Need Water Change No Conditioner!

[PeaceLoveFish]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm really learning some stuff here. I have a question. Since my tank is small (10), is it cool if I use distilled water for the PWC?

 

[jlk]

Bottled spring water would be a better idea. Minerals/buffers need to re-added to distilled water for aquarium use.

 

[jetajockey]

You don't need conditioner. I do 75% changes weekly and halfs every other 2 days and I never use conditioner. My fish are happy, breeding, plants are lush and water is clear.


You spill soap into your tank or beer or something then conditioner is good but tap water does not harm established tanks.

I refill my tanks directly from the cold water tap without temperature matching at all, does that mean that everyone should be able to? What do you think would happen if you tried that up north this time of year?

My point is that just because something works for you doesn't mean that it's a general rule, and there are several reasons why water conditioner is needed. Chlorine and chloramine content vary drastically from source to source.

My source water chlorine content is extremely low here and wouldn't hurt fish much if I did a PWC without conditioner, but I used to live in a place that would fill the whole house with a swimming pool smell every time I did a PWC.

Someone reads that you are claiming that PWC's don't need conditioner, and they are in a high chlorine/chloramine area, they kill all their fish because of it, and guess who it falls back to?



@ the OP and for anyone else, if you want to dechlorinate on the cheap, just get some sodium thiosulfate crystals. You may have to order them from a specialty store like kensfish, but $5 or so will give you enough dechlorinator to last through tens of thousands of gallons.

 

[Sisserydoo]

Everyone's water is different. I live in upstate NY and have above average amounts of metals and other stuff that probably isn't good for the fish. Using a conditioner is always good practice.

Not only is our water not safe for fish, sometimes it's not even safe for us! Sometimes we get boil orders from the city, and we ALWAYS use RO water for drinking and cooking. There is no way I'd put untreated tap water in my tank! I say just wait the three days and stock up on conditioner so you don't have this problem again.

 

[PeaceLoveFish]

I was doing a little research and came across boiling water. Will that work for a PWC?

 

[jlk]

I was doing a little research and came across boiling water. Will that work for a PWC?

The issue is what is contained in your water. Chlorine will dissipate with boiling, however, dissolved solids, heavy metals, & nitrates, etc will concentrate as water evaporates potentially resulting in water with even greater levels of toxins. Whether chloramine will eventually dissipate after lengthy boiling is questionable & i personally would not risk it.

 

[maxwellag]

I was doing a little research and came across boiling water. Will that work for a PWC?

That would remove chlorine but not anything else... If I were you I would avoid a PWC until you get more conditioner. Test the tank's water every day and if it started to get around 1 or 2 ppm of ammonia, then you might have to do a PWC.