5 Best Dechlorinators and Water Conditioners for Aquariums
Chlorine in your aquarium can be very harmful – it can kill all your fish and other animals in your tank. In order to clean the chlorine out of your water, you have to put chemicals in it. More precisely, dechlorinators.
You want to be careful when adding too many chemicals in your aquarium water, though. Too much of chlorine will harm your fish, but put too many chemicals in and you would end up having the same effect.
How does chlorine get into your tank water? If you use tap water to fill your aquarium, it is going to contain some chlorine. But before you start building your aquarium or before you add some water to the tank, it is important to make it suitable for the fish to live in it. This means getting rid of the chlorine in the water.
5 Best Chlorine Removers for Aquarium
In the following part of this article, we will take a look at the best dechlorinators you can use to do that.
1. Seachem Prime for Fresh and Saltwater
The Seachem Prime Conditioner is one of the best choices for dechlorinating your aquarium. It offers powerful treatment to eliminate chlorine out of the water completely.
Not only that, but it also detoxifies other chemicals in the water, such as nitrite, ammonia and other heavy metals that are present in tap water.
You want to add Seachem to the water before you put fish in it. Use small doses – for a 200 liter tank (50 gallons), you should use a capful of Seachem, which is about 5ml. If you have a smaller aquarium, you should use less of the chemical.
Do not use too much, or the fish and other living beings in the water will be harmed. This product is very effective for dechlorinating your tank water.
2. API Tap Water Conditioner
Similar to the Seachem, API tap water conditioner will remove chlorine from the tap water and will also work to eliminate heavy metals and chloramine. This conditioner comes in liquid form; you will want to use only a drop per gallon (3.8 litre) as it is very strong. It is best used before you put the water into the aquarium.
It is not only useful for aquariums, but it has other uses as well. For example, it can be used by swimmers to remove chlorine from bathing suits. But let us focus on this product for aquariums.
When using it for aquarium water, you want to be careful that you do not put too much of this product into the water. Carefully inspect the manual and put the required amount of the conditioner into the water.
When used correctly, this product is a good option if you want to dechlorinate your water and get rid of the unwanted chemicals in it.
3. Tetra AquaSafe Plus Water Conditioner
Like the previous two products on this list, the Tetra AquaSafe Plus water conditioner ensures that the tap water you will put into your aquarium will be rid of chlorine and other chemicals harmful to fish, such as chloramines and heavy metals. The product also claims that it helps fish heal wounds from abrasions, providing a slime coat for the fish.
The reviews for this product are raving, which is a good indicator of the quality of the product. You only need to add a spoonful for a gallon in order for it to be effective.
The Tetra AquaSafe also has a mobile app, which is a helpful tool for helping you to keep your tank water clean. This provides also provides testing kit, which would a good addition for you if you want to keep your water clean on a regular basis.
4. Vanish Plus Liquid Dechlorinator
The Vanish Plus liquid dechlorinator is another option on this list if you are looking for a good dechlorinator. This product is effective, easy to use and it will work instantly. It will remove chlorine, heavy metals and it will also provide slime coating or the fish to protect them.
This is a good option for all sizes of aquariums, but also for bigger tank sizes and ponds. One 32 ounces (0.9l) bottle will be enough to treat 6400 gallons of water, so you can see that the product is quite strong and effective.
This is a good dechlorinator if you have a garden pond or a lake, but also for smaller sizes, but you will have to adjust the doses you will use.
5. Fritz PRO Concentrated Chlorine Remover
Fritz PRO is a good option if you want to get rid of chlorine in the tap water. Unlike other products on this like, it will not get rid of heavy metals and it will not alter the PH of the water, but it is very effective for removing chlorine and chloramine.
It is enough to use just one teaspoon of the product for 150 gallons of water (567l), so a bottle of Fritz PRO will last you a long time. It will come in a bottle of 10 ounces. For smaller units of water, be sure that you do not put too much of the product into the water.
It is safe to use and effective, and you can use it for all types of water – saltwater, freshwater and ponds. If you are looking for a powerful and effective chlorine remover, look no further than the Fritz PRO concentrated chlorine remover.
Why Use Water Conditioner / Dechlorinator?
If you use tap water to fill your aquarium, it will almost certainly contain chlorine in it. Chlorine can be very harmful to fish, even in small quantities. So it is very important to get rid of the harmful chemicals before you put the fish into the water. Chlorine can also damage your biological filter which will lead ammonia to gather in your pool.
That is where water conditioners and dechlorinators come into play. These products will be used to clean the chlorine out of the water instantly, so that you can put the fish into the water. Chlorine can kill your fish, so it is import to use these products.
Why Tap Water Contains Chlorine?
Tap water contains chlorine as it is a very effective disinfectant that kills bacteria which can be harmful for humans. These bacteria can cause diseases which is why chlorine is very good to keep it healthy to drink.
If there was no chlorine in the tap water, the diseases would spread quickly; diseases like cholera, typhoid and dysentery. The idea of chlorine in tap water was first introduced in the 19th century in the UK.
That is how chlorine comes into the tap water. But chlorine is not good for aquariums and you will want to get rid of them using dechlorinators.
Does Well Water Contain Chlorine?
Water from the well is a natural way to get water. But that does not actually mean that it is healthier than tap water. It is actually a lot of the time not safe to drink, as it does not go through the same cleaning process as the tap water.
This means that it does not contain chlorine. But it is still not the best water to use for your aquarium. It tends to contain other harmful chemicals that can hurt the fish, such as industrial and farming chemicals. If you use well water for your tank, it might a good idea to get it tested to see if it is harmful.
The quality of the well water can depend on the well it is coming from, too. It can be clean in some wells, while from some wells it is not advisable to use it. You will not have to worry about chlorine in well water, but there some other risks that you will want to consider.
Are Dechlorinators Harmful for Fish?
Dechlorinators can be harmful to fish if they are used in doses that are too high for the amount of water you have in your aquarium. If you want to get rid of chlorine alone, it is best to use those products that offer just to get rid of the chlorine.
If you use products that offer other services, such as slime protection for the fish and getting rid of heavy metals and other things, there might some problems over time. These products can leave a build-up in your water which will be hard to clean.
To prevent that, make sure that you do not use too much of the product in the first place. Check the instructions or the manual that comes with the product. If overtime this build-up occurs in your water, it is important that you have a good filtration system that will clean the water.
So make sure that you do not put too much product into the water and set up a good filtration system.
Conclusion
To conclude, water dechlorinators are very useful for you if you want to keep the water clean for the inhabitants. Tap water often contains harmful amounts of chlorine in it, so it can kill your fish. You want to test your water often to see if it has too much chlorine.
If that happens, buy a dechlorinator and put it into the water. Again, you want to be careful with the chemicals and make sure that you don’t put too many chemicals into the water. This may harm the fish too.
Tap water contains chlorine to avoid diseases like cholera and typhoid to spread. If you are using well water for your aquarium, it does not contain chlorine, but it may contain other harmful chemicals. In that case, you want to test the well water thoroughly before putting into the tank.
All in all, dechlorination products are a must if you are using tap water to fill your aquarium. However, there are other alternative methods to remove chlorine from tap water.
Please let me know in the comments below, which is your favorite water conditioner.
