Dechlorinator -- ok to add more?

[chel]

I'm wondering if it is okay to add more dechlorinator? I added the minimum amount they suggested and think it might not have been enough because I have no bacteria growing after 3 weeks of a fishless cycle even after adding gravel from a friends tank. (see my blog for more info)

Is there a reason I shouldn't add more dechlorinator?

Do I test the pH to see if there is chlorine or chloramine still present? If so, how would I know?

[Wiggs]

Dechlorinator will not speed up your cycle any.

How much gravel did you use from your friends tank? you would be much better off using some of the filter media from that tank as that is where the vast majority of beneficial bacteria resides.

[Alfcea]

To answer your question, most dechlorinators are not toxic, so you can add a bit of an excess safely. That won't hurt and some people here do that regularly. However, if you add a huge excess, you will risk poisoning your fish with it.

I should say, though, that the fact that you are not seeing any bacteria growing has nothing to do with the dechlorinator. Cycling can take literally months. Just be patient. Did you say you added gravel from your friends tank? What exactly did you do? Did you add fish too? and just for the sake of completeness... how are you trying to cycle?

And pH tests will not tell you anything about the presence or absence of chlorine/chloramines in the water. Those parameters are totally unrelated...

[btate617]

You are going to have very little benifit from adding gravel from someone elses tank. If you have access to a tank that is up and running, get their filter media, thats all you need. You can seed your media with it and/or throw it in with your new media also if it makes you feel better. Thats it in a nut shell, seeded filter and you are good to go.

Brian

[chel]

Thanks to everyone for the quick responses ... I went to my LFS for some media and will update my blog as soon as there is anything new to report.