chloramine the KILLER

[orandablue]

Hi all. I just poisoned all my young fish with chloramine or chlorine. (Not sure which yet) However more water co. are treating with chloramine which does NOT EVER go out of the water till neutralized. This may seem amateur but I got LAZY and was out of dechlor and cleaned out a filter constantly "topping off" with untreated water from our lovely city! Well I thought they treated 2 days from now but my fish started breathing heavy moving slow and when prodded rolled a bit!! I have never seen this! But the reality of chlorine poisoning is real! (or chloramine)
Also if anyne has any exp with this let me know. Will see ya in the clinic. Currently treating with methaline blue. a little salt. This was so shocking that I threw my pasta away cooked in the same water, well from the same supply.
DONT GET SLOPPY!!!

[Corrie]

I don't know how you guys get away with using tap water, either city or well.
Both of our sources down here have to be aerated for a few days to get the pH stabilized. We can't use tap water for anything.
I always have at least 2-3 times the amount of water I think I need, sitting, aged, aerated, adjusted, and ready to go.
Corrie

[orandablue]

Apparently we don't get away with it. Fish all look fine today. I lost one fry in a freak accident during the incident not sure what punctured its gut!?
I guess I had no idea how chlorine could really KILL your fish and so quickly! Thinking about getting some aloe vera stuff for their gills.? The methaline blue stained one of my youngsters nasal bows blue!lol
now he is a designer fish.

[Cincy Ranchu]

May have been pH shock insteqad of Choromines. Tap water comes in at 8 and if you do a big change and you tank has wondered down to 6 you may have just shocked them. Was the tank water green?

[Corrie]

Good point

pH is the main reason we can't use our tap or well water. Both come out above 9. Takes at least 3 days of heavy aeration to bring them down to 8.
Our tap water is not buffered so we have to add baking soda, well water is buffered.

[Guyonthecanal]

Good point

pH is the main reason we can't use our tap or well water. Both come out above 9. Takes at least 3 days of heavy aeration to bring them down to 8.
Our tap water is not buffered so we have to add baking soda, well water is buffered.

If you are adding baking soda ( sodium bicarbonate) to the water to bring up the buffering you are also bringing the pH up.. This is why you take forever to get the pH down by bubbling air through. If you can find some Na Carbonate ( maybe online?) that would be much better. It would buffer and also drop your pH.

[Corrie]

Thanks Guy but it really doesn't matter.
If we don't add baking soda, it still takes the same amount of time for the CO2 to absorb back into the water.

Our well water is because of lime stone and anaerobic processes.

Our tap water is because the water comes out of the wells so hard that they soften it, then add lime back to it.

Either way, it's the lime for us.

We just add the baking soda as a why not. Might as well, it takes the same amount of time.

Corrie

[Ichthius]

If you are adding baking soda ( sodium bicarbonate) to the water to bring up the buffering you are also bringing the pH up.. This is why you take forever to get the pH down by bubbling air through. If you can find some Na Carbonate ( maybe online?) that would be much better. It would buffer and also drop your pH.

Not if your ph is already above 8.2. Baking soda does not exceed that ph. Unless treating a huge amount of water sodium carbonate (swimming pool up) can drive your ph to 12 and you get there far to quickly to add very much carbonate hardness. With baking soda you can bank kh with out driving the ph above 8.2.