leaving water to stand to remove chlorine?

Astro

Astro

AC Members
May 16, 2006
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I have been told that instead of conditioning tap water, if you leave a bucket of tap water to stand for 24 hours, all the chlorine will evapourate, meaning thsat you don't have to add chemicals to neutralise the chlorine (surely a good thing)...

But is it true? I have searched the threads but not turned up any advocating this approach. Or is it true but outdated - working only on chlorine but not on chloramine? My water-board uses chloramine.

This is especially relevant to me at the moment because I am in the process of fishless-cycling a 214 litre tank (45 gallons?) - and some people have reported that some water conditioners can neutralise the ammonia, which can suddenly uncycle the tank. If I have to use conditioners, which ones won't destroy the ammonia, leaving it for the bacteria to deal with?

Thanks

Dave
 
It can degas chlorine if it sits long enough, and sometimes may require agitation. However, many municipalities use chloramine, which will not gas off.

I recommend the use of Prime, that will handle both and is probably the most inexpensive/dose.
 
What is more, each year, many communities switch from chlorine to chloramine, which is cheaper and more safe....and you can bet it will not be headline news when they do, and not knowing could cost you a lot of fish.
 
Thanks very much for the advice!

So the thing is - I don't want to add any ammonia-destroying chemicals to the fishtank, in case it upsets the cycling. In his article about fishless cycling Chris Cow,PhD says 'do NOT use dechlorinators that also sequester ammonia, such as the very popular Amquel.' Are there conditioners which remove chloramine without touching ammonia? Will 'Prime' (or similar conditioner) evapourate or deactivate itself if I leave the conditioned bucket for a while? Or is it safe to use after fishless cycling the tank?
 
Even Amquel (or Prime), unless added directly to the tank, will not significantly affect cycling.
 
Most additives do not "destroy" the ammonia, as much as they claim. They may bind it so it is less harmful but still available for the bacteria. This can give you false readings on your ammonia tests.

Do not trust any chemical additive/product that says by using it you will do less maintenance. Water change, water change, water change.
 
Most bottles will clearly say chlorine, chloramine, heavy metals.
The ones that also do ammonia/nitrite etc also like prime, amquel will say so on the bottle. So just read your labels.

Kath
 
Good to know that water change quantities won't throw things - and thanks Kath, I will try to avoid the ones that do ammonia just to be on the safe side.

I looked through my bottles of stuff and have some 'Stress Coat' which says it can be used as a conditioner, removing chlorine and breaking down chloramine. This sounds ideal - but it also has Aloe Vera in it. Is it ok to add this (in with the new tap water for a water change) on a regular basis?
 
Water treatment plants will use chloramine at the drop of a hat if they are responding to a problem.

It IS a good idea to let water sit anyway, especially in the winter. There is a lot of gas dissolved in cold water, and it's better to let it escape.
 
some municipalities add buffers to the water. I know from a breeder here that Seattle adds a buffer to the water..as the water is naturally acidic (reservoir water) the buffer is added to keep the acid from eating away at the pipes.

this particualr breeder has two 500 gallon tanks to heat, agitate the water. it technically isn't standing water since it cirulates in the holding tanks...but it is aged water.
 
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