Water Conditioners

[Nystina]

Hello everyone, i found this article: http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/rev-cond.htm
and it seemed like a good discussion topic. I have read that many of you only use a dechlorinator and not a "slime protectant" and i was wondering if it was because the majority of them contain organic matter? Anyhoo, i was thinking of trying Kent's line of water conditioners ( i already use their plant supplements). Anyone have any opinions?
Thanks!
Nystina

[i3k]

I use StressCoat to get rid of chlorine and add the protective slime coat.

[Toirtis]

When I cannot simply age water (which is most of the time), I use Seachem's "Prime".

[gheitman]

I also use Seachem's Prime to treat my tap water before adding it to a tank. I've used Start Right from Jungle as well. I use Seachem's Stress Guard product to treat fish that I have added to a tank.

[Mofo2713]

I use Aqua Safe as my dechlor and it also has a stress coat in it.

[TankGirl]

It is hard to find one that does not have a slime coat protectant! I find that over time they tend to gunk up the filter and overall add to the "sludge" accumulation as a tank matures. They can also create a film on the surface.

For me, my fish have their own slime coat and I see no reason to fix what's not broken, so to speak, unless they have been roughly handled or netted, or otherwise have an obvious disruption of the slime coat. If they have a minor injury then I treat with Melafix so they can heal themselves.

I have been known to use the Wardley's liquid water conditioner (which is just a dechlorinator/chloramine remover) even in large tanks, where I am sitting there counting drops to get the dose right

I forgot to mention that I use Amquel as my primary dechlor product.

[Mofo2713]

You're a genius TG. I use Aqua Safe and since it has a slime coat, that might be the reason I have a film on my surface. I could never figure it out. Looks like I'm going to go buy some Amquel to try and get rid of the film.

[FawnN]

Any dechlorinator that has slime coat protectant or aloe will in time cause a nasty film in your tank and will cause more problems.

All you need is a water conditioner that removes/neutralizes chlorine and chloramines. I don't use anything that claims to neutralize ammonia, nitrites or nitrates either.