# Water Conditioner/Dechlorinator Question



## CITADELGRAD87 (Mar 26, 2003)

I have used an old stand by, Aquasafe, for my now small seeming 50 gallon and a smaller grow out tank.

Witih the 100 I am bringing on line soon, I was thinking to maybe step up to something different/bigger jug, etc. More fish at stake, and more water getting treated.
'
Can you please tell me what you are using to treat water for larger tanks?

Thanks


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Tank size doesn't matter. As long as the product deals with chlorine/chloramine that's all it needs to do. Know what you have in your tap. You can usually find your water quality report online.

See conditioners.

But, to answer your question, I have chlorine in the tap, not chloramine, so I mix up my dechlor using sodium thiosulfate crystals. For the storage tank, I drop four crystals into 70 gallons, and it's handled. I weighed it out once to figure out what was needed. For the smaller tanks and changes, I mix up some in a bottle of spring water. $20 bought me a lifetime supply of sodium thiosulfate that has a very long shelf life. Once mixed up, the shelf life is about 6 months.


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## littlejoenc (Jan 11, 2005)

I use Sodium Thiosulphate..You can buy this stuff in bulk and will last you a life time..
Pool supply stores will have it..chemout is the name of what I use....
I think it's about $8 or $9 for a 2lb bottle.. I mix 1 tsp in 8 oz of distilled water, and the I put 1tsp per 10 gallons of aquarium water...


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## CITADELGRAD87 (Mar 26, 2003)

Oh, I know the product needs to do the same work, my question was more along the lines of a change because some products are in bigger containters, my current stuff is about the size of a shampoo bottle, and it's almost empty. Since my tank was small, I never looked at the stuff that's in the larger packaging. Is there a larger jug of stuff that is more economical than the smaller size. More of a Costco type packaging since I am treating so much more water.

I wish we could do this over a beer, it's harder to communicate one sided like this.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Any number of products come in a variety of sizes. I know for one that Prime does a good job and comes in 250 and 500 ml bottles or gallon jugs. I find 500 ml bottles a nice size to handle. It cuts into the cost savings if you have a huge jug that is hard to handle so that you drop it! I use a private label branded for the folks I buy stuff from over the net as it is just about the same cost and comes Fedex without me doing much other labor. I'm guessing in that part of California you will find they are using chloramine rather than chlorine as there are signs that chlorine combines with other things to create carcinagens. California is pretty big in that area of consumer protection.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

I use NovAqua, and buy it by the gallon, but have a couple of 500ml containers which I fill from the gallon jug and use to treat water. Gets you the purchasing power of bulk, with the convenience of smaller containers. (FWIW - i do the same thing with NLS food)

Works for me.


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## inurocker (May 9, 2011)

I have found in the long run with large tanks and MTS a RO unit and a holding tank with a float switch to be a better option than chemical treatments.


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## cichlid_baby (Jan 28, 2003)

I use Cloram-X (powder form of amquel).


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## adam0444 (Apr 16, 2011)

I use prime. 90 gallon


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## snoskiur (Nov 10, 2010)

SEACHEM PRIME... It's the best in my opinion. Seachem products have all impressed me...


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

snoskiur said:


> SEACHEM PRIME... It's the best in my opinion. Seachem products have all impressed me...


What is it that impresses you so much about a dechlorinator? How can one be better than another unless one doesn't work at all?


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## snoskiur (Nov 10, 2010)

Prime decchlorinates, produces slime coat, and neutralizes ammonia. From what I've read up on it, it's made in a different way than most, but it's been great for me!


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

snoskiur said:


> Prime decchlorinates, produces slime coat, and neutralizes ammonia. From what I've read up on it, it's made in a different way than most, but it's been great for me!


You should probably read this before deciding that the 'slime coat' feature is a good thing. Prime detoxes ammonia, actually. But, not something that's needed on a regular basis in a properly filtered, stocked, and maintained aquarium. Beware of marketing hype on bottles sold in local shops. Most of the products aren't needed and a lot of the hype on the bottle is just that. Rarely, if ever, should anyone need the wide array of products that Seachem and others like them offer.


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## bernie comeau (Feb 19, 2007)

prov356 said:


> snoskiur said:
> 
> 
> > Prime detoxes ammonia, actually. But, not something that's needed on a regular basis in a properly filtered, stocked, and maintained aquarium.


When the chloramine bond is broken, ammonia is released, so it may very well be something that is needed for a water change when chloramine is present in new water.


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## ivanmike (Jun 15, 2003)

nodima said:


> I use NovAqua, and buy it by the gallon, but have a couple of 500ml containers which I fill from the gallon jug and use to treat water. Gets you the purchasing power of bulk, with the convenience of smaller containers. (FWIW - i do the same thing with NLS food)
> 
> Works for me.


If you want to go the "your favorite product" route - this is the way to do it. Buying online is always cheaper, and when you do so, regardless of tank size, there's really no reason to not spring for the gallon (which ends up costing about as much as 2 of the "shampoo sized bottles" when bought at a brick and mortar fish store.)

Otherwise, the sodium thiosulfate route is the most economical by far. Be sure to find out exactly how much chlorine your local water co puts in as you can overdose on pure sodium thiosulfate a bit easier than with commercial water conditioners. Most other ingredients are snake oil. If you have chloramines you can also find out how much of that they put in. I've always found that a nice biological filter snarfs the ammonia released in short order, so I've never used amquel or the like in cases where chloramines were used. YMMV.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

bernie comeau said:


> prov356 said:
> 
> 
> > snoskiur said:
> ...


In that case, yes, but the way he had listed them, it didn't imply that he was talking about the chloramine bond.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Here's an article on chlorine/chloramine.



> I've always found that a nice biological filter snarfs the ammonia released in short order, so I've never used amquel or the like in cases where chloramines were used. YMMV.


Plants will also take it up. If the water is acidic, it'll be bound up into harmless ammonium. So, yes, oftentimes dosing sodium thiosulfate is all you need to do even when chloramines are present. But, there are two chloride ions bound to the ammonia, so double dosing is usually recommended.

From the article linked above:



> Unreacted sodium thiosulfate that may be left over is pretty inert and harmless.


So, I wouldn't worry about overdosing.

Pay attention to shelf life on these products before springing for the 10 year supply.

For me, less is more. I don't like to add anything to my tanks. I only use the sodium thisofulfate to protect against the water company suddenly switching to chlromine without notice. Otherwise, I wouldn't use a conditioner at all. Most, if not all, chlorine gasses off pretty quickly. Fish do real well without all the additives in a bottle.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

> Be sure to find out exactly how much chlorine your local water co puts in


This may not be workable advise due to the way the amount is calculated. The amount they put in may vary at times as the situation changes. They are required to have a certain minimum level (residual) left when it arrives at certain test points along the line. What they inject at the treatment plant is depleted along the route to your house as it reacts with organics. They inject what experience shows to be the correct amount to cover for this loss as it sets in the various starage tanks and lines along the way. Keeping this in mind, you can see that different places in the system will have differing amounts of chlorine residual. There are also times when the amount injected has to be adjusted for changes in conditions. One would be weather changes. In warm weather bacteria grows faster so more chlorine is needed to slow the growth and keep bacteria in the water down to specified levels. The amount added is tested and adjusted depending on the number of customers and size of the water service company and where the water is being drawn from. At times, in my local area the water may come from wells or from surface water. Each requires differing amounts of treatment. 
The amount of chlorine put in is really not important as it is the amount that comes out at your end that matters. But that is not something to try to calculate as it also changes.

For most , the simple answer is the best answer. Don't try to reinvent the wheel, but just go with the calculations on the bottle. If you want to outfigure the pro's, prepare for a large job!


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## heyzeusbrains (Jul 12, 2011)

I like using Prime because I can use only 2 drops per gallon instead of 10 drops of another product... I like the fact that it's so concentrated. I use it simply as a dechlorinator (for chloramines).


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

What works for each of us will vary. I used Prime and found it fine but now I am using a house brand because it is almost exactly the same price but it is available in a larger size from the internet dealer I use most. Sometimes it is more a small factor rather than a big decision. I have a rack for bottles and this size bottle fits my rack! :roll:


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## gverde (Mar 3, 2010)

I use to use Seachem Prime but have switched to Seachem Safe. Safe is a stronger powdered form of Prime. I have a large tank and I was going thru the 500 ML's of Prime very quickly. I decided to buy the 2.2 liters of the Safe and I haven't even put a dent in it. It should last me years with more money in my pocket on the long run.


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