Pond Dechlorinator In An Aquarium?

[Macko1968]

I'm tight as 2 coats of paint so I couldn't help but notice that pond dechlorinator treats a lot more water per ml than normal aquarium dechlorinator. So, is there any reason why I couldn't use something like this;

thanks

Mick

 

[Socks]

You can use it in a tank,alot of people do,it is alot cheaper

 

[Macko1968]

Thanks socks, I've ordered a bottle.

 

[petertr]

I use it. Miles cheaper - its the same stuff, just more concentrated.

 

[backtotropical]

I use Kockney Koi Pond Dechlorinator by Pond Medic.

[URL="http/www.kockneykoi.co.uk/productpages/m...chlorinator.htm"]http/www.kockneykoi.co.uk/productpages/m...chlorinator.htm[/URL]

It treats 75 litres of water per 1ml of dechlor, the Tetra one you linked to treats only 20 litres per 1ml of dechlor, and they are both available on Ebay for around the same price.

I definitely go for the Kockney Koi, you get almost 4 times more for your money.

It's actually stupidly cheap. To give you an example, my tank is 260 litres, and i perform a 25 - 30% water change (around 75 litres) weekly. I therefore need 1ml of dechlorinator per water change.

1ml per week would last 500 weeks, so my 500ml bottle bought from Ebay for around £8 will last over 9 years.

So over the next 9 years I'll spend something like 84p per year on dechlorinator. Absolutely crazy when I think how much money I was spending before on products like Nutrafin Aquaplus.

Of course it won't last 9 years as i usually overdose it etc etc, but its still a really good bargain.

BTT

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Or if you really want a cost efficient solution, simply age your water 24 hrs before adding it to the tank.

 

[oscars r ace]

yeah but how are you ment to age 20% of water over night, especially for a big tank

Decorinator is just conveniant, i will defanatly be getting some of this stuff, the tetra aquasafe i use at the min is a dose of 5ml for every 10ltr, so you can see how much better value this stuff is

 

[Underwurlde]

Or if you really want a cost efficient solution, simply age your water 24 hrs before adding it to the tank.

Is that good advice to be giving out?

Andy

 

[Truck]

Or if you really want a cost efficient solution, simply age your water 24 hrs before adding it to the tank.

Is that good advice to be giving out?

Andy

yes if your water contains chlorine and not chloramine.

 

[Underwurlde]

..and how would you know that?

 

[Truck]

..and how would you know that?

you look on your water companies website and see what they put in, if in doubt, phone them, and ask them to tell you of any changes.

i dont use dechlor any more on 10% water changes even though my water contains chloramine, the filter bacteria will convert the ammonia part of the chloramine into nitrite and then to nitrate then chlorine is left and can gas off

 

[Underwurlde]

So, are you therefore saying that it is bad advice unless accompanied by what you've said above?

Sorry, playing Devils advocate here.

 

[Truck]

So, are you therefore saying that it is bad advice unless accompanied by what you've said above?

Sorry, playing Devils advocate here.

its only bad (IMO) if your doing more than 10% in a water change, and your working with sensitive fish albeit some discus owners dont use dechlor

 

[craig855s]

if using this kockney koi stuff on a 30% water change of a 90litre tank how much dechlor do i want to use.If i put less than half a ml in the tank and then pour the 30 litres of water into the tank will the water be instantly dechlorinated/dechloraminated? or do i want to dose the water while its in the bucket?

Would adding 1ml of the concentrated dechlor to a very small amount of water have an adverse effect at all?

 

[backtotropical]

With regard to the topic of whether dechlorinator is required or not, I acknowledge that chlorine will gas off and that chloramine will be processed partly by the ammonia oxidising bacteria and partly by gassing off, however I'm not entirely convinced that this makes it completely safe.

Whilst the effects of chlorine and chloramine on the AOB and NOB seem to have been proven, the effect on the fish is often forgotten to some degree. I've only ever heard anecdotal evidence from people who have stopped using dechlor that there seems to be no detrimental effect, but I also recall having read articles which suggest that it can be detrimental to fish health or even fatal.

There is also the issue of heavy metals to consider. Most good dechlorinators will detoxify heavy metals which are toxic to fish. What happens to these if no dechlorinator is used? They won't gas off like chlorine and chloramine.

With so many grey areas on the subject, and when I am able to give myself peace of mind for 84p per year, until some hard evidence that there is no negative effect on fish or bacteria is laid forth, then 84p I shall spend.

Craig855s, dechlorinating the water whilst in the bucket is desireable if it is practical to do so. However, many members on here have large tanks and don't use buckets at all (myself included). Instead we use hoses to fill our tanks. Obviously we can't dechlorinate the water prior to adding it to the tank when using a hose from the tap, so it is common practice to add dechlorinator to the tank before, during or after filling. I've never heard of it causing any problems. I personally add half the dechlor before filling and the other half during filling.

Over-dosing dechlorinator is also fairly common, and I wouldn't worry about it at all. Whether I'm changing 75 litres or 10 litres, I add 1ml regardless. Anything under 1ml is too fiddly to measure. Whilst it is 7.5 times the recommended dose for 10 litres, I'm adding it to my tank of 260 litres and so the excess dechlor is quickly diluted.

@Truck, can I ask where your 10% threshold comes from? I can't figure out why 10% wouldn't require dechlor, but say 15% or 20% would. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Cheers

BTT