It is extremely difficult to overdose chlorine remover. The active ingredient for most chlorine removers is sodium thiosulphate. It is a chemical that, when used in a reasonable manner, will not cause any damage to the fish or other living organisms in the aquarium. This is true especially when using a commercial preparation to remove the chlorine from the water before it is added to the tank. In cases such as these, ten or even more times the dosage will not cause any harm. Although sodium thiosulphate can be purchased in bulk, we do not recommend trying to add the pure chemical to the water. The dosage would be quite high in this concentrated form. But, even in circumstances such as these, it rare to experience any problems from overdosage when used for the removal of chlorine.
The use of this chlorine remover results in a chemical reaction, the chlorine is neutralized and a white precipitate is formed. In most cases normal water maintenance with a gravel cleaner will pull this precipitate out of the tank and there is no chance of any further reactions and prevent any overdose chlorine remover from occurring. There is one case, however, where the use of chlorine remover has been seen to cause serious problems within the habitat. It is extremely rare; and requires some very specific conditions. When they are met, however, the chemical reaction reverses and chlorine is freed back into the aquarium, often killing the fish in the process.
The problem I am discussing requires an aquarium situated in a location where the water supply is treated with chloramine - not chlorine, since this requires at least a double dose of chlorine remover to break the original chlorine-ammonia bond.
The second condition needed for a reverse reaction is that the tank is poorly maintained, if at all. This is where partial water changes are non-existant, and water replaced only when the level of evaporation becomes too great.
The third condition is that the chlorine remover is heavily overdosed whenever new water is added. The need for chloramine removal often results in strongly overdosing the replacement water with the chlorine remover. Over time the precipitate will build up in the substrate, since regular gravel cleaning is not done to groom it.
After about a year or two of this neglect, and strong overdosage of chlorine remover, the phenomenon where the chemical reaction suddenly reverses may occur. Instead of chlorine being neutralized by the addition of a water conditioner, chlorine is actually released. In this extraordinary case, chlorine accumulates rather than dissipates and no amount of chlorine treatment will eliminate it.
At this point, it most often best to do some serious maintenance in the aquarium, before it will once again support life.
Steve Pond
Blueram Group
Visit our website, http://www.freshwater-tropical-fish-tanks.com for our extensive Aquarium Tips and FAQ section to view the video versions of these tips on water and other topics designed to help any aquarist understand the environment that you have created. Freshwater Tropical Fish Tanks is dedicated to providing the information required to be a successful novice aquarist.
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