Should I Dechlorinate My New Tank?

[TheStretchedElf]

Let me start by saying I'm an absolute beginner when it comes to fish keeping. I have been reading the Fishless Cycling thread and saw mentioned dechlorinated water. It isn't something I'd heard of before even from other, far more experienced, fish keepers.

When I filled my tank (back on 8th Feb) I just used water straight from the tap. Since then I have been adding ornamental features to my tank such as bogwood and plastic plants but no fish as of yet. Do I need to dechlorinated it and, if so, how do I go about it?

 

[Zikofski]

okay, declorinating the water will take out chorine and other metals in the water, the more expensive brands like API stress coat and Seachems, add a anti stress element to it so it aids your fish and yes it dose work ,
 
how to add declorinator, just say what it says on the bottle, for example if it says 10ml per 100L of water you add 10ml per 100L of water, just use a cup or beaker or anything with a mesurment and just poor into the tank, its that simple,
 
now you should only add declorinator to the tank when adding new fish, or doing a water change, IE adding non declorinated water .
 
another thing to note, if you say you have 100L tank, and take out 50L and add 50L of water, you can add the declorinator in 2 ways either before you put the water in like i do, or after like most people do,
 
adding it before means you only need to use 5ml to 50L using my previous example above, but adding to the tank after adding water, you must add the full 100L not just 50L this may save you a few pounds if you can add water before
 
sorry if this is confusing still reply and il try and break it down even more hahaha ive been told i can be confusing sometimes welcome to the TFF btw and good luck with the tank


so to answer your main question sorry no don't add declor until you add fish, no need as there are no fish in the tank

 

[TheStretchedElf]

Thanks for the reply. The gist seems to be that I don't need to worry about adding a dechlorinating agent at the moment, only when I add fish. Do I add it before or after I introduce my fish?

 

[Zikofski]

best before but you can after wont kill them, think of it as getting slapped round the face with a cold wet fish haha

 

[daizeUK]

If you are trying to fishless cycle your tank then you definitely need dechlorinator otherwise the chlorine will kill the beneficial bacteria you are trying to cultivate, particularly if you have chloramines in your tapwater as this will not 'gas off' if left to stand.

 

[TheStretchedElf]

If you are trying to fishless cycle your tank then you definitely need dechlorinator otherwise the chlorine will kill the beneficial bacteria you are trying to cultivate, particularly if you have chloramines in your tapwater as this will not 'gas off' if left to stand.

Ah, ok. I am trying to fishless cycle (or will be when I've sourced some ammonia) so I guess I need to dechlorinate before, or as, I start the cycle?

 

[Zikofski]

oh yes that is true, altho i would say it would have gassed of now, i have not herd of this chloramines before? maybe true too


best to do it now then you know its done and ready

 

[daizeUK]

Yes dechlorinate before you add the ammonia, try to use a brand of dechlo that does not detoxify ammonia (e.g. not Seachem Prime - which is great for fish - not so good for fishless cycling)

 

[Zikofski]

okay is that true??, wow i learnt something new today would that be the same for API stress coat?

 

[TheStretchedElf]

Yes dechlorinate before you add the ammonia, try to use a brand of dechlo that does not detoxify ammonia (such as Seachem Prime - which is great for fish - not so good for fishless cycling)

Thanks. Is there a brand you could recommend? I'm not sure I would know from the bottle what will and won't detoxify.

 

[daizeUK]

There aren't many brands that detoxify ammonia, Seachem Prime is the most common.  Most of the rest don't. 
 
I use a small bottle of API Tap Water Conditioner for fishless cycling as it is very cost effective and doesn't do anything fancy.
 
If you can, check your water board fact sheet to see if you have chloramines in your local supply.  If you do then make sure you get a brand that removes chloramines, be careful as some of them will only remove chlorine.

 

[TheStretchedElf]

I can't find any info (after a cursory search) on chloramines in my local supply. If I used a brand that neutralised chloramines, like API Tapwater Conditioner, would that be ok even if I haven't established if there are any chloramines to neutralise?

 

[Zikofski]

yes there is no problem with that

 

[TheStretchedElf]

yes there is no problem with that

Thanks. By the way, how do you centre your signature?

 

[Zikofski]

haha okay, in the signiture just click on the center button on the right, you may need to click the top left button, if you see HTML code