Should I pretreat water?

[ThomasG07]

I have a 50 gallon tank that is currently in the middle of a fish in cycle. 5 fish. I've had nitrites present for a few weeks. I used to use buckets to do water changes and I would pretreat the water with Tetra Aquasafe plus before putting it in the tank but I recently got an aqueon water changer so the water doesn't get treated before going into the tank and lately there has been ammonia present. Could the chlorine be killing my bacteria? I leave the the filter running during a water change btw

 

[jcolon]

Could be... Are you dosing for the entire volume of the tank.. Or just the amount your changing. With water changers you dose for the entire tank's volume.

 

[ThomasG07]

Could be... Are you dosing for the entire volume of the tank.. Or just the amount your changing. With water changers you dose for the entire tank's volume.

Yes dosing for entire tank. I'm gunna try turning the filter off and waiting a while after dosing to turn it back on

 

[tottenham12712]

I have small amounts of chlorine and chorimines present in my water as well.

For my 29 gal I have 3, 5 gallon buckets that I fill up with water and add prime. I also have 3 mini heaters to heat the water up to 78*. Takes about 2 hours to warm up by that time most of the traces are gone. I have a pool cover pump that i stick in one bucket and just keep filling it with the other two buckets.

I also use this pump to pump the water out of the tank. Changing 15 gallons out usually takes me about 15 min (no tank cleaning). Its a bit of a pain when you do a fish in but once its cycled you only need to do it once a week at most and its not bad

 

[mohican]

I only dose the amount that I'm changing cuz the current water in the tank is already been treated. I just add it directly into the flow going into the tank; never had problems. If I dosed for the whole tank, I would be broke and have to go thru gallons of pretreat (prime, stress coat, etc) for my 125. That's just how I've always done it.

 

[julielover]

I naver pre-treat my water and have never had fish losses because of it. I have had fish losses if I don't change my water. If I am starting a new tank I always let the tank set for a few days before adding life to it. I have done this in Seattle, Sacramento and Salem, Oregon.

 

[jlk]

Yes dosing for entire tank. I'm gunna try turning the filter off and waiting a while after dosing to turn it back on

Just from a safety perspective, it's always a good idea to turn electrical appliances off before sticking your hands in the tank to clean. I always double dose conditioner to the tank size before refilling & leave everything off for atleast 10-15mins before turning anything back on to give the conditioner a chance to disperse. Too much chlorine in my tap to take any risks of sanitizing my tanks. Never had any issues even with regular big water changes (75-100%).

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Just from a safety perspective, it's always a good idea to turn electrical appliances off before sticking your hands in the tank to clean. I always double dose conditioner to the tank size before refilling & leave everything off for atleast 10-15mins before turning anything back on to give the conditioner a chance to disperse. Too much chlorine in my tap to take any risks of sanitizing my tanks. Never had any issues even with regular big water changes (75-100%).

Great advice. I've used a python water changer for years with no problems. Turning my filter off is how I protect my biological filter, too. The flow from the incoming water is enough to mix the dechlorinator into all the water. Just add it in before the new water and you'll be fine.