"Aged" water?

[Cattitude]

Just wondering, is there any benefit to aged tap water treated with chlorine/amine remover vs. treated and fresh from the tap? I know there won't be nitrogen bubbles in aged water. Would aged water be less likely to cause stress?

I have two clean betta bowls ready to house two bettas temporarily and the water has been sitting for 3 days after being treated. I'm wondering if I should dump it out and prepare fresh treated water?

[jeffegg2]

I don't see the point of using a clorine remover if you are going to "age" the water. Leaving the water exposed to the air for a day or so should remove all the clorine.

[Cattitude]

Originally Posted by jeffegg2

I don't see the point of using a clorine remover if you are going to "age" the water. Leaving the water exposed to the air for a day or so should remove all the clorine.

I didn't age it intentionally. I prepared it for 2 bettas I'm expecting in a shipment. They were due to arrive on Tuesday but the shipment was delayed. Now they are arriving today.

Just wondering if there are any additional benefits to aged water, even if it has already been treated with chlorine remover. If not I may toss it and prepare fresh dechlorinated water if that's better.

[Oldfishlady]

If you have both chlorine and chloramine in the source water-it is best to use a good quality dechlorinator. Aging water is old school when all we had was chlorine in the water.
You can use fresh dechlorinated from the tap-if making 100% water changes its always a good idea to acclimate the fish back to the water by adding small amount of the dechlorinated tank water to the holding container over 10-15 min....

Longer for new fish and even longer for fish that come from overseas-but add a drop or two of an ammonia neutralizer like Prime to the holding container-often the pH has crashed causing the ammonia to convert to ammonium and as the higher pH water is added for acclimation the ammonium converts back to harmful ammonia....

[Cattitude]

Originally Posted by Oldfishlady

If you have both chlorine and chloramine in the source water-it is best to use a good quality dechlorinator. Aging water is old school when all we had was chlorine in the water.

Thanks for the answers! I will try to be more clear. I used dechlorinator in the water BEFORE it sat for three days. I did not let it sit because I was trying to dechlorinate it. It just happens to be aged, and I was wondering if this would make any difference to the fish I'm waiting for.

Originally Posted by Oldfishlady

-but add a drop or two of an ammonia neutralizer like Prime to the holding container-often the pH has crashed causing the ammonia to convert to ammonium and as the higher pH water is added for acclimation the ammonium converts back to harmful ammonia....

Now I'm confused. Where is this ammonia coming from? The water I'm talking about has been treated and then left sitting in small tanks with lids on them. It has never had fish or anything else in it, other than dechlorinating liquid.

I think I'm just going to dump the old water out of the tanks, rinse them out and replace it with fresh, DECHLORINATED tap water. Problem solved.

[MrVampire181]

Aging doesn't remove everything so it's best to treat it with a dechlor (I use Stress Coat).

Personally I fill a couple of tubs up with fresh clean water and add dechlor and then a few hours later I do my water changes.

With my water changer I fill the tanks with water directly from the sink and add dechlor immediately afterwards.

[Oldfishlady]

Sorry to confuse you....what I am referring to is acclimation of new fish and the water they come in.....not the new water you are using.....

[jeffegg2]

I use a culligan level 4 filter and take out just about everything from the water. Not as drastic as an RO, but more than what I need for clean fresh water for my fish without dosing with chemicals.

http://www.freshwatersystems.com/p-2...e-level-4.aspx

A bit expensive, but I also use it for all our drinking water.

I also "age" the water, but mostly to bring it up to temp in my fish room...

[Cattitude]

Originally Posted by Oldfishlady

Sorry to confuse you....what I am referring to is acclimation of new fish and the water they come in.....not the new water you are using.....

Ok now I understand. Anyway out of curiosity I checked the ammonia levels of the bowls I had set up and there was a small amount of ammonia. So, I just dumped them and put fresh water in. The water conditioner I use also neutralizes ammonia as well as chlorine and chloramine.

My new fish just arrived. I have them in deli cups half full with their old water. I added one drop of conditioner to each cup and am introducing 5ml of the new water every few minutes.

The bettas each came with an almond leaf. I have put their leaves in their new homes. The fish are both very active and seem to be in good health so far.

[Oldfishlady]

Awesome...look forward to pics.....also, nice looking Betta in your avatar-love those colors...

The dechlorinator that neutralize ammonia change the ammonia to ammonium and the test products can't tell the difference-most likely what you seen was ammonium due to the additives.....

Also, you might want to run test on your source water without additives and test again with the additives....this will give you a base line to work off of....

What kind of test products are you using....