Safe Dechlorination

still use stresscoat. the better procedure is to airate your city water as it "sits" to get the chlorine out. and 24 hours aint enough fo a really safe margin, i do mine 3 days

I use air stone and anti-chlorine products. the water here also contains chloromine (not sure about the spelling) do I also add in anti-chlormine.

sitting water imho alone is not enough. best to add arreation to get the chlorine out faster.

Most dechlorinating products (like Hagen's Aqua Plus) remove both Chlorine and Chloramine in seconds. It is so inexpensive that it isn't really worth it to try and de-chlorinate naturally.

I your water supplier uses Chloramine, I don't believe it can be removed using time and aeration. (I could be wrong on that).

Either way, I believe you have an Arowana. That's an expensive and sensitive fish... so even if you can get all the Chlorine out without using chemical... you still have the issue of water temperature. Unless your heating the water to the same temperature as that which is in your tank... you run the risk of stressing the fish out as a result of fluctuating temperatures.

I have an Aro, Stingray and discus... all sensitive fish. My method is to use Aqua Plus http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=121&PROD_ID=01076550020101 in conjuction with water from the tap, running at the same temperature as my tank water. I usually run the water into 5 gal pails at 1 or two degrees higher than my tank water because it usually takes me 20 minutes or so to vacuum the gravel. This way the Aqua Plus has enough time to do its job and the water in the pail will cool a degree or two during that time.

Using this method, my tank temperature usually doesn't vary more than 2 or 3 tenths of a degree while changing 40 gallons of water out of a 180 gallon tank.

So, that's my suggestion. Water conditioner is cheap... just make sure the brand you choose handles Chloramine as well as Chlorine.

Good luck.

meiling said:

I have read that if city (chlorinated water) sits for 24 hours the chlorine will dissipate. I still smell chlorine. When you use this method, do you still use stresscoat or does the water truly dechlorinate where it can be directly put into the aquarium? I've always still used stresscoat due to the smell to be safe.

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city water contains chloromine too, which doesnt disapate and is a fish killer.

so why let it sit to get rid of the chlorine and THEN add the stress coat to get rid of the chloromine?

youve just wasted 24 hours for nothing

^ Yep, what he said.

not all city water has chloramine...call your water treatment plant and ask if it does.
around here they dont.

I have been aging my water for a few months now. In 50 gallon rubbermaid tubs the water reads zero chlorine after about 20 hrs with zero aeration. However my tap water contains a relatively low level of chlorine to begin with. Or at least what I consider a low level. Now that you all bring it up I need to call my water company and ask if they treat teh water with chloramine. So far after two months of doing it this way I have not seen any signs of stress in my fish. Fish included, Black Aro, Tigrinus, Cobra Pike, Bagarius Yarrelli, Dorados.

I would not consider using stress coat or other dechlorinators "cheap"

If you are doing water changes on 500 gallons of water twice a week it can add up fast

It's funny that I asked basically the same question in a thread a few months ago and everyone who responded basically said don't bother with the stress coat and every single person in this thread said use it.

I would say to call your water company and ask if they do not use chloramine in the water simply aging the water for 24 hrs with aeration will be sufficient. If they do use chloramine you will have to use some type of product to rid the water of this chemical.

if its just chlorine you can use a carbon filter (like the ones for whole house drinking filtration) and it will remove chlorine as well...but not chloramine.

unknownuza13 said:

However my tap water contains a relatively low level of chlorine to begin with. Or at least what I consider a low level.

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Chlorine levels can vary from week to week depending on the water source and how much the water company decides they need. So, while it may dissipate in 20 hours today... next month may be a different story.

unknownuza13 said:

"I would not consider using stress coat or other dechlorinators "cheap" If you are doing water changes on 500 gallons of water twice a week it can add up fast"

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Agreed, but she only has a 55 or 75 gallon tank or something like that. So, a small capful per 5 gal is going to be cheap.