Been in the hobby for over 30 years and I've never purchased or used any conditioner to treat my aquarium water. Started off with betas and goldfish, moved on to saltwater, koi ponds, planted tanks, discus and now mainly into CA/SA cichlids. Even got into breeding just about everything I've had.
I did learn the hard way in my early days. Upon emptying a 300 gallon pond and refilling it with a garden hose, I immediately threw in my kois only to watch them die one at a time. I learned real quick about the chlorine in the water. From that point on, never had any issues. With new setups, I would let the water sit for at least 24 hours. In aquariums, never have I waited for one to fully cycle before introducing fishes into it. Think 6 weeks is the required time frame to fully cycle a tank? I usually wait a day or two...no problems.
During water changes, I try not to take out more than 30%...usually 10-20% and refill straight from the tap without treating the water. Only issue is during winter months when the water is really cold and some fish, especially my loaches would get ich. Easy to treat but I've learned to use warm tap water to eliminate this issue. With minimal water changes, the beneficial bacteria in the filtration and the substrate will help stabilize the untreated water. If I need to perform a larger than normal water change, I would break it down to 2 days. I wouldn't recommend not treating the water with extreme water changes.
I'm sure this may raise red flags from some members, but from my personal experience, I've never used the stuff. I'M NOT SAYING, "STOP USING THE PRODUCTS." I wouldn't want anyone to kill any of their wet pets...this is just what I do and just curious if anyone else out there is.
How much do you spend on these conditioners, monthly?
I did learn the hard way in my early days. Upon emptying a 300 gallon pond and refilling it with a garden hose, I immediately threw in my kois only to watch them die one at a time. I learned real quick about the chlorine in the water. From that point on, never had any issues. With new setups, I would let the water sit for at least 24 hours. In aquariums, never have I waited for one to fully cycle before introducing fishes into it. Think 6 weeks is the required time frame to fully cycle a tank? I usually wait a day or two...no problems.
During water changes, I try not to take out more than 30%...usually 10-20% and refill straight from the tap without treating the water. Only issue is during winter months when the water is really cold and some fish, especially my loaches would get ich. Easy to treat but I've learned to use warm tap water to eliminate this issue. With minimal water changes, the beneficial bacteria in the filtration and the substrate will help stabilize the untreated water. If I need to perform a larger than normal water change, I would break it down to 2 days. I wouldn't recommend not treating the water with extreme water changes.
I'm sure this may raise red flags from some members, but from my personal experience, I've never used the stuff. I'M NOT SAYING, "STOP USING THE PRODUCTS." I wouldn't want anyone to kill any of their wet pets...this is just what I do and just curious if anyone else out there is.
How much do you spend on these conditioners, monthly?
