what do you know about your de-chlor?

[catfishmike]

yesterday at work we had a sales rep from tetra come in and talk to us about selling their products(we are a tetra certified retailer,whatever that means)and the guy from tetra showed us a test.he put 20 drops of both ammonia and chlorine into two sperate containers and began to add some de-chlor amquel on one side and aquasafe on the other.it took 55 drops of amquel and only 5 drops of aquasafe.what do you all think of this?do you have any info on your favorite brand of de-chlor.i don't know if what this rep showed us was hype created tetra to convince us to sell there stuff,or if it realy works that fast but i don't like the idea of using 55 drop before i think my water is safe.it's funny cause the rep from marineland was there at the same time and the two reps were talking and the guy from tetra said that his test kit would work for the other guy as well so i figure that he wasn't embelishing too much.the tetra rep also said that bio-safe is a good product too.that's why he offerd the test to the other guy from marineland
well at any rate what i am asking is do you have any facts of your own that show how well your favorite brand works. i just don't want for my fish to wait for the chlorine to go away while chemicals are slowly working as you add 55 drops or something like that

 

[amishfignewton]

hm, I use "Start Right" which tends to be on the cheap side, but it has always done the trick for me :\

 

[catfishmike]

do you have any chem tests you have done i'm looking for an oppertunity to find out how fast and efective each one is in terms of ammount used price per dose etc.. start right?i have never heard of that brand.i also know that sodium theosulfate is what many fish stores use as it is purchased in bulk.i would do these tests myself but i don't have accses to raw chlorine

 

[AmazonTankz]

Well thats in my faver, I only use Aquasafe!! Don't know why, I liked the bottle at first then I just stuck with it. Good to know it's good stuff!! I recommend it all the time.

 

[catfishmike]

well thats the problem i don't know that it is good stuff.i mean how can you tell when the guy showing you sells and work for the manufacturer.although i don't think he was hosing us i am just interested to find out if the other brands are as slow acting as amquel,as that used to be my de-chlor.

 

[Jawz]

i wouldnt believe that test for a second. Sodium theosulfate is any real dechlor. So it all works instantanteously. You dont kno what was really in that amquel bottle. It could have been half water half amquel or worse. I use Tap Water Conditioner by Aquarium Pharamatecials for the past 6 years with not one problem.

 

[catfishmike]

ok your right jawz but still that doesn't say much i could put elephant snot in my water as a water conditoner and as long as my fish didn't die how would i know?what i am looking for is hard proof like tests done with reagents and ppm counts etc.don't think i'm giving you a hard time but like i said i can't get raw chlorine and some of the diffrent tests are kinda high for me to buy just to do experements.

 

[Jawz]

u dont need test with u kno that sodium theosulfate INSTANTLY dechlor's chlorine, just add a bit extra is always a safe bet. As far as ammonia, amquel helps kill it yet its still gotta become nitrates in your tank. I dunno maybe ill run this through my chemistry teacher nexxt week. it also depends on ur water supply chlorine/chloramine content. You could need more or less dpending on ur area.

 

[exodon]

Dechlorinators

What makes the product good or bad depends on who is using it. As stated, Sodium T. neutralizes chlor., but you must see the manufacturer to know the actual percentage.
Many products offer additonal tonics, conditioners, and aids built into the dechlor. Don't pay for stuff you don't want in it.

Aquatronics - Shieldex is awesome for the normal hobbist. Its effective and had a good quality slime coating for the fish w/ vitE. 4 oz treats 480 gal
Aquatronics - Resque is basically shieldex with some medication. Effective when recieving if necessary, or as a preagent (tonic) when disease is starting. Again, a good product. Dose: is 1 tsp / 20gal. 4 oz treates 480gal.

Hagans Aquasafe - good chlor remover, and claims a slime coating, but is not the quality of others available.
4 oz treats 240gal,

AP StressCoat - Another jem. Probably runner up to Aquaronics, but excellent slime coating for fish, especially when preforming surgical procedures or live exams.

Amquel is often used by resturants as it is typically food safe. DONOT DRINK AMQUEL !
DONOT DRINK AMQUEL !
Excellent product for chlor. ammonia, etc.

Seachem's Prime is a great chlor. remover, a sucky slimer, but an awesome NO2 & NO3 neutralizer. Unsurpassed. An efficent to use. Marine or freshwater.

Wardley's ...um... nevermind...

A BC company makes a dechlor that is just that. Nothing else.

Many ppl prefer to encourage fish slime other ways and want a minimize chemical use.
When buying medications and chemicals, find out what the store themselves use. Be careful tho, because stores owned by their suppliers push what's available to them. Perhaps they don't stock the best, but will order it in for you.


JMHO

Exodon

*based on product experience.

 

[catfishmike]

what would a resturant use amquel for?i think tetra makes aquasafe and hagen makes aquaplus.whats wrong with wardleys,i have a friend who uses it all the time and i have and emergency bottle on hand as well,should i toss this stuff? you think stress coat work huh i have always wondered,i mean i have used it a couple of times but not my favorite cause the aloe vera thing seems like a gimmick.ultimatly what i was looking for is numbers but i suppose you all are just like me no time for experiments.

 

[AndyL]

Dechlorinator? wassat?

Seriously, if your local area doesn't use chloramines, all you need is to aerate your w/c water for 24 hours before adding to tank. No more chlorine! Who doesn't have a spare air pump and airstone kicking around?

I personally use aeration and sc prime (at about 1/2 recomended dosage; just in case...) I usually have some Jungle ACE kicking around too; but it doesn't get used much.

Andy

 

[lizwinz]

i wouldnt think that test meant anything if it was me

first of all how big were the containers? with that many drops of chlorine i would say that (unless they were very big containers) that would be way higher than what is actually in tap water

also you dont need to use raw chlorine to test these products imo just take to containers with tap water add suggested product dosage and test for chlorine...if its 0 then just compare take the number gallons treated with one package and divide by the cost to figure out which are most cost effective

btw the dosage for both amquel and aquasafe is 1tsp per gallon, i've used both and tested zero for chlorine

i think this guy just putting a show on for you that really didnt mean much, it wasnt a realistic situation and you dont know what was in those bottles the amquel could have been watered down and/or the aquasafe could really have been aquasafe pond declorinator

also mixing chlorine and ammonia is NOT a good idea even in small doses it can create toxic fumes

i think all declorinators work the same its just a matter of how concentrated the active ingrediants are...so pond declorinator comes out cheaper per gallon than any products meant for aquarium use

--liz

 

[catfishmike]

thank you lizwins as you are the first who has actualy tested this and gave results that WAS what i was looking for.btw i forgot to mention this the rep from tetra did offer to use bottles right off the shelf.the idea behind mixing ammonia and chlorine was to simulate chloramines because chloramines are harder to break back down into chlorine and ammonia.you are right about mixing chemicals too as you shouldn't mix ammonia and bleach almost the same thing and we all know what happens when you mix those two together.

 

[exodon]

I stand corrected

Tetra is made by Aquasafe and not Hagan.
My apoligies.

amquel is used in holding tanks for crab and lobster, and other live seafood,... as I understand.


Regarding the 24 hours declorination by aeration, I agree that this has been proven to be an effection and economical method, however, chloramines, which many areas use as well, must be chemically neutralized. Aeration won't do this. Check you city water.
As well, one would use such products as necessary depending on what you're doing. Sometimes 24 hours just isnt gonna cut... my point, have a decent one on hand. Use if you want.
Personally, ( I tred lightly here...) I rarely use dechlorinator when preforming weekly water changes... ( about 1000 gal)
Any healthy tank will tolerate alot. Healthy fish , the same.
All in all, its best to play it safe, and do what's necessary for your area.

I was offered this question the other day regarding the use of conditioners that aid in removal of heavy metals, that this can attribute or encouage hair algae growth. Apparently a study...? showed that the Metal Remover additive can easily build up and cause some type of slow reaction if proper water changes and filter upkeep isn't maintained. Makes sense. Doesn't sound harmful, but rather a nuisence. I have not found this to be the case, but then, I havn't really studied it too far. Any one know of this that can clarify?

 

[dgodwin]

I don't bother with declor either. I just pull my water from the tap a day before I plan to do water changes. I have a small waterhead that circulates the water. I've never had a problem... YMMV

 

[catfishmike]

exodon don't appologise it's cool i just don't want any body mixing anything up.that way we don't have people saying one thing and mean another.i forgot all about fresh seafood,that makes sense dechlorinate the water going into the holding tank.
yes that is a very good point about airation and driving off chlorine but some of us don't have the room(i already appropriated one living room as my fishroom)so i must deal with dechlor and adding water straight.where i work we don't dechlor when we top off the tanks but we do dechlor when we do water changes.if you tank has good surface agitaion ther should be no problems either way