Aquarium Dechlorinator?

[NDNJohn]

Hello Everyone,

Greetings on this great day to be alive. My question is simple and straight-forward. My plants are drinking enough water now to make it impossible to let water set overnight to get rid of the chlorine. Can I use an aquarium dechlorinator to get rid of the chlorine? What does everyone else use forn this process? Thanks a bunch for any answers you can help with.

NDN

 

[SeaMaiden]

Yes, but I personally suggest that if you need to dechlorinate a lot of water quickly, that you just buy dry sodium thiosulfate crystals. $5 gets you 2lbs of ST that's so concentrated you need to either mix it down to a 3% solution to use like one uses aquarium dechlor, or you just sprinkle in a few granules.

This is the method used at one large public aquarium. It's used for all displays, including the mangrove swamps.

 

[NDNJohn]

Dear Sea Maiden,
I have seen you post dozens upon dozens of times just since I joined, my honor and pleasure. Never thought of ST, certainly cheap for the cause. I appreciate your help.

Thanks NDN

 

[socialist]

I always wondered this as well. Great question.

 

[Kcar]

How about a carbon filter? They work really well. Cheap and easy.

 

[SeaMaiden]

I forgot to tell folks where to go for the sodium thiosulfate on the cheap--the chemistry store dot com.

Kcar, I know a lot of growers advocate for that, but I don't know anyone who goes through more water than a public aquarium, and yet they used the ST for its cost effectiveness, ease of use, and instant dechlorination abilities.

 

[Kcar]

I agree. Or when super-chlorinating a pool. But why add the sodium?

 

[SeaMaiden]

Sodium doesn't kill plants, in fact they do need some. Also, with specific regard to the ST, such an incredibly small amount is needed that it doesn't affect other parameters notably. If it did, it would (should?) affect parameters like specific gravity, and I would think that we'd see the most delicate organisms react to it. Yet, they don't. It's perfectly safe to use with the most delicate organisms I personally have handled, and that includes deep sea corals, Gorgonians, anemones of various types, vertebrates such as sharks, skates and rays (these animals are incredibly sensitive to water quality, as sensitive as any invertebrate), sponges, tunicates, Tridacnids, Goniopora corals, SPS and LPS as well as corallimorphs. You can dechlor water used for breeding Syngnathids (sea horses, pipefishes), including leafy sea dragons and weedy sea dragons, to no ill effect.

Same with F/W animals, there is so little used it has a completely negligible effect.

1%-3% (at MOST) solution, used at the rate of 1tsp/gal water.

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

Here is an excellent article about removing chlorine/chloramine in aquariums. It's well worth the read.

Dealing with chlorine and chloramine
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/chlorine-chloramine

 

[fungzyme]

I don't think sitting your water out overnight has been doing anything - most every municipal water supply has converted to chloramine which doesn't evaporate out.
Good to know about the sodium thiosulfate, though - I had been scared away from using it by the 'sodium' in the name...

 

[Kcar]

Does Sodium Thiosulfate remove chloramine?

 

[ak-51]

I stopped letting my water sit out to burn off the chlorine a long time ago.

I don't think you'll see any major declines by just using water straight out of the tap.

 

[SeaMaiden]

Does Sodium Thiosulfate remove chloramine?

It breaks it down by neutralizing the chlorine part of the molecule, so in a sense, yes, it 'removes' it. You are then left with a wee bit of ammonia, IIRC. This causes some fishkeepers problems, I don't think it would cause problems in cultivation, though.