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Re: Chlorine



>>>>> Cliff Lundberg <cliff at noevalley_com> (here: "CL"),
>>>>> on Sat, 31 Oct 1998 16:05:44 -0800,
>>>>> pondered the meaning of life, then wrote down:

    CL> From: IDMiamiBob at aol_com
    >> It is intended to use with tap water, and works safely
    >> only because the chlorine evaporates out overnight, and 
    >> the 25% level dilutes it enough to be harmless until then.

    CL> Does chlorine only dissipate though evaporation? I always
    CL> presumed a lot of it combines with stuff in the tank water.

That's what you *don't* want.  Chlorine does quite a number on fish gills 
and sometimes snails.  Plants can recover from the damage, a lot of fish
can't.  High chlorine levels can also kill beneficial microorganisms.

You should take Bob's 25% number with a grain of salt.  It might work in
his tank(s), but it may not work in yours. It certainly doesn't in mine.  
I can only get away with 15-20% straight-tapwater change before I start 
losing cardinal tetras. 

I've learned the hard way not to trust my tapwater too much and unless the 
change is really small, I always use a dechlorinator.  In my case, it's the 
chloramine that's more important, and that doesn't evaporate very easily.

Carlos E. Munoz 
<cmunoz at crystal_cirrus.com>