Python owners, how to dechlorinate?

[Richard Platts]

Hey, quick question. it may be stupid too. I"ve been using a python for a few weeks now, it makes changing water in my three, soon to be four tanks way easier than buckets.

How do *you* dechlorinate the water safely. I've been pumping dechlorinator into the tank forst then filling 'er up. then just to be safe I dump a little more into the tank. I heard you can't really over dose...

Am I stressing my fish? They seem pretty ok with this so far.

Rich

 

[Gunnie]

That's perfect if you pour it in just before adding the water. You can also pour the dechlor in the stream of water going back into your tank.

 

[JSchmidt]

Yes, you're doing fine. When refilling tanks from the tap, just add dechlor as you refill or right before. Your fish will be fine.

Good luck,
Jim

 

[victimizati0n]

after we fill the tanks up, we pour the declor in

 

[aquak]

I called the company, and this is what they said: "Stress Coat works instantly to neutralize the chlorine and break the chloramine bond. You can add it to the water outside of the tank or add the Stress Coat as you are adding the water to the tank, it doesn't really matter. I prefer to treat the water before adding it to the tank to make sure that it is safe first. Stress Coat breaks down in roughly twenty four hours so you may want to add more when adding fish the next day to get the benefit from the aloe."

 

[JSchmidt]

Which begs the question of whether aquatic creatures actually NEED aloe....

Anyway, back on thread, what they told Aquak about Stress Coat is true of any plain-vanilla dechlorinator (with or without aloe): it works pretty much instantly. That is also true of treatments (e.g., Amquel, Prime, AmmoLock2) that actually neutralize the ammonia when the ammonia-chlorine bond is broken in chloramines. StressCoat and other plain dechlorinators leave the freed ammonia in its toxic state. Best to use something like Amquel if your water contains chloramines.

HTH,
Jim

 

[aquak]

The container for StressCoat says it also takes care of chloramines. Are you saying they're lying? I also use it because water changes and other events in a fish's life can be stressful and one of the purposes of StressCoat is to ease that stress, not provide a permanent presence of aloe in the tank. Fish lose some of their protective slime coat when stressed and aloe gel is soothing.

 

[anonapersona]

I called the company, and this is what they said: "Stress Coat works instantly to neutralize the chlorine and break the chloramine bond.

Breaking the chloramine bond is not the same as neutralizing the ammonia released. When it is broken, it is broken into chlorine and ammonia, Stress Coat neutralizes the chlorine... but the ammonia remains.

 

[JSchmidt]

From the Product FAQ for StressCoat on the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals website:

Does Stress Coat remove chlorine and chloramines?

It removes chlorine and the chlorine component of chloramine.

I don't think their claim that it works on chloramine is a lie, but it is a bit misleading maybe...

As for aloe being soothing to fish, I've yet to see any evidence that they find it soothing, or even beneficial for that matter.

HTH,
Jim

 

[aquak]

"The ammonia remains" makes me wonder why I never have ammonia after doing water changes. Do I misunderstand you, or where does it go? I am not a chemist, but it says on the bottle that it "neutralizes chloramines." Is something more necessary?