Which Dechlorinator?

[Akasha72]

I've been reading that Aloe Vera in dechlorinators can gum up fishes gills (credit to Byron - thanks) and I didn't know this. I've checked my dechlorinator today and does contain Aloe Vera so now I'm going to change brands once I've used up what I have.
 
I've looked online to see what's available in the U.K and most importantly what's available locally.
 
The choices are the API water conditioner, Tetra Aquasafe or I could buy a large 2 litre bottle of Nutrafin Aqua plus online. I'm confused on which to switch to. My tank is 240 litre and I change 60 litres a week so something super concentrated would be good
 
Looking for recommendations really
 
Thanks in advance

 

[fluttermoth]

This is the stuff I use; http/www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Concentrated-Aquarium-Tap-Water-Dechlorinator-Chlorine-Chloramine-Remover-INT-/300921616822?hash=item46105379b6:g:fsgAAOxyoVZTJc6R
 
Been using it for a couple of years now, in all my tanks, ranging from a 5'x2'x2' to a 55l nano containing shrimps, and have had no problems with it, and it is very economical.

 

[gmc1]

That's what I use.easy and lasts forever

 

[twintanks]

I think there was a post on this topic a while back... I ordered a 473ml bottle of API water conditioner from someone on Ebay;, which is 1ml per 76 litres of tank-water. So far so good; and I measure it with a small plastic syringe (another easy to get item on Ebay). So treating 60 litres per week, the bottle would last a fair while. I've not noticed any reactions from my fish in either tank.
I wasn't much aware of the aloe vera thing either. One product that has aloe vera in is Blagdon; I used quite a bit of it in the past for the goldfish because it was easy to get locally, but I didn't continue with it.
That Ebay product re fluttermoth looks interesting; I'll note that for my own record too.

 

[Akasha72]

I've been using Interpet TapSafe for years with no problems but now I'm aware that the Aloe Vera might be causing future problems I am looking to switch it out. I've noted the one Fluttermoth suggested even though I was looking for something I could buy locally - I like to support local business if I can. 

 

[Ch4rlie]

I tend to use Seachem Prime, I do not think this contains aloe vera, and think its not bad value for money since you use very little for each bucket, think one 10 litre bucket you only need 0.25ml of Prime to treat! For 100 litre water change thats only 2.5ml of Prime needed. So a 500ml bottle lasts for ages.
 
This is easily obtained online from Amazon I think and some local LFS do stock this, though not very many tbh.
 
This is a nice little link about dechlorinators and scroll down to the Aloe Vera part, this says the use of Aloe Vera is basically a pure marketing gimmick and does not really have any place or use in any aquariums.
 
http/www.skepticalaquarist.com/water-conditioners

 

[ShinySideUp]

Seachem Prime. Been using it for years, it's cheap as you use very little per gallon (or litre). If I used something like Tetrasafe in my tank i would use two bottles every water change but with prime I use two capfuls.

 

[luca1980]

seachem prime - I wouldn't use anything else. Does a great job and is very economical!

 

[Akasha72]

thanks for the replies and I'll have a read of that link Ch4rlie later when I've got a bit more time. I've had a quick glance but I've not got time this morning to read it
 
I've been thinking about trying Prime for a long time - certainly since I got my Rio 240 over 2 years ago now. I do go through a lot of dechlorinator now.
 
One thing I've noticed recently is a white film on the inside of my glass, it's only one the front pane, I can't see it on the sides and I'm wondering if the Aloe Vera is the cause. A few of you will know that I have problems with my filter pipes gumming up and I'm now also wondering whether the Aloe Vera has something to do with that aswell.
I'm now seriously considering going to Amazon and ordering some Prime 

 

[Ch4rlie]

Well, am not saying that Prime is the only product that does the job, trying to say I dont get paid for advertising Seachem stuff

 
But its a tried and tested dechlorinator that really does work rather well. Not just by me but by many other members as well.
 
Its one to think about anyway, the dechlorinator showed by fluttermoth does look pretty good too, as I have used their ammonia for cycling tanks and that brand is one I receommend as well, though have never used this as a dechlore but would be a good 2nd choice in my opinion for me.

 

[Akasha72]

I've just been on Amazon looking at all the different Dechlors and I'm amazed by how many of them contain Aloe Vera!
 
At first I couldn't find prime - I tried searching for it but got 'no results' - but then I found it under a general search and I've added a 500ml bottle to my basket and saved it for later. I'll use up the bottle I have of TapSafe first (it'll probably last another 2-3 weeks)
 
If I find I'm not impressed with Prime I can try the one Fluttermoth suggested next time. I'm happy to try different one's until I find one I like. I found one by JBL that adds tannins to the water but it doesn't say what it contains so I want to do more research first 

 

[Flubberlump]

Another yes for prime! I've been using it for a few years and it's great, very economical too. One thing to bear in mind is that it has a sulphur like smell when you open the bottle, which is normal (it does state this on the bottle, I just thought I'd point it out as it's the only one I've used which has this) and I wondered what it was when I first opened it.

 

[Essjay]

I use API Tap Water Conditioner. It may not be as concentrated as Fluttermoth's but that one would be harder for me to use. I refill using an 8 litre bucket but as that 8 litres is right to the rim I can realistically carry it filled to 7 litres. This just happens to take exactly 2 drops of the API dechlorinator while I would need to use a third of a drop per bucket with Fluttermoth's - not easy to measure!
 
I don't want to use Prime because of all the other things in there. API Tap Water Conditioner contains only sodium thiosulphate (dechlorinator) and tetra sodium EDTA (binds metals)

 

[Akasha72]

okay ... that's interesting essjay. I can buy this locally aswell ... hmm 

 

[Essjay]

I should add that I've been using the API dechlorinator for several years. The bottles all used to come with a pop up lid with a drop dispenser or close the top and use the whole lid to measure larger amounts. Now only the smallest bottle has the drop dispenser, the rest have a sort of cup attached to the lid. Since I need the drop dispenser I've kept the lids from old bottles, but if you want to use it by the drop it would be better to buy the smallest bottle first and keep the lid, then buy larger, more cost effective bottles in future.
 
Of course those wanting to add several mls at once don't need the drop dispenser, just people like me who use buckets