Water conditioner expiration

[girl_interrupted]

Ok, so someone gave me an almost full water conditioner for my fish when I set up my new tank. However, I opened it the other day and it smelled funny. How do I know if the conditioner expired? Is there any way to tell or is the smell enough? Is it possible for them to expire?

ps- whats the difference between all the conditioners at the store? I've seen dechlorinators, conditioners, tap water something. Are they all the same thing?

Thanks MFK'ers

 

[Pyramid_Party]

I dont know about expiration. I use Prime though, seems to be the best stuff.

 

[johncl]

What kind is it? I use prime and it has a smell even when it's new.

 

[Sab_Fan]

yeah, Prime stinks (literally) . . . so, if Prime is what you have, I wouldn't worry about it

 

[Toby_H]

Prime is supposed to smell funny... Seachem admits that on their website...

I've also read on Seachems website that Prime does not expire, provided it has been capped.

Both of these points can be confirmed either on Seachems "product" page or as responses from Seachem's Employees in the Seachem Forum on Seachem's website...

 

[Noto]

Some conditioners dechlorinate water, some do not, you'll just have to read the label to be sure. As far as I'm concerned non-dechlorinating "water conditioners" are snake oil.

As others have said, Prime is a good dechlorinator. It is very concentrated, which is great if you have lots of water to treat. If you just have a small tank or two, it can be a pain to measure out a milliliter of Prime to treat your water. In that case it may be better to get Amquel Plus- it does the same job as Prime but is less concentrated. Both Prime and Amquel Plus have musty odors; I don't know about other brands.