do i need water conditioner?

[not so master reefer]

i have my 20 gallon convict cichlid tank for a week and i only used tap water. my question is do i need water conditioner?if yes, why? can someone please give me a link of a good water conditoner. :bandana: thanks!

[JFlo]

I use Prime when I do water changes. What are your water peramiters? Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, PH, etc.? How is the activity of the fish? Do they eat?

[poconogal]

Are you on city water? If so, I'm sure you have chlorine and possibly chloramine in your water. You need a water conditioner. If you're on a private well, like I am, you don't really need one since private well water doesn't have chlorine etc., unless your water has nitrates, then you'd benefit from using a product like Prime. If you are on a water source that has chlorine and you continuously subject your fish to it you will have dead fish. Chlorine burns the gills, so you'll need a dechlorinator. If you have chloramine, you will need a conditioner that removes that as well since straight dechlorinators don't deal with chloramine. Prime will work for all cases. I believe Ultimate will too.

[not so master reefer]

the water paramiters are good. and their activity is also fine. as of now i dont see any problem with my tank. i just want to know what are the advantages in using water conditioner. is it optional to use water conditoner?

[poconogal]

Not optional if you have chlorine or chloramine. See above.

[not so master reefer]

yes, im using city water. can you please show me a link of the prime conditioner. thanks!

[poconogal]

Here's one. You can do a google search and come up with tons of places that sell it.


http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCatalog/ctl3684/cp18580/si1380530/cl1/seachem_prime_500_ml?&query=prime&queryType=0&offset=

[not so master reefer]

thanks guys! is this an all around water conditioner?can i put this directly to the tank?or should i mix it in the bucket? how much do i need for a 20g tank?

[JFlo]

The directions are on the bottle. I think it is one cap per 50 gallons, but Im not sure.

[poconogal]

thanks guys! is this an all around water conditioner?can i put this directly to the tank?or should i mix it in the bucket? how much do i need for a 20g tank?
It's an all around conditioner good for chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. I put it directly in the tank but they recommend putting it in your water change barrel. I think JFlo is right, 1 capful is for 50 gals., but the bottle has additional dosing instructions involving the lines inside the cap.

[not so master reefer]

btw my 2 covict cichlid spent almost a week in that tank without water conditioner. are they going to be fine? last question is do i need to take out all water from the tank? and replace it with new water with water conditioner? sorry guys im new to this hobby:D

[poconogal]

After about 24 hours (maybe more depending on the amount of chlorine in the water) chlorine dissipates from water so you should be okay to leave what's in the tank. When you do your WC though, you need to be rid of the chlorine so that it does not burn the fish's gills and on certain days, chlorine content may be higher than normal due to your municipality's fresh dosing. During that time, the chlorine level can kill the fish.

[not so master reefer]

thanks for your help poconogal!!!:angel: i forgot to ask you about the water change. lets say the water in my tank right now is already treated by a water conditioner. in my next water change, do i have to perform a full water change?how much?im afraid that the water conditioner dosage will accumulate if i dont do full water change.

[poconogal]

If you do a 50% WC on a 50 gal. tank, that is about 25 gals., you would dose the water conditioner for 25 gals. of water. You don't need to do 100% WCs because of the water conditioner.

[not so master reefer]

i see! :bandana: is it harmful to fish i exceeded the dosage of the water conditioner?

[Eddie]

i see! :bandana: is it harmful to fish i exceeded the dosage of the water conditioner?

I know Prime can be used at 5X the regular amount. I don't know about others as I have never used anything except Prime. ;)

Eddie

[Jhhnn]

If you live in a larger metro area, then your water dept probably has a website where you can learn all about your water. This is the Denver water dept site, for example-

http://www.denverwater.org/

They use chloramines- most big water depts do, at this point. You can also call to find out.

Water conditioner is always a good idea, preferably added before the water goes into the aquarium. Your convicts are known for being hardy and tolerant of poor water, which is probably why you still have them.