# Cheap clorine remover? (neutralizer)



## planenut007 (Mar 21, 2009)

I've heard of a few.
What and where to get the most for your money?
Been using stress coat for years, got to be something cheaper, that does the same.


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## rdknjsr599 (Mar 2, 2007)

I personally use Prime. A 4 liter bottle treats approx. 40,000 gallons, where as a 3.8 liter of Stress Coat only treats approx 7,600 gallons. You will pay around $60 for the larger bottle but its well worth it.


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## rdknjsr599 (Mar 2, 2007)

I personally use Prime. A 4 liter bottle treats approx. 40,000 gallons, where as a 3.8 liter of Stress Coat only treats approx 7,600 gallons. You will pay around $60 for the larger bottle but its well worth it.


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## RobR (Dec 31, 2008)

Sodium thiosulfate. It is a mainstay in the koi keeping side of things and ~$20-$30 worth will last a lifetime plus some for any type of tank dechlorinator use.
You just need to mix a little at a time into a stock solution and you are good to go.


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## planenut007 (Mar 21, 2009)

The dosage for "Prime" reads 250ml for 1250gal, that comes out to 20,000gal for 4 liters?
What about API's "Tap Water Conditioner" 5ml treats 40gal. ($30 per gal)@ pet solutions.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

If your source water contains only chlorine, then you can save a bundle using sodium thiosulfate 
as someone suggested. You can get a lifetime supply pretty cheap. But, if you have chloramine 
in your source water, then you'll need something that binds the ammonia that's freed from the 
chlorine in the chloramine. Sodium thiosulfate doesn't do that.

Here's a source for sodium thiosulfate. The Chemistry Store


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## ccla (Feb 2, 2009)

planenut007 said:


> The dosage for "Prime" reads 250ml for 1250gal, that comes out to 20,000gal for 4 liters?
> What about API's "Tap Water Conditioner" 5ml treats 40gal. ($30 per gal)@ pet solutions.


I believe a 250ml treats 2500gal, and hence the 40,000.

See here


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## lloyd (Aug 24, 2005)

the cheapest way, to allow chlorine to escape your water, is to simply remove that water from the pressurized pipe which delivers it. simple reactive chemistry. halogens are so ready to react with most anything, that buying/selling a product to do it, must keep chemists laughing all the way to the bank. 
so which is cheaper...to buy a product that flattens your soda? or to simply leave a glass out over night? doubt the speed of the process? watch your carbonated drink give it up, even as you pour it. want to expedite the process even faster? simply agitate the liquid. which is something we already do in every aquarium. HTH.


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

lloyd said:


> the cheapest way, to allow chlorine to escape your water, is to simply remove that water from the pressurized pipe which delivers it. simple reactive chemistry. halogens are so ready to react with most anything, that buying/selling a product to do it, must keep chemists laughing all the way to the bank.
> so which is cheaper...to buy a product that flattens your soda? or to simply leave a glass out over night? doubt the speed of the process? watch your carbonated drink give it up, even as you pour it. want to expedite the process even faster? simply agitate the liquid. which is something we already do in every aquarium. HTH.


Agree for chlorine removal.
Can't say the same for chloramine.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> Can't say the same for chloramine.


That's correct. That's why many municipalities have gone to chloramine. It's much more stable than 
chlorine. Know what you have in your water supply before deciding it can be removed via simply 
drawing it from the pipes.

I have chlorine only, so when holding prep water over 24 hours, I don't dechlorinate. But if drawing 
directly from the tap, I dechlorinate, as I'm not convinced that it all gases off immediately. And, I don't feel 
foolish at all for doing so. It's cheap insurance. I spent $20 for what will be a lifetime supply of 
sodium thiosulfate.


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## rdknjsr599 (Mar 2, 2007)

Unfortunately they use chloramine by me to treat the water so I need something like Prime. I have around $1000 of Frontosa's in one of my tanks so I also consider this very cheap insurance as well. I would let the water sit and "age" if I could, but I have over 600 gallons worth of tanks going right now so I'm pretty much limited to getting water straight from the tap.


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## planenut007 (Mar 21, 2009)

That is what the bottle reads 250 mil per 1250 gal.
THX all I will have to verify the contents of this water, before final choice is made...thx again for all input...every 1 here very helpful save me plenty.


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## lloyd (Aug 24, 2005)

prov356 said:


> ...if drawing directly from the tap, I dechlorinate, as I'm not convinced that it all gases off immediately...


 swimming pool maintenance suggests to 'run pool filter for a few minutes and retest' in situations where chlorine has been accidentally dosed excessively. for outdoor pools, sunlight is also noted as an accelerator for similar correction in quick time. most aquariums have both of these affects readily available.
here's a FYI as to how most water conditioners manage chloramine detox: when dechlorinator products break down chloramine, the ammonia is 'bonded to a colloid', for eventual consumption by bacterial activity. and here's the funny part: the resulting release of chlorine, from that same reaction, is assumed to safely dissipate to atmosphere. :lol:


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## rdknjsr599 (Mar 2, 2007)

I guess I'm not sure where you are getting for information from, but here is a pic of the label from my bottle of Prime.


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## lloyd (Aug 24, 2005)

rdknjsr599 said:


> I guess I'm not sure where you are getting for information from...


 my point, is that halogens will react with nearly anything. 'Prime' contains an ingredient capable of doing so, the organic matter in our tank will also react with chlorine, as well, will components of the atmosphere. the latter two being 'the cheapest'. it is safe to assume, that atmospheric dissipation would be preferred over any potential organic reaction. hence, the suggestion for water agitation, and/or allowing time 'to air', to help expedite the preferred method of reaction. 
i'm curious: does 'prime' leave a hypo within the water for manual removal? or does it also rely on eventual vaporization? because nothing 'disappears'...


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> and here's the funny part: the resulting release of chlorine, from that same reaction, is assumed to safely dissipate to atmosphere.
> 
> does it also rely on eventual vaporization? because nothing 'disappears'...


Here's your answer. Those products probably contain sodium thiosulfate which detoxes chlorine by 
the following:

_Dechlorinating it is often the first concern with tapwater. Most commercial dechlorinators are based 
on plain sodium thiosulfate, Na2S2O3, a crystalline salt that generally comes pre-mixed with distilled 
water, usually in a 1% solution. At this strength, 10 drops (that's 0.5 cubic mm) will neutralize 
common municipal levels of chlorine in 10 gallons, *turning the chlorine to harmless chloride ions 
and adding some molecules of sodium and sulfur to the water*. Unreacted sodium thiosulfate that 
may be left over is pretty inert and harmless. _

From The Skeptical Aquarist

I also run a pool and chlorine does not dissipate by running the pool filter for a few minutes, that I know.
If that were true, we'd need to introduce massive amounts of chlorine constantly, and we don't. It'll 
drop in 24 hours, but not in minutes. My experience in dealing with chlorine in pools is actually 
what led to my practices in dealing with it in aquariums.


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## planenut007 (Mar 21, 2009)

Found out today, my water is only treated with chlorine, so the sodium thiosulfate should do all that I need....thanks all for knowledge.
(the treatment amounts that I read for prime were in the pet solutions catalog, maybe a watered down liquid, never the less I don't need it any ways as the "ST" will work for me)


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## lloyd (Aug 24, 2005)

thanks for clearing up my misconception(s), Tim. i'm obviously no paid chemist. but i'll still stand firm, on the logic of utilizing aeration, as the cheapest method to rid chlorine. even the skeptical aquarist backs me up on that:
"Frankly, if you have an aerator attached to your faucet, it may provide all the outgassing that's needed for a partial water change..."
regarding the pool maintenance suggestions i quoted: they are real suggestions, from a real pool manufacturer. i doubt they meant to imply that complete dissipation was capable within 'a few minutes' of running the pump. and neither did I. sorry, to all, for any confusion i may have caused.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> "Frankly, if you have an aerator attached to your faucet, it *may *provide all the outgassing that's needed for a partial water change..."


I've read that too, and have always wondered, but without being able to confirm it via testing, it makes 
me nervous. To me, it's not worth the risk, particularly since I already have the lifetime supply of dechlor. 
Even minute amounts could potentially do damage, I suppose, over the long term. That's my fear with 
not using dechlor when drawing directly from the tap. I fear that if the fish don't show any outward signs 
or reactions that I may be lulled into believing there's 0 chlorine. Maybe yes, maybe no. When holding 
and circulating and aerating for 24 hours, I then feel confident that it's all gone and don't dechlorinate.


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## rdknjsr599 (Mar 2, 2007)

lloyd said:


> rdknjsr599 said:
> 
> 
> > I guess I'm not sure where you are getting for information from...
> ...


Sorry lloyd... you must have posted a reply just prior to me finishing what I was writing. I was wasn't questioning what you had wrote, I was just trying to clarify the amount of water that Prime was able to treat. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.


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## lloyd (Aug 24, 2005)

rdknjsr599 said:


> ..I wasn't questioning what you had wrote...


 please do. i'm here (at C-F) for discussion. lectures are always readily available, elsewhere, for the reading.
i've utilized a shower-head type attachment (for water changes) for years, on the assumption, that a fine spray can significantly reduce chlorine at that point. recent self help classes, via the respectable "U of Goo", has me doubting the safety of that practice:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Your-Show ... &id=127807
perhaps, it is better to use a product that contains this poison, than to use a method capable of releasing it for inhalation. another perspective, depending on your definition of 'cheap'.


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## UmBooNa Man (Apr 18, 2009)

You want the cheapest way to remove chlorine ? Here it is ...take a large bucket fill it up with your tap water and leave it for at least 24 hours ...all chlorine will be evaporated. Keep a bucket full of water at all times so that every time u have to do a water change you are already prepared!


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## planenut007 (Mar 21, 2009)

I agree with the bucket sitting a day or two, but having trouble finding a 300 gallon bucket and space. So the LIFETIME supply of Sodium Thiosulfate for $17.00 will have to do.
Please read thread before commenting. As you are completely in left field.


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