Topping off?

CrunchyLeaf

CrunchyLeaf

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Feb 21, 2012
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Manna
When I inherited my tank it had a bottle of Top Fin dechlorinator with it. I have been using that for the past 3 months when I do water changes on my tank. It was easy to measure out because it was based on a specific number of drops per gallon of water.
I ran out of the Top Fin last week. I have learned in the last couple of months that I hate Top Fin products so I set out to find a new dechlorinator and I settled on the much bally-hooed Seachem Prime. The question I have is about topping off the tank when using this dechlorinator. The measurements for a tank as small as mine (10gal) are a little ambiguous using the threads on the inside of the cap. When I'm topping off I'm rarely adding more than a gallon of water and usually less than that. Can I overdo the Prime? I want to make sure I add enough to dechlorinate the water that I'm adding in the tank, but I also understand that each time I add chemicals into a tank, I am adding something that won't be removed or diluted until the next large water change.

I also have one other question about dechlorinator. Does it really work instantly on the water? When I do a water change I typically pour enough Prime in the tank to dechlorinate the volume that I am adding back in, then I dump the water straight in the tank. Is it possible that it takes it some time to actually remove all the chlorine and I'm losing a little bit of my BB in the process? I've never had a mini cycle or bacteria bloom, but I want to make sure I'm doing things the most efficient way I can.
 
You cannot overdue prime, in addition to dechlor it also helps break down a few other (bad) things in your tank. Dechlor is supposed to act almost immediately (few secs). What you are doing for a wc is just fine, the amount of water your changing wouldnt contain the chlorine to kill off ur BB while being dechlor.
 
i'm always overdosing the Prime and my fish don't see any ill effects whatsoever. i'm bad at measuring, lol, so usually at least 2 to 3 times the needed Prime goes in my tanks.

for topping off less than a gallon, i would use 'a few drops' of prime. that's about all you'll need.

dechlor is supposed to work immediately, so your water change method is fine. up here, i can really smell the chloramine in my tap water, so when i do water changes i do them in the paranoid way - adding Prime to every bucket of water before adding the water back into the tank.
 
I haven't gotten a hose water changer. It seemed excessive for a ten gallon and i live in a basement apartment with no kitchen so i don't even think it would attach properly to my bathroom sink. Buckets are my friend.

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CrunchyLeaf said:
When I do a water change I typically pour enough Prime in the tank to dechlorinate the volume that I am adding back in, then I dump the water straight in the tank.
Click to expand...

If you're adding the dechlorinator to the tank itself, you need to use enough to dechlorinate the entire tank volume, not just what's being added. If you only want to add it to the water being added, you need to mix it prior to pouring the water into the tank. ...even when using buckets.
 
I have a python that runs from all my tanks into the toilet. I used to do it the bucket way until I got my 100 gallon tank. That was the week I bought the 30 foot python. I pull the house in from outside, add the prime to the tank and turn the hose on. Hose in, Hose out. It saves me a lot of work.

I am sure that I add to much Prime to my tanks. And the reason everyone likes Prime is that it removes ammonia and nitrite and some other nasty things as well as chlorine.
 
FWIW, if using a typical eyedropper, there are about 20 drops per milliliter. Might be a little different for a thicker fluid like dechlorinator, but still pretty close. I know it's not harmful to put in extra within reason, but I don't like to overdo additives, so when I was topping off my 5g when it was in service I used the eyedropper.

For the past number of years, I keep several one-gallon jugs prefilled and uncapped for the chlorine to dissipate naturally. I only add dechlorinator when I am filling straight from the tap during a water change.
 
An infant's medicine dropper is great...but don't worry, even Seachem recommends overdose by up to 5 times normal for some issues. Also, chloramine will not gas off like chlorine does.
 
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