Standing water question?

Question

I have to do a water change for my tank but don't have the water cleaner stuff. (Check my last question.) Is it true if you leave water for 24 hours or more it will be safe for the tank?

Answer 1

This used to be true, but it's not true in most places now.

The reason is that water treatment methods have changed.



Tap water in most areas used to be treated with free chlorine, which will outgas from the water in a relatively short time, so that if you leave a bucket of water where it's exposed to air, there will be almost no chlorine left in the bucket after three days or so. The chlorine will escape faster if you bubble air through the water or otherwise agitate it, so that 24 hours would be enough if you had an airstone in the bucket.



Now, however, most communities (at least here in the U.S.) treat their water with chloramine (a combination of chlorine and ammonia). Chloramine is much more stable in water than free chlorine is, so chloramine will not escape from water simply by letting the water sit out.



In other words, go get "the water cleaner stuff."

Answer 2

You do have to ask your water company that question, and their answer may have to vary depending on on the time of year and the various water situations they have to deal with.



If you run your water through a carbon filter, Brita, GE Blue, etc. the chlorine and metals will be removed in a single pass. However if there was chloramine, it will take double or triple the contact time. The carbon does not separate the ammonia from the chlorine. it all ends up trapped in the carbon still in chloramine form.Water companies sometimes "shock" the water lines with bromates and other chemicals to kill potential bacterial threats. You need to know if that is happening before major water changes, even if you have the dechlor or use carbon.

Answer 3

You need a water conditioner. Aging water does remove some of the chemicals- but not all.



Water conditioner is cheap and easy to find (some grocery stores even carry it now) I reccomend amquel+. It detoxifies ammonia nitrite nitrates and chloramines. People don't realize that even tap water can have a little ammonia in it.



If it is an emergency, airate the water really well with an airpump for 24 hours. This will get rid of most of the chemicals. However, it is stupid and dangerous for your fish not to invest in something as simple a dechlor

Answer 4

Depends on your tap water, and how the water company has treated it.



If it's been treated with Chloramine then that takes ages to break down. Letting it stand overnight wont help.



If it's just regular chlorine any residue should gas out overnight.



You may need to call your water company and check what they use.



Ian

Answer 5

No it is not true. They now use chlorine chemicals now instead of chlorine gas that would evaporate overnight. So yes you must use a dechlorinator



Books are the best source of information for keeping an Aquarium

Answer 6

It is false that leaving water out overnight will clear it of chlorine and other harmful chemicals. Leaving it out overnight will only make it room temperature. I recommend going out and buying water conditioner before you add the water to your tank.

Answer 7

yes, the clorine will evaporate in 24 hours, but its not a good ideah to do this very often, becuase the heavy metals will still be in the water. you can also use distilled or spring water, just not very often, becuase those waters do not contain minerals and other things that fish need to be healthy.

Answer 8

That's what I've heard from reading online and my friend that's had fish for a really long time said it's okay to do that so it should be fine.