# Adding tap directly into tank



## musicman980 (Feb 2, 2011)

To make life easier when doing large water changes I was thinking about adding tap water directly to the tank and THEN dechlorinating it all together instead of putting the new water in buckets and doing it that way.

Will the possible chlorine in my tap kill the beneficial bacteria instantly or does it require a longer exposure? I only need enough time to fill the tank back up and then I'd add the Prime.


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## Mjonesy88 (Apr 25, 2012)

I don't know if it works, but you could possibly treat the water in your tank with prime prior to adding the tap water.


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## dwl0222 (Mar 6, 2011)

I have been doing 30-40 % water changes this way on a 36 gallon for over a year with no problems. I take the water out, dechlorinate, and immediately Put water back in. Having a water change syphon makes it alot easier.


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

musicman980 said:


> To make life easier when doing large water changes I was thinking about adding tap water directly to the tank and THEN dechlorinating it all together instead of putting the new water in buckets and doing it that way.
> 
> Will the possible chlorine in my tap kill the beneficial bacteria instantly or does it require a longer exposure? I only need enough time to fill the tank back up and then I'd add the Prime.


Most people do the water changes this way. You need to add enough Prime to dechlorinate ALL the water in your tank not just the water being changed. The other issue is to ensure your water temperature doesn't vary too much.


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## musicman980 (Feb 2, 2011)

Mjonesy and dwl say put in the prime before i fill the tank up, and zimmy says dechlorinate after i fill the tank up? When you add prime to the tank doesn't it all do its job very quickly no matter how much you put in and then it's over with? and then you add the tap water and it doesn't get dechlorinated because all the prime you just put in was wasted on already dechlorinated water?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

If there is enough dechlor to treat all the water, it will treat the new water when added. It does not become ineffective before the new water can get in.


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## musicman980 (Feb 2, 2011)

Seachem says you can dose 5x the regular amount of prime to detoxify nitrite, so that must mean all of that prime gets used up with the old water in your half drained tank. Prime works instantly.


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## dwl0222 (Mar 6, 2011)

Musicman, if you keep answering your own question why bother making the post? There are a handfull of people here that said they add it before adding new water with no problems. I have been doing it for over a year with consistent great water quality. If you don't want to Beleive us, keep using buckets.


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## musicman980 (Feb 2, 2011)

My original question was to find out if the chlorine/chloramines kill beneficial bacteria right away or does it take a while, and so far I just haven't been getting convincing enough answers which is why I'm trying to disprove them.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

musicman980 said:


> My original question was to find out if the chlorine/chloramines kill beneficial bacteria right away or does it take a while, and so far I just haven't been getting convincing enough answers which is why I'm trying to disprove them.


Chlorine/chloramine is in the water to keep the water drinkable by killing bacteria. I wouldn't put it in my tank without prior dechlorination.


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## rp-photo (Sep 22, 2011)

my LFS , says and swears that they use tap in their 125gal display w/ no conditioner... they tried to get my to believe that they dripped acclimated the fish to the tap water slowly before they introduced them to the tank ... dunno how true it is


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

i put prime in BEFORE the water. if you put it in after the bleach has already enter the tank and had the chance to damage your fish/bacteria


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## 702Cichlid (Feb 28, 2010)

During a water change I drain the water, then add enough Prime to treat my total volume of water, then directly add the tap through the python hose at a very close temperature. Never any problems or mini-cycles.

Chorine and Chloramine will start killing some of the beneficial bacteria immediately, but if there is prime in the water it will be dechlorinated before it can do any serious damage to your biological filtration.


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## Guest (May 5, 2012)

i always do 30-50% WC every 2-4 days, drain the water, add Prime directly to tank and then dump cold water(not too cold) into the tank. always works for me.


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## musicman980 (Feb 2, 2011)

Ok thanks for the responses!


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## proskier101 (Jan 1, 2012)

This depends on where you live bu, I never treat my water. I drain about 50% water, then stick the garden hose in and fill the tank up.

I live in Utah and this works perfect 

on the other hand, when I lived in Florida, the water HAD to be treated. If the florida water wasnt treated then all fish would die within the hour.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

musicman980 said:


> My original question was to find out if the chlorine/chloramines kill beneficial bacteria right away or does it take a while, and so far I just haven't been getting convincing enough answers which is why I'm trying to disprove them.


You're not running filters during water changes, correct? If not, then no chance the chlorine can get to the bacteria you're concerned about. Regardless, chlorine will NOT kill bacteria right away. Perfectly fine to dose after the change. Even after starting up filters if you forget to dose right away. Beneficial bacteria in our aquariums live in a protective biofilm. Very different than the bacteria floating around in the tap water.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

Many people believe the manufacturers of dechlor suggest dosing for the entire tank volume when doing a PWC, as a way to sell more product. The fact is, it is to ensure that the new chlorinated water entering the tank will make contact with the dechlor immediately. Just as the reaction between dechlor and chlorine is instantaneous, the reaction of chlorine with organics (oxidization) is also very fast. If you wait until after adding the water, it is too late.
At the same time, adding chlorinated water to an established tank, even up to 50% may do no harm. The normal chlorination levels in municipal water are around 2ppm. It will be higher occasionally. For many years I and others around used no dechlor for water changes.There were never any ill effects. The chlorine reacts with organics in the water within minutes of entering the tank. A few years ago I did a little test with 50/50 tank and tap. the chlorine registerd in excess of 3ppm from the tap. Upon adding the tap to the tank sample the reading was .75ppm, and 5 minutes later was 0. I will have to try this again when I get some fresh reagents, and I would like to see what happens with chloramnine.
Having said all this, I believe it is still beneficial to add dechlor to the tank, to prevent the formation of toxic substances when the chlorine reacts with organics. The dechlor should be added prior to adding the new water to ensure it's effectiveness.


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