>Hi.
Hey there
>I have read in several places about the additional rain in the area changing the >water quality, and especially the increasingly poor Calgary/S.Alberta water >quality... but no one seems to be offering much advice on what to DO about it.
>I can taste the chlorine in the water in Calgary... the past few weeks it's gone up >considerably, and I guess the easiest thing to do is just ask outright:
>Should we be increasing the amount of water conditioners we are using for water >changes, and if so, by how much?
Well I have started doubling the amount of Prime I would normally use. The instructions do say that up to 5 times can be used with no ill effects.
>I would gladly add more AquaSafe to combat the chlorine levels, but without >knowing a few things.. I am rather reluctant. As well, what risks are there to >adding 'too much' AS or conditioner in general? I have heard about "over >sliming" fish... but at what doses will that happen?
As I said above I use Prime, not Aquasafe so I can't speak to what that product would do.
>Has anyone done the math on the recent tap water quality? I am going to go >tomorrow and buy a chlorine test so I can see this myself... but if someone >somewhere else is already running the same tests, then I see no point in >effectively doubling the work.
I've never seen a Chlorine test kit that I can recall... Should be interesting.
>I am going to endevour to test the tap water six times: Once right out of the tap, >after 24 hours with an airstone for circulation, with the recommended dose of >AquaSafe; the recommended dose of Prime; then adding AS until the chlorine >shows zero; and finally the same with the Prime.
An interesting series of tests...
>These conditioners will have you believe (since there is NO documentation >elsewhere to clarify) that they work "instantly" to combat the chlorine in the >water... I hope to also run some tests to find out what the 'actual' time frame is >for the treatments to fully do their job.
I don't know about instantly, but they do also say that if you are adding it to the tank instead of the bucket, that you must dose as if to tgreat the entire tank.
>Or has someone done that, too?
>I guess I feel the need to not only know WHAT I am doing to the water, but the >need to also understand the time frames involved. If my fish will be getting a >little shot of chlorine each water change whereas waiting 10 minutes for each >bucketful to completely nuetralize will make a serious difference... wouldn't that >be important research for the entire community?
Yes I think so... on the other hand I've also never had trouble when doing water changes so I don' know if it matters that much.
Len
