# Can you overdose on water conditioners? (dechlorinator)



## ^iMp^

I'm using tetra aquasafe. Since I have a small tank, its difficult to get the measurements just right when adding water conditioner. Is it possible to overdose? If I had to guess, I could be adding 150% of the recommended dose.

Generally, I fill a 5-gal poland springs jug up from the tap and add the water conditioner to it. This jug sits around for at most a day or two before it ends up being used up and refilled.

I haven't had any difficulties yet, but I'm still curious.

^iMp^


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## Bronx19

Hope not, Im not too accurate with mine. I fill a bucket up and think, "Yeah theres about 30 liters in there", and then give it a few drops.


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## tuna_man_phd

i have never had a problem. when i do water changes i just squirt some in the bucket.


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## Tonyd

I do the same, just give a rough estimate of the dose, and have not had any problems.
Tony


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## cich

I always overdose, hehehehe... No problems as far as I know.
I'd rather have too much than too little.


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## 2la

Yes, you _can_ overdose, but the safety margin is high--usually several times the recommended dose.


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## ^iMp^

2la

Is it possible that successive overdoses will build up in the tank? That is, if I overdose by 50% one day and then overdose by 50% the next day... do I have 100% of a dose floating around in the tank?

I know the math isn't that simple, but you get the jist of what I'm saying--does the stuff linger or slowly dissipate?

^iMp^


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## 2la

Nah...50% "overdose" isn't going to do any harm. I doubt it would persist, but at the same time I couldn't tell you with any certainty what the fate of the molecules actually is. I'd guess eventual degradation (like DOCs), but I'm not sure.


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## tuna_man_phd

what would happen if you did overdoes?


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## csfish

The lfs that I frequent said that an overdose of some water conditioners may harm some tank inhabitants, such as sensitive fish or shrimp...


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## plantastic28

If 2la is correct in that the conditioners will break down into doc's (Dissolved Organic Compounds) Then you could get a nasty outbreak of blue-green algae a.k.a. slime algae a.k.a. cyanobacteria or other algae I should think, no.


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## LiquidEric

When I worked at a pet store the tetra aquasafe declorinator salesman said it was tested to be safe at 100 times recomended dosage on sensitive fish like elephant noses. Also some stores would pump in about 100 times normal dosage of aquasafe in bags of fish as they sod them. Not all products would be safe with such overdoses. For instance Stress Coat can be bad if it is overdosed, but it has aloe vera in it. I don't think that any dechlorinator will be dangerous at a 50% overdose.


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## plantastic28

I hate stress coat! WTH is Aloe Vera gunna do for a fish other then blast more pollutants at it! That stuff will definitely give you an algae problem if you use it too much. Im sorry but Aloe Vera is one Homeopathic remedy that should just die!


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## pedietz

plantastic28 said:


> I hate stress coat! WTH is Aloe Vera gunna do for a fish other then blast more pollutants at it! That stuff will definitely give you an algae problem if you use it too much. Im sorry but Aloe Vera is one Homeopathic remedy that should just die!


Anyone else feel this way ??


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## 2la

Nope. Quite the opposite. I've used it before and only changed to Prime due to economics. There's absolutely nothing harmful about Stress Coat IME, and I've used it routinely at double the dose.


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## tuna_man_phd

i use stress coat all the time due to the fact its cheaper where iam at and i have not had any problems


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## plantastic28

I take issue with the Aloe Vira aspect of Stress coat. Imho it is worthless and does nothing for the fishes stress levels. Just my opinion though.


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## tuna_man_phd

It dont hurt them either


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## pedietz

Doesn't Amquel remove Nitrates ??

Wouldn't that lead to algae issues...


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## AquaTony

I've read on the web that Stress Cote can remove or make unusable nutrients in the water so I've used other products. 

The new product from Kordon, AmQuel+ claims to "remove" Nitrate, Nitite, Ammonia, Chlorine and Chloramines. I emailed Kordon about how it removes Nitrates and did not get a response. I would think that most planted tanks would not want to use this as they are nitrate limited. I on the other hand have tank with Comet goldfish which always has a surplus of nitrate, and a black beard algae problem. I have tried this product, it does appear to lower nitrate, at least the test shows a lower nitrate leve. I can't say that it has fixed my algae problem, maybe slightly improved it at best. The product claims that you can increase or repeat dosages without adverse affects to animals or plants.

I knew a doctor that did medical research on aloe vera and said it was generally very benefical to humans. He was not trying to sell it, but actually said the opposite. He claimed that products and research with aloe vera were not being supported because it wasn't patentable, hence there was little money that could be made attempting to take it to market. I haven't heard much about aloe vera research for the last 3 years.


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