Cheap water conditioner

[RD.]

Wow, that's unreal. I'm not sure what would be so bothersome about pre-mixing some large jugs up with the powder? Once mixed, it remains stable just as long as the Prime does?

Here's what Seachem has to say about their dry powder called Safe:

Q: Can I mix Seachem Safe with water and store the solution to use later on. So instead of using the dry powder, I can use it pre-dissolved.

A: This is completely acceptable to do. We use the same salts that make up Safe to make Prime. In essence, Prime is a liquid version of Safe. If you stored this solution, it would last indefinitely but may require periodic shaking. The measure spoon included in the product is equal to 1/10th of a teaspoon.

As far as I know, the same applies to sodium thiosulfate. As you can see by the info suppled in this article:

http://216.168.47.67/CIS-Fishnet/AFM/G29151.htm

.... a little goes a very long ways.

[Toirtis]

Not so unreal....run a larger shops, or series of shops, and you will see where they are coming from...besides, they get the big jugs of water conditioner seriously cheap (so long as they are for store use), so its not such a big issue.

[RD.]

I suppose if they get the commercial jugs dirt cheap, then that's a different story, although I have no idea what "running a larger shop" has to do with pre-mixing powdered water conditioner? What, these retailers are so busy they don't have 2 minutes to mix up some water treatment?

Assuming a "worst case" of 2.0 ppm of chlorine in your water supply, place 5 teaspoons of sodium thiosulfate in a container that you have previously marked at 44 milliliters. Using the warm water, fill the container to the 44 milliliter mark and shake or swirl the contents until the sodium thiosulfate crystals are dissolved. You now have a safe dechlorinator (to be used at 2 drops per gallon) that treats about 450 gallons (1700 liters), no matter what your local chlorination level.

Two points to remember: 1) The warm water makes the thiosulfate dissolve faster and 2) don't worry about using tap water to make your solution because the amount of chlorine in it is insignificant. Large amounts of the 2-drop solution can be made by placing 1125 grams (2.5 pounds) of sodium thiosulfate into a container and filling it to a measured 2 liters. The 20,000 gallons (75,000 liters) that this solution will treat should keep even the most active aquarist in business for a while.

Bottom line is ......... for the average aquarist, buying pre-mixed, watered down, commercial water treatments such Prime etc-etc-etc, is most definitely NOT the most cost effective way to go.

Edited February 7, 2005 by RD.

[Toirtis]

...although I have no idea what "running a larger shop" has to do with pre-mixing powdered water conditioner? What, these retailers are so busy they don't have 2 minutes to mix up some water treatment?

Relying on employees (that often are hard to trust to feed the fish properly) to mix it, rather than doing it yourself....do you think Peter has the time or desire to mix the dechlorinator that Pisces usues himself?

[vantgE]

I never knew there were so many before

Tetra aquasafe

Hagen Aquaplus

Jungle-A.C.E.-Insto Chlor-Start right-Amonia Clear-Safe Plus

Seachem Prime

Kent Amonia Detox-Pro Chlorinex-Pro tech coat

Aquarium Products Genesis

Kordon Amquel-Novaqua

[RD.]

Yes, lots of them out there, some are great products, some are very misleading and do not work as they claim.