, these are natural organisms and need the least amount of human intervention. The systems need to be made as an ecosystem to promote life. Not a mixture a chemicals, that we have real idea of what they are doing to the animals that are exposed to them.
I would suggest those of you that have high levels of Chlorine or Chloramine in their water supply, change the source of your water.