Woah...I'm actually using Y!A to get an answer to something? *help with fish tank?

Question

So lets see if yahoo answers actually works in the way its "meant to be used". according to them at least.

*Anyone who owns a salt water fish tank could help me out with this.

I've filled up my tank with water from my hose. I know theres chlorine in that water. Will the chlorine go away on its own through the live rock and filter? Or should I add something before I put in a fish?

Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

You will definitely want to add something that nixes chlorine and chloramine. Live rock is just that, live, with bacteria and organisms. Chlorine kills all that good stuff, as well as any bacterial colonies in your filter.

Answer 2

IF what your water company uses is chlorine, it will go away in 24 hours. If you have live rock in the tank already and have added the water from the tap without treatment, any chlorine in it will kill any bacteria or other organisms that came with the rock, however. Tap water should only be added to the EMPTY tank, the first time you mix the salt.

It's always best to draw the water into 5 gallon buckets or a larger container (I use a 30 gallon plastic garbage can for mixing). This way you don't have to worry about differences in temperature or concentration of salt when the new water is added to the tank. Large changes in temperature or salinity isn't good for the organisms in your tank. Saltwater should be adjusted with a hydrometer so it's the correct salinity before you do a water change. If you're just topping off the tank to replace water lost from evaporation, use water without added salt - the salt doesn't evaporate!

Also, are you certain what your water company uses is chlorine? Because it does dissipate in 24 hrs, many companies are changing to chloramine (a combination of chlorine and ammonia) which can only be removed chemically. If you use a conditioner only meant to remove chlorine, or one that "breaks the chloramine bond", you'll be releasing both chlorine and ammonia (both toxic) into your tank, and these will kill the bacteria and other organisms as well. Some conditioners will treat both, but the dose is different, and more is needed to remove the chloramine. A call to your water company can let you know which chemical they use.

It's always safest to add the conditioner, as many types also neutralize harmful metals, which no amount of "sitting out" will do.

Generally, unless you keep only fish, or fish with live rock (and don't care about other organisms than the bacteria) reverse osmosis water is the preferred type for mixing saltwater. Tap water is permitted to contain amounts of nitrate and phosphate, both of which are plant fertilizers, and they do an excellent job of fertilizing algae as well.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, if you put your live rock in the chlorinated water, you just killed your "live" rock. And now you have to clean the filter.
Next time you have to condition the water OR wait atleast 1 day before you add anything "live"(so the chlorine can evaporate out of the water).
The reason you must clean the filter is that it holds chlorine and can suddenly release it later down the road(say, when you have fish).

Answer 4

The water needs to be treated with a chlorine remover BEFORE going into the tank, especially if you put live rock in it already. Sometimes if you leave the water sit for like 3 days it will eventually go away, but theres no guarentee especially because you don't know how much you have in it to start with.

Answer 5

It depends on whether your city adds chloramine to the tap water. If they don't you can let it sit for 24 hours and the chlorine will go away on its own. If they do you'll want to use a dechlorinator.

You can call the city and ask. The water department number is in the blue pages of your phone book - call the emergency nights and weekends number so you get a human. They are usually very helpful.

Answer 6

If your tank is well aerated the chlorine will out-gas in about a day.