Gfishery wrote:
"NetMax" wrote in message
.. .

Generally, we can only report our observations, but I did ask Hagen's
'fish expert' on this one when he did a store tour. He indicated that it
takes less than 10 minutes to detoxify chlorinated or chloramined water
with their product (and he didn't indicate that there was any time
difference with other manufacturer's products). He recommended adding
the de-chlor to the tank leaving the filters running (to evenly
distribute the active molecules).


I've tried TetraAqua's AquaSafe and currently use Seachem's Prime, and I
usually add it to a bucket of water and let it age overnight.
The next day, there are many bubbles at the bottom and along the interior
sides of the pail of water.
I stir up the water to drive those bubbles out, before using the water in my
tank.
What are those bubbles? O2? CO2? NH3/4?

I figure if I added the de-chlor directly into the tank with water straight
from the tap, all those bubbles would be liberated into my fish tank water
over time, which may not be a good thing.


Air. Your tapwater is cold, so gas solubility is high, and most taps
have a screen aerator that drives a lot of gasses into it. Dissolved
air makes tapwater taste better to most people. As the water warms to
room temperature overnight, dissolved air comes out and bubbles form on
the sides of the pail. If you add heavily aerated cold tap water
directly to the tank, it is possible for your fish to get a nasty
condition called gas bubble disease where gas bubbles form in their skin
and fins. I've never actually seen it happen.

All you need to do to avoid trouble is warm your tap water up to tank
water temps before filling the tank from the tap. Then the gas
solubility is the same. If you can't match temperatures for some
reason, you can also let the water splash into the tank from a few
inches height rather than holding the hose below the surface to drive
off dissolved gasses. Good aeration in the tank will usually work as well.

--
__ Elaine T __
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