Do I need water conditioner or am I good?

[annalyn]

If I am going to use water bottles to fill up my tank, do I still need water conditioner? Is water conditioner a necessity?

Edited March 11 by annalyn

[TOtrees]

Should be fine. 

[annalyn]

So is that a yes or no?

 

[MattyM]

Maybe put a test strip in the bottled water and see if there's any chlorine - that's mostly what the concern is. 

[lefty o]

On 3/11/2024 at 11:44 AM, MattyM said:

Maybe put a test strip in the bottled water and see if there's any chlorine - that's mostly what the concern is. 

this, as surprise many bottled waters just come right from some city's water supply.

[Whitecloud09]

I always just use the water conditioner even if there is no chlorine to be safe, if you don’t have a way to test chlorine then I would definitely add some @annalyn

[Lonkley]

A bottle of dechlorinator is cheap and lasts forever. Bottled water is usually filtered city water and city water could be fine for months then get a dose of chlorine. It's just easier to add a few drops

[Tony s]

I think the general consensus is that, yes, you probably need to use it. just to be on the safe side. you could possibly be okay with not. but you're also possibly risking the health of your fish. 

[Guupy42]

The water conditioner I use, API Stress Coat, also doubles as an artificial slime coat to help calm fish down from stress, so even if you don't need to dechlorinate your water, it can still be somewhat useful. (I still use it for dechlorination.) I agree with what the others say, just for safety reasons and the health of your fish. Besides, getting a conditioner / dechlorinator would also allow you to use tap water, instead of bottled water.

[Guupy42]

The water conditioner I use, API Stress Coat, also doubles as an artificial slime coat to help calm fish down from stress, so even if you don't need to dechlorinate your water, it can still be somewhat useful. (I still use it for dechlorination.) I agree with what the others say, just for safety reasons and the health of your fish. Besides, getting a conditioner / dechlorinator would also allow you to use tap water, instead of bottled water.

[Whitecloud09]

On 3/11/2024 at 4:02 PM, Guupy42 said:

The water conditioner I use, API Stress Coat, also doubles as an artificial slime coat to help calm fish down from stress, so even if you don't need to dechlorinate your water, it can still be somewhat useful. (I still use it for dechlorination.) I agree with what the others say, just for safety reasons and the health of your fish. Besides, getting a conditioner / dechlorinator would also allow you to use tap water, instead of bottled water.

Yes, same I use stress coat and prime, not at once but I have both.

[Lonkley]

I keep it simple, I just use api tap water conditioner.  A 8oz bottle is like less than $10 and treats 5000 gallons.  I've had it for a couple years, doesnt  really feel like i've made a dent.

 

[Biotope Biologist]

I know some municipalities and wells have water thats non-potable, but using water bottles will become very expensive.

 

Check if there is a local spring you may fill up at or worst comes to worst go to your LFS and ask to fill up 5 gallon water totes from their tap, they will usually be amenable.

 

As someone who worked with farmers that had non-potable well water this seems to be the most cost efficient way of doing water changes. I was more than happy to give them tap water. Bottled water adds up quick even if you buy the big costco packs. Not to mention the plastic waste 😬

[JohnNYC]

A LFS here in NYC told me that they don't dechlorinate because the levels are so low. I did test my tap water once and I saw no indication on the test strip of chlorine or chloramine. That being said, I use Dr. Tim's First Defense just to be careful with the added benefits similar to Stress Coat. Plus it detoxifies heavy metals and there are old pipes in our building.