# Water Change.. Do I Really Need to use dechlorinator?



## Danny200 (Aug 8, 2008)

i need a water change and i also have run out of any tape safe/dechlorinator or w.e you call it and my pet store has none either and ordering it online will take a few days..

Anyways i never have actualy used it at all befor for my old fish like my oscars and such... i always just put in water straight from the tap without adding anything and they seemed fine..

anyways i recently started using tape safe cus i now got new fish (neons, clown loach, shrimp)

and i gota do a water change but have no tape safe... so can i just put water in and it would be fine?


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

if your local shop has none of any description they should shut down in all honesty lol
i work in a lfs and we have about 5 different ones in stock

as for taking a few days if you order it online, unless your water quality is really poor, waiting a few days will not hurt

try looking in your local supermarkets or wilkinsons, most sell fish foods and wilkos has quite a range( if you've got a Range near you go there ) of fish stuff


going back to the question at hand, yes use dechlorinator when you do a water change, the amount of chemicals that is in raw tap water can be very harmful to your fish. if you're keeping clown loach and shrimps i'd definately use it, clown loach can be very sensitive, as can the shrimp


Daz


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

agreed, you need dechlorinator, the fish may survive it, but its doubtful your bacteria to keep your tank cycled will do and it can cause a lot of issues if your cycle crashes. not worth the risk, find some dechlorinator, as said so many places sell it and there are several types that i cannot imagine for 1 minute that nowhere has anything. if you cant find any, just hold off on the partial water change. much safer all round.


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## Christie_ZXR (May 14, 2011)

You defo need to use it, my local tesco actually sells dechlorinator, but its a pretty big tesco


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## sn8ks4life (Jul 27, 2011)

or just fill a bucket up and over night let it stand, all the crap usually evaporates from it and its safe to use the next day, but the dechlorinator is a must usually.....


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## Jack the kipper (Aug 26, 2008)

You could easily do a 10% water change without needing dechlorinator.


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

^^^could, but why risk it for the sake of a day or 2?


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## Jack the kipper (Aug 26, 2008)

I said 10% to be safe but i'd have no problem going up to 25% without considering it a risk to be honest with you.

Sticking it in a bucket or something similar with and airstone for 24hrs is the best bet if your not sure.

I wouldn't waste money on expensive, unnecessary, dechloninators anyway, they're a rip off imho.


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## sn8ks4life (Jul 27, 2011)

Jack the kipper said:


> I said 10% to be safe but i'd have no problem going up to 25% without considering it a risk to be honest with you.
> 
> Sticking it in a bucket or something similar with and airstone for 24hrs is the best bet if your not sure.
> 
> I wouldn't waste money on expensive, unnecessary, dechloninators anyway, they're a rip off imho.


well they are good and i would use dechlorinators, well i do.. but if u got a massive tank with an external filter that filters atleast two times as much water as is in the tank i should filter it quick enough to clear all the rubbish anyway, ide still use the dechlorinator to be safe, imo..


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## littlefoot (Dec 6, 2007)

Hi,in my opinion it is absolutely neccessary to use water conditioner.It not only removes chlorine it also neutralises chloramine and detoxifies heavy metals.

Leaving water to stand or to aerate it will eventualy remove chlorine but not chloramine or heavy metals.To add water without conditioning it will kill the beneficial bacteria in the tank and filter and obviously then you will have huge problems.Not to mention what it will do to the fish even before they start to run into problems because you have killed the bacteria.


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## callum b (Sep 8, 2008)

You absolutely definately have to use dechlorinator/water conditioner for fish, especially if you are keeping clown loach.

Apparently water companies used to only use chlorine to treat tap water but nowadays they also use chloramine. As littlefoot said, this does not 'diffuse' out of the water and so leaving a bucket to stand for how ever long will not make the water suitable for fish.

Dechlorinators aren't even expensive and everywhere sells them now. If your really tight lol and are fairly careful when measuring out the right quantity to treat your tank, get a bottle of pond water conditioner. It's far more concentrated, 10ml will treat 200l. So if you buy a 250ml bottle for around a £10 -£15 it'll last nearly 2 years for a 200l tank that has a 25% water change a week (if my maths is right lol).


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## Jack the kipper (Aug 26, 2008)

I have some Clown Loach that are doing fine in water that gets a 10-15% change every other day, straight from the tap.

Chloramine does break down naturally, it just takes longer. And the biofilm in a mature filtration system will remove any heavy metals. 



Just throwing a different opinion out there, innit. 
If i was novice, i'd go with the majority here and use dechlorinators.

Peace


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## fishboy (Aug 7, 2007)

Water companies rarely add actual chloramine to the tapwater but the seperate chlorine and ammonia which they add at different stages can bind to make chloramine.


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## mikeyb (May 8, 2011)

Ebay seachem prime seachem prime | eBay dont be knob and use chlorinated tap water and damage ur fish the bacteria etc


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## callum b (Sep 8, 2008)

Why are there always people who think that because their animal is surviving its ok to skip on something that really doesn't take any extra time and can cost you just pennies. And then they are smug enough to say they are putting a different idea out there?!? 

Has any decent shop, magazine, book, website, fish expert etc. etc. ever once said you don't have to use dechlorinator?? No. It's not an idea, it is bad husbandry and to any newbie fish keepers reading this thread, ignore anyone that claims you don't have to use water conditioner.
Yep, I'm sure you could keep your fish going for a while without ever using water conditioner, but the chemicals you are allowing into your tank are harmful to your fish and bacteria. This is going to be having a negative impact on their health. And whether they are killed within a few hours of being in unsuitable water or it takes a few years to wear them down and end their life, it will more than likely be the cause of, or a contributing factor to your fishes death.


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

My tank is 800 litres and I chew through dechlorinator. It doesnt matter if your changing 30 litres or 300 litres, I always use dechlorinator.

Its not just made up to fill a shelf, it serves a purpose!!!

I was also listening up until the point you said "innit"

Ya ken whit am saen


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## catch and release (Jun 1, 2011)

caribe said:


> My tank is 800 litres and I chew through dechlorinator. It doesnt matter if your changing 30 litres or 300 litres, I always use dechlorinator.
> 
> Its not just made up to fill a shelf, it serves a purpose!!!
> 
> ...


Yet another person who is innist:lol2:.



catch and release


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