Water change question?

[sudeep21]

I have read conflicting advise on water change procedure.

#1. Some people recommend that you add de-chlorinator to water and let it sit for a while before you introduce it into your aquarium, when doing a water change.

#2. Others say its ok to connect a hose from your tap to your aquarium and just add the required amount of de-chlorinator as the tank fills up.

I realise its important to ensure temperature of water in the tank and water you are adding should be the same, but confused on which of the above 2 methods to employ?

#2 is easier for bigger tanks i guess. Any comments?

 

[BrianNY]

Good questions sudeep. I change ALOT of water. I always add the dechlor first (to the tank), and then fill right from the tap. You're right about the temperature adjustment too. To me, this is the easiest method and I've NEVER had a problem doing it this way. What fish are you keeping? It will give us an idea of how much, and how often to change your water.

 

[phanmc]

People let their water sit for a day so the chlorine will evaporate, in which case no dechlorinator is needed. Problem is, chloramine is another chemical additive that does not evaporate, so its a good idea to add a dechlorinator that will remove both. In which case, you can just dump the water in and not have to wait.

 

[krap101]

anyway i never learned this. if something removes ammonia and chlorine will it remove chloramine. or the other way around or does it just remove the combined form?

 

[TankGirl]

I adjust the temp at the tap to match the tank and fill my tanks with the Python, and add the dechlor as I fill. I, too, have never had a problem doing this, and yes, it is somewhat easier to do water changes with a python when the tank is large, since you have more time to vac the gravel.

If I use it on my 5gal (which I do, sometimes - life on the edge, 'n all) there is no time for gravel vac'ing but my gravel is covered with plants in that tank so not much of a problem.

 

[sudeep21]

I have a ~40 gallon tank, and do about a 40-50% water change every weekend. I used method #1 when I started, but its a lot of effort. #2 is much easier, but I was not confident enought to employ it. I gues I can start using it now, as the experts have endorsed it

To be on the safer side, is overdosing (by say 20%) de-chlorinator a good thing to do? Will it harm the fishes, or does it actually benefit them by minimising their exposure time to untreated water? (this Q is with reference to using method #2)

 

[TankGirl]

I have had minor trouble with surface scum when I have overdosed dechlor - I dose correctly with no ill effects.