How quick will chlorine act?

[CaptainMako]

I am doing a water change as a part of my cycling.
I picked up some Prime today, and as you may know the formula is 5 ml for every 50 gallons.
My tank is 29 gallons and I am doing a 50% water change.

Obviously, I cannot dechlorinate the water before putting it into the tank, because the amount I would add to the pitcher I am using (About a gallon or so) would be too small to measure.

Will I be okay adding the tap water, straight out of the faucet as is, into the tank, and THEN adding the amout of Prime. I do not know how quickly chlorine or chloramine will act on my bacteria colony or fish. I am not taking a super long time to do this, but there is a set of stairs between me and the sink.

Will it cause any damage to the bacteria or my fish before I am able to add the Prime?

-Thanks,
Shaun

 

[Rokuzachi]

When I do water changes like this, I treat the tank with Prime for its full volume, turn off my filters, and add the water. You don't want to add untreated tap water before the Prime, as the chloramine/chlorine will nuke whatever bacteria it touches on contact (this is what I've been told).

 

[Sarcothelia]

It'd be a much better idea to get a 10 dollar plastic bin which holds approx 10 gallons and just adding 1ml of the dechlorination mix to it, or however much it takes.. Then just scoop out of the bin. It's a lot faster than running back and forth between the sink. I think the dechlorination chemicals themselves in addition to the chlorine would have a bad effect on the tank.

Try to dechlorinate it beforehand, because the mix is going to be diluted in the already dechlorinated water. You'll probably still have chlorine left in the tank if you do it as you say.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I use a python... so I put the hose in, turn the water on, get it to the right temp, then add prime. If you add the prime first, you'll certainly have no issues, though I never do adding it a minute or two after starting to fill.