# Chlorine



## sWozzAres (18 Jan 2012)

I will be doing 50% water changes weekly. This amounts to 150 litres so I am looking for the cheapest way to remove chlorine/chloramines from the water.

Plan A is to fill up my bath tub! It doesn't get used for anything. My question is how long approximately, would it take for chlorine to evaporate. I have 2 heaters in there and a koralia pump.

Plan B is to use dechlorinator. I do this at the moment in a smaller tank but I am concerned this would be quite expensive on my new tank. Has anyone got any suggestions for doing this cheaply? I am looking at API Tap Water Conditioner which is apparently safe for fish even though the safety PDF says "Very toxic to aquatic life" !!

Any help much appreciated...


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## Gary Nelson (18 Jan 2012)

If you go with plan B, use Seachem 'Prime' it last ages as you only need a tiny drop - a very good product!
http://www.seachem.com/Products/product ... Prime.html


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## sWozzAres (18 Jan 2012)

Thanks - Prime looks good and cheap. 25 pence per water change, I can cope with that


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## BigTom (18 Jan 2012)

Prime, or pond dechlorinator will be even cheaper and more concentrated.


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## Matt Warner (18 Jan 2012)

I would use the dechlorinator. Leaving the water so that the chlorine evaporates will get rid of the chlorine, but if your water has chloramine then this will not be removed. The only way of removing both is to use dechlorinator.


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## Alastair (18 Jan 2012)

Depending on how your filling the tank back up, if it's via Hose etc then you need to add the prime prior to filling and treat for the whole tabk rather than the amount going back in. 
If done by buckets you can just treat each bucket Full for that amount of water. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ceg4048 (19 Jan 2012)

No, this is completely unnecessary.  Treat the tank either prior to filling or during filling and be done with it.

Cheers,


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## sussex_cichlids (19 Jan 2012)

I use similar method i use an 100ltr bin with heater and charcoal filter run that for 24hr with loads of bubbles 
that will be enough to remove the chlorine but also add dechlorinator to remove chloramine

Chlorine will only remain active in water for 24hours so using loads of bubble and surface movement it will remove the chlorine but not chloramine



> Unlike straight chlorine, chloramine does not produce trihalomethanes that are toxic to humans, which is why it has become much more popular than chlorine in public water supplies. Chloramine is more stable in water than chlorine and cannot be efficiently bubbled out of standing water. *(Taken From http://www.petplace.com)*



Or you can use a pond dechlorinator like said above it more concentrated so you get more for ya buck i use a pond one only takes 5ml to treat almost 500ltrs


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## ghostsword (19 Jan 2012)

I do the same. I use a Tetra Pond product, same price as tetra safe but much more concentrated. I dose 1ml for my 100l tank at every wc.  


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## Sentral (19 Jan 2012)

I use API tapsafe, does both and it isn't too expensive but it's much better value to get pond stuff as been mentioned


			
				sussex_cichlids said:
			
		

> I use similar method i use an 100ltr bin with heater and charcoal filter run that for 24hr with loads of bubbles
> that will be enough to remove the chlorine but also add dechlorinator to remove chloramine


Surly this is pointless if you're using a dechlorinator anyway..?


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## sussex_cichlids (19 Jan 2012)

No as the water goes in the tank at right temp so there no sudden temp spikes 
Also using carbon will remove some of the other things we don't test for like


Arsenic
Bacteria and Viruses 
Bad Tastes & Odors 
Chlorine 
Fluoride 
Hydrogen 
Sulfide 
Heavy Metals 
Nitrates 
Radon Sediment 
Iron 
VOC's


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## Sentral (19 Jan 2012)

Have you thought about investing in an RO unit? Would be a lot less hassle and you'd get 99.98% pure


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## sussex_cichlids (19 Jan 2012)

I do have Ro Filter 

How that easier far more work involved when using Ro

then still got to be heated to stop the temp spike  

Just grab 100ltr bin fill it use a 400ltr internal filter packed with just carbon small spray bar  and 300w heater 24 hrs later turn heater off remove spray bar attach hose and pump water from the bin to the tank simple no lifting heavy drums above the tank splashing water everywhere  clean tidy and no stress for me or the fish


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## foxfish (19 Jan 2012)

There does seem to be various methods of achieving a safe, large water change but I have been using water straight from the tap via a shower head mixer & adding a dechlorinator.
 I have been doing this for about 30 years now  :? seems to work OK...


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## sussex_cichlids (19 Jan 2012)

Yea seams everyone has there own methods 

I use to breed and keep few discus so just a habit that i followed since keeping them but difference id use RO with mix of tap instead of just tap

But yea all to there own and that


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## xim (20 Jan 2012)

I've found just recently that Prime can be spoiled even though Seachem say Prime doesn't expire.

I had been using Prime for a year. Then when the (250 ml) bottle was nearly bottomed out. 
I switched to Sodium Thiosulphate crystals since it's so cheap and my tap was treated 
with chlorine, not chloramine.

One month later, at a water change, I used Prime because I wanted to use up all the small 
amount of it in the bottle. But suddently fish showed chlorine toxicity symptom 
(Embers and Otos were hit hard). I had to double the dose to avert the effect.

I thought it's because there was a huge spike in chlorine in the tap. 
But at the same time I felt there was something not being right. So I bought a chlorine test kit, 
the cheaper type that turned yellow when there was chlorine presented.

Then came another water change. With the test kit, I then knew I had to double the dose 
of Prime to clear out the chlorine in the tap.

At last, at another water change, it was clear that the Prime was really expiring. 
Because this time, even higher than double dosing couldn't make the chlorine test turn clear. 
It stayed as yellow as direct tap water. This also might explain the mysterious deaths of my Ember tetras 
a few months back. 

So I switched back to Sodium Thiosulphate. And found that just a normal dose 
(capable of neutralising 1 PPM of chlorine) could clear all the chlorine out. 
So the chlorine level was probably normal then.

BTW, Seachem claim Prime can neutralise 5 PPM of chlorine at normal dose. 

So, keeping small amount of Prime in the bottle may accelerate degrading process?

In the future, if my tap is chloramine treated, I will buy only dry stuff (Seachem Safe perhaps) 
and use it with a chlorine test kit.


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