Water Conditioner?

[vinylman]

Tetra AquaSafe for me.

 

[andywg]

If by water conditioner you mean a dechlorinator you need to do a little research. If your tap water is treated with chloramine, a lot of the dechlor products on the market do not neutralize chloramine. So, to be on the safe side make sure the product you are using will neutralize both chlorene and chloramine. Ptime does both.
Vic

However, a little more research would show that the sodium thiosulphate in all the dechlorinators not claiming to deal with chloramine will still break the bond and neutralise the chlorine part of the chemical. The worst result is that there will be a small amount of ammonia that any cycled tank will deal with sans effort or worry.

Further research would find a number of studies indicating that the ammonia oxidising bacteria and nitrite oxidising bacteria in our tanks appear to be immune to chloramine (which is causing a huge headache for water treatment companies, as the bacteria are using up the chloramine in the water and leaving the water habitable by nastier bacteria). It seems that the bacteria can utilise the ammonia part of the chloramine molecule leaving a non toxic chlorine based compound to gas off on its own with no ill effects.

So neutralising chlroamine is not suach a necessary step after all.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i use API Tap Water Conditioner nowadays, ran a tank for 3 years with no dechlorinator and no problems that i could attribute specifically to not dechllorinating or water changes (i also knew next to nothing about fishkeeping and overstocked, overfed, didn't maintain the tank properly and cleaned the filter incredibly thoroughly albeit sporadically so plenty of problems, but nothing after water changes which is when you'd expect them to manifest themselves)

just a question about the one's that encourage the fish's protective slime coat

i've always been of the opinion that it's not nescessary, the fish are perfectly capable of producing more slime coat if they need it, and if your tank is cycled and healthy then they shouldn't need to produce any more. I was also told (although i don't know if it's true) that all they are is a mild irritant which then triggers a response in the fish to make them produce it. sounds a bit nasty to me, if they are capable of producing it when they need it why should you do something moderatly nasty to them to make them do it when they don't need to?!

do you lot use them and what do you think to the above comments

 

[pmdf]

just a question about the one's that encourage the fish's protective slime coat

i've always been of the opinion that it's not nescessary, the fish are perfectly capable of producing more slime coat if they need it, and if your tank is cycled and healthy then they shouldn't need to produce any more. I was also told (although i don't know if it's true) that all they are is a mild irritant which then triggers a response in the fish to make them produce it. sounds a bit nasty to me, if they are capable of producing it when they need it why should you do something moderatly nasty to them to make them do it when they don't need to?!

I don't know anything about the chemistry of the product, but I use Aqua Plus which I like in general but, in addition to treating the water, is supposed to "protect fish by replacing their natural protective mucous coating". I've noticed it definitely causes some irritation to my Paracyprichromis who occasionally flash and flick a little for an hour or so after I do anything other than a small water change using the stuff. I assumed this was an effect of the "slime" coating but hadn't heard that it might be the result of a provacative irritant as you describe, which doesn't sound very pleasant at all.

 

[dc3]

PRIME. My only complaint is it stinks in the bottle, it does not stink after being added in the tank.

thanks for saying that... I use it on alternate days because i hate the smell of it when i open that bottle - still - it seems like the best water conditioner out there...

Why are you using it so often? You really only need a water conditioner or dechlorinator when you do water changes.

RDD >> I have juvie discus so i do daily water-changes - sometimes 3 in a 48 hour period if i feel inspired and/or bored

 

[Teelie]

If by water conditioner you mean a dechlorinator you need to do a little research. If your tap water is treated with chloramine, a lot of the dechlor products on the market do not neutralize chloramine. So, to be on the safe side make sure the product you are using will neutralize both chlorene and chloramine. Ptime does both.
Vic

However, a little more research would show that the sodium thiosulphate in all the dechlorinators not claiming to deal with chloramine will still break the bond and neutralise the chlorine part of the chemical. The worst result is that there will be a small amount of ammonia that any cycled tank will deal with sans effort or worry.

Further research would find a number of studies indicating that the ammonia oxidising bacteria and nitrite oxidising bacteria in our tanks appear to be immune to chloramine (which is causing a huge headache for water treatment companies, as the bacteria are using up the chloramine in the water and leaving the water habitable by nastier bacteria). It seems that the bacteria can utilise the ammonia part of the chloramine molecule leaving a non toxic chlorine based compound to gas off on its own with no ill effects.

So neutralising chlroamine is not suach a necessary step after all.

Interesting if true. I had wondered whether chlorinated water was dangerous to the bacteria or not. I knew it was to the fish for different reasons but bacteria being simpler but more varied means some might not even flinch at the chlorine/chloramine.

I use Tetra Aquasafe because it can supposedly bind heavy metals. I'm not so concerned with the slime coat benefits though it does come in handy when I have sick fish to deal with and they need the extra slime coat help.

 

[rdd1952]

RDD >> I have juvie discus so i do daily water-changes - sometimes 3 in a 48 hour period if i feel inspired and/or bored

Makes sense. I thought you were just using it because you liked squirting it in the tank. lol

 

[dc3]

RDD >> I have juvie discus so i do daily water-changes - sometimes 3 in a 48 hour period if i feel inspired and/or bored

Makes sense. I thought you were just using it because you liked squirting it in the tank. lol

With Prime at near $25 a bottle, it's cheaper to squirt vodka (not in the tank - lol!). Seriously tho - API's Tap Water Conditioner seems the most economical option (there's a guy who sells it for $10 a bottle) - you get API's reliability and you don't get the slime-coat additives if that's a concern...

 

[dcfeeiv]

RDD >> I have juvie discus so i do daily water-changes - sometimes 3 in a 48 hour period if i feel inspired and/or bored

Makes sense. I thought you were just using it because you liked squirting it in the tank. lol

With Prime at near $25 a bottle, it's cheaper to squirt vodka (not in the tank - lol!). Seriously tho - API's Tap Water Conditioner seems the most economical option (there's a guy who sells it for $10 a bottle) - you get API's reliability and you don't get the slime-coat additives if that's a concern...

but with that 25 bucks it also treats a hell of a lot more water

 

[dc3]

25 bucks it also treats a hell of a lot more water

I wasn't talking about treating the tank with vodka!!!! That's just a disaster waiting to happen... would be the biggest disaster to my fish since my younger brother salted and peppered the molly tank and hauled the poor fish to the kitchen asking them to be fried.

 

[dcfeeiv]

25 bucks it also treats a hell of a lot more water

I wasn't talking about treating the tank with vodka!!!! That's just a disaster waiting to happen... would be the biggest disaster to my fish since my younger brother salted and peppered the molly tank and hauled the poor fish to the kitchen asking them to be fried.

oh god no neither was i!!
i was referring to the little amount of prime that is required to be added to what ever volume of water is needed