water change wait time thingy

[reefpanda]

ok
so when i do water changes i have to fill up a five gallon bucket with tap water and then i put declorinization in afterwards. i usuallly wait a day for it to settle down.
so what im trying to say is
do i need to wait this long or just a couple hours for the dechlorinization to kick in?

idk if that makes sense?

 

[ndepratt]

go buy water at your LFS, since you have such a small tank.

 

[winyfrog]

dechlor ONLY removes chlorine. What about everything else in the water????

As nd said go buy water from your LFS. You will regrett using tap water sooner then later.

 

[AdeptMrSniffles]

Agreed. I buy my water premixed at my LFS. If you want you can just buy the RO water and mix it yourself with w/e salt mix you want.

 

[reefpanda]

well the thing is my LFS is like half an hour away from where i live
also thing thing i put in my water removes other stuff as well so its not just chlorine

 

[winyfrog]

You should be able to buy RO water from a grocery store or walmart.

Dechlorinator will not remove the TDS (total disolved solids) from the water, which will build up in your aquarium over time and cause algae issue as well as death for your animals. Also your water company may add other things to the water to make it safe for you to drink but not safe for animals to live in.

 

[reefpanda]

oooo
i see
i have a 29 gallon biocube

 

[Bifferwine]

You can get reverse osmosis (RO) water from any grocery store or Walmart. Tap water has all sorts of bad stuff in it; chlorine is just one of them.

 

[dcantucson]

Get yourself a RODI unit. Even with a small tank it will save you money in short time. I think a RODI unit should almost be up there with a good Skimmer. I bought and hauled water one time and that was once to much.

 

[mike surtees]

Hi, Your spot on, I couldn't agree more. With RO water, [at zero TDS] your down to basicaly the qaulity of your salt. You should start of as you intend to finnish. All the othere problems with water qaulity come from your own grasp of understanding how to successfully run your tank. But iff you start of right, it will be with RO water. Some people learn the hard way, don't be one of them, sorry for the lecture, I was assisted when I was learning and making mistakes, Iff only I had listened. Regards.

 

[project5k]

I've been "going to get water" since i got this tank, and i'm just using the ro/di/uv stuff that comes out of either the walmart culligan machine, or the water hut that we have here in town. Its a pain, but it works till i can save up for a filter of my very own.

The declor stuff works pretty quickly, but i would suggest that if thats all you have to use, then follow the instructions, but like everyone else has said, getting RO/DI water, or heck, even distilled from walmart in the 1 gallon jugs, is better than using tap no matter how you treat it.

 

[reefpanda]

the remover thing i use
gets rid of
nirates
nirites
phosphates
amonia
and puts a protective slime coat over the fish

 

[Bifferwine]

Okay, but it does not get rid of chlorine, chloramine or heavy metals?

 

[dcantucson]

+1 Biff

 

[reefpanda]

including that stuff i knew i left something out
i'd think that a what declorinator gets rid of chlorine too, but i could be wrong

 

[bjohanson1234]

I have never beleived that those water conditioners actually work.
Please keep in mind that this is my oppinion and may be completely off. But all of those things are still there in the tap waster. They just get chemically bound to what ever is in the conditioner. Who says that over time, the bonds wont eventually break and release those back into the water? Like I said my oppinion but you cant remover stuff by adding more stuff.

 

[dcantucson]

including that stuff i knew i left something out
i'd think that a what declorinator gets rid of chlorine too, but i could be wrong

Your right reefpanda, they do. The reality is the less we have to put into our water the better. That's why everyone says don't add something unless your testing to see if you need it. The best way to treat something or to get rid of something is to find the cause and then approach the solution that way.

 

[project5k]

well, work or not, i've been using the yellow bottle of the dechlor stuff for years and years in my fresh tanks, and that fish has been alive for years, litterally since i moved, like 4 years ago.

 

[dcantucson]

Freshwater vs. Saltwater. Different animal. I had freshwater for years too and often just used tap water for top offs. Freshwater aquariums are so much easier. When are they going to come out with freshwater corals? :lol: :mrgreen:

 

[sen5241b]

Yeah, tap water will cause problems. The dechlor work almost immediately. I used to take jugs to a grocery store and get water. Call around and see who has an RO machine and if its working.