a good water conditioner without aloe gel or anything making the water slimy.

[JSchmidt]

No, but neither does Stress Coat. It only neutralizes the chlorine that's bound to the ammonia (i.e., its a basic dechlorinator). At least that's what Aquarium Pharmaceutical's website said.

Any basic dechlorinator will act on chloramine by neutralizing the chlorine and freeing the ammonia. That's what StressCoat, Chlorinex, etc. all do.

Jim

 

[wigglejaggles]

prime and biospira

Hey Now,

I dont think my last reply went through so here it is again. I just ordered prime and will be using that to condition my water prior to adding bio-spira and my fishload.
i am alittle nervous after reading that prime neutralizes ammonia and detoxifies the tank. Does this mean that because i plan to use prime as a water conditioner once I put the biospira in the tank along with the fish load the amount of ammonia that will occur in 48 hours prime will neutralize therfore the bacteria of biospira will die because it wont get to eat the ammonia?

take care,
Jared

 

[Slappy*McFish]

No...it doesn't remove the ammonia, just converts it to a non-toxic form of ammonium that is still available to the bacteria. The only thing it may affect is an ammonia test kit reading. Just wait a couple of days to add the biospira if you're worried.

 

[yhbae]

Originally posted by JSchmidt
No, but neither does Stress Coat. It only neutralizes the chlorine that's bound to the ammonia (i.e., its a basic dechlorinator). At least that's what Aquarium Pharmaceutical's website said.

Any basic dechlorinator will act on chloramine by neutralizing the chlorine and freeing the ammonia. That's what StressCoat, Chlorinex, etc. all do.

Jim

According to my packaging, it says it neutralizes chloramines and also toxic metals. I want to continue to use this since I don't trust my copper piping in my house either. I have to admit though I have my own reservation on whether this slimy thing offers any benefit at all, but it certainly hasn't given me any problems either...

If anyone has better (cheaper) alternatives that removes chlorine, chloramine and toxic chemicals, I'm more than welcome to listen!

 

[JSchmidt]

From the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals website FAQ on StressCoat:

" Does Stress Coat remove chlorine and chloramines?
It removes chlorine and the chlorine component of chloramine. "



"Will Stress Coat detoxify Ammonia?

No. If you need to detoxify ammonia use Ammo-Lock 2. "



yhbae, have you tested water coming out of your tap for copper content? I have copper pipe and have never had any detectable copper content in my tap water, at least none that would show up on hobbyist tests.

Jim

 

[fishfood]

I've used Wardley's Chlor Out in the past with fine results. It looks just like water and is not slimey at all. It claims to remove both chlorine and chloramine.

 

[aquariumfishguy]

My stress coat is bought in large quantities...if I bought little 16 ounce bottles, they'd be gone in no time LOL

Anyway, I averaged out the price and did a few calculations...for 16 ounces @ the same price that I pay for the gallon, it would come to about $2.13. I think thats a pretty good deal.

 

[yhbae]

Originally posted by JSchmidt
From the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals website FAQ on StressCoat:

" Does Stress Coat remove chlorine and chloramines?
It removes chlorine and the chlorine component of chloramine. "



"Will Stress Coat detoxify Ammonia?

No. If you need to detoxify ammonia use Ammo-Lock 2. "



yhbae, have you tested water coming out of your tap for copper content? I have copper pipe and have never had any detectable copper content in my tap water, at least none that would show up on hobbyist tests.

Jim

I guess when they say they remove the chlorine component of chloramine means they remove chlorine component of chloramine but not the ammonia component of chloramine.... (Geez, now I am confused - chemistry has never been my favorite subject... )

In fact, I have no clue if my tap water has chloramine or not. The guy who works at the Hydro Quebec says he "thinks" they don't use it... Great...

As for copper, I have no clue, and I don't know how to test for copper. The house is about 12 years old, and I still have the original water tank so I'd imagine by now I would expect some copper/iron in the hot water, but I could be wrong for sure.

So far, I've been using Stress Coat instead of ChloroOut (which I considered at one point) because of the above reason...

 

[JSchmidt]

Frankly, I wouldn't stress out over StressCoat if you've used it and are happy with it. The main gyst of the comparisons were really aimed at the contention that the additives in StressCoat (like aloe) don't add to the cost. That clearly isn't true; compared to other garden-variety dechlorinators, StressCoat is pretty pricey.

Is the 'slime coat enhancer' dangerous to fish? Who knows? Is it necessary? Absolutely not. If it makes you feel better to pay extra for that stuff, it's probably worth it for your peace of mind, despite the fact that your fish don't need it.

As for the heavy metal removers, I confess I don't really understand how they work. I think they chelate the metals, but I don't know how/if they metals are removed from my tank. I don't think I keep any creatures that sensitive to copper or other possible metals.

My posts on this point aren't to be argumentative, but as this is a newbies forum, I think it important to dispel myths like the need for slime coat enhancing, or that such additives don't end up extracting $$ from your pocket.

Jim

 

[yhbae]

Completely agree!

If someone can somehow asure me that I don't have chloromine and no metals in water, I would happily switch to chlorine-only remover... The slimy stuff is definitely not the factor here (not a positive one at least)