Water Change!!

[pompom]

Guys,

I Want to know how to change water properly? Do u guys just use the water from the tap or u must dechlorinated first?

Well... if u have to dechlorinate first then u must put the water in the bucket first rite.... isn't it quite some work to do... considering u have big tank?

Need some advice here... Thx

[vinz]

Anti-Chlorine/Chloramine work almost instantly, so you can just pour them in before topping up the tank.

Sg chlorine/chloramine levels seem low enough that the fishes can tolerate it. Many hobbyists don't use anti-chlorine/chloramine. I do, as a pre-caution.

[pompom]

Thx vinz....
How to check ur level of chlorine and chloramine?

[tawauboy]

get a cl test kit.....
don't thing many check their chlorine level.

[vinz]

No need to check/test. Just dose as recommended by the bottle. It's probably adjusted to the WHO or whatever International regulating body's recommendation maximum.

Singapore's chlorine/chloramine levels are supposedly quite low. Low enough that many do not use anti-chlorine/chloramine without fish problems.

[chua]

Hi pompom,

I think it is not necessary to add antichlorine.

The reason i give myself is that the fishes you bought from most LFS or fish farm never put it when they change or top up water.

If they are used to it before you buy it then why do you want to change it.

It is only my own opinion.

Thks.

[PeterGwee]

Once the chloramine reaches your tap, the concentration is already negligible (Info gathered from folks working in the waterworks department). For your info guys, heard from folks working in the water department that they will be implementing chloramine dosing for all waterworks come this year as compared to certain waterworks last time round. If you are kiasu or kiasi/ having very expensive fishes, do the safe way as you might never know when the dosing will go wrong.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[vinz]

You how swimming pool water "burns" you eyes. Same thing happens to fish gills. OTOH, swimming pool chlorine levels are MUCH higher then in our tap water.

Anyway, anyone remember the case a few years back when the residents of some private apts got food poisoning because the sewage water got mixed into the clean water tank? What was the end result? Was it something about pte bldgs having to be responsible for their water supply hygiene and that some bldgs resorted to adding their own chlorine?

[benetay]

keep this in mind, prevention is ALWAYS better then cure. I've lost so many fish due to carelessness. :P

[Flare]

I change 50%, about 25USG every weekend. I'll first siphon the water, then add in fresh tap water, followed by 25 drops of anti-chlorine directly into the tank as recommended. The anti chlorine which I bought states that it gives the fishes a protective coating as well. Dunno how true is it. Better to be safe than sorry. No problems so far.

[Jas]

for me, i just use SERA 5-in-1 water conditioner. no salt or other anti-chlorine added.

[elmike]

With due respect to all pro-conditioner hobbyists, the fishes do just fine without all those expensive conditioners. You may "age" your water just like I did throughout my 1st yr of fishkeeping but believe, it will soon become such a drag that it takes away the fun out of the hobby. If you have a big tank, where would you stand your water?

I then learned from a number old hands that they top up direct fr the tap so I gave it go and everything turned out just fine. At 1st, I dosed w antichlorine/ chloramoine and sometimes even blackwater. That also become a drag after a while and I stopped all the dosing after 2-3 mths and my fish did just fine all the same. This is my 3rd yr in the hobby. From a juvenile size of 2 1/2", my angelfish have reached a size of close to 6" and have procreated a number of times. My clown loaches have also attained a good size.

If you're not changing more than 50%, there is the "cushion" fr the dilution factor and chlorine does dissipate quite fast w water movements.

So, do your wallet a favour...

[vinz]

I used to be like elMike (no offense), but I got caught off-guard a few times by suspected chlorine/chloramine problems (it was during SARS scare and NeWater introduction period). It happened consecutive weeks after each water change... bacteria bloom in the water. This lead to the suspicion that my filter bacteria got wiped even though I did not do anything to the filter at all. The only thing that could that would be chemicals like chlorine. The cloudy water would resolve after a few days by itself.

This problem stopped after I started using anti-chlorine/chloramine. No other differences from my usual water change. Coincidence? Maybe.

I haven't tried any proper experiments to test the theory, so no real conclusions can be made. Besides, I have no control nor detailed analysis over what comes in thru the tap.

We can only play safe by using anti-chlorine/chloramine. With SARS and Bird Flu looming, theres no saying when PUB will just increase the chlorine/chloramine dose. That increase could well be fatal to more sensitive fishes or your filter bacteria.

As for the wallet, Tetra AquaSafe is pretty economical. There's at least two versions. The one I'm using has a subtitle like "NH/CL formula" or something like that. 500ml is < $20 (I think) and the dose is 1ml to 20l. For a 250l water change (almost 50% of a 6'x2'x2' tank), it's only 12.5ml, about 20 doses.

[Sleepy_lancs]

How about SeaChem Safe? It removes CL and Chloramine. Any comments?

[joe]

I use Genesis and recommend it to others.

[blur one]

been using genesis also..its quite cheap so I think its a small price to pay for your beloved fishes......better to err...on the safe side

[pompom]

Thanks guys for the reply....

[mervin]

[quote:dfb1646d3a="Sleepy_lancs"]How about SeaChem Safe? It removes CL and Chloramine. Any comments?[/quote:dfb1646d3a]

PRIME is better.

[Sleepy_lancs]

[quote:f621f26119="mervin"][quote:f621f26119="Sleepy_lancs"]How about SeaChem Safe? It removes CL and Chloramine. Any comments?[/quote:f621f26119]

PRIME is better.[/quote:f621f26119]

Not really. If I use Prime, NO3 drops to zero. No good for planted tank.

[Aeon]

I use some cheapo anti-chlorine solution. What I do is pour the recommended dosage at the filter outlet to let it spread after filling up tank with changed water.