Y'all - this hobby gets expensive quick. We all know it. So here's a tip I learned a while ago to help with saving money on water changes if you're using dechlorinator/safe or the like. I'm pretty sure we all have heard of safe being the best bang for your buck when it comes to water dechlorinators and detoxifiers. Well if you
only have chlorine in your water - not a chemist so it may do more but I know it at least removes chlorine - you can use Sodium Thiosulfate. This can be bought online from chemistry supply stores or probably at a large markup from your general online retailers. Currently the cheapest I can find it is about $26/5lb. (free shipping)
Now get ready for some math.
From the manufacturer
Concentrate: Add 4 ounces Sodium Thiosulfate to 1 gallon of water.
Use: Add 1 drop of concentrate per 1 gallon of water to be treated
1 drop treats 1 gallon
1 drop = 0.05ml
20 drops = 1ml
1ml treats 20 gallons
~3785ml = 1 gallon
1 gallon treats 3785 x 20 = 75,700
1 gallon of Sodium Thiosulfate treats 75,700 gallons
It takes 4oz to make 1 gallon
At $26/5 lbs = $0.325/oz
4oz to make our 1 gallon = $1.30/75,700 gallons treated
Or $0.0000171731
Safe says on its website
Use 1.25 g (1/4 tsp.) for every 1,250 L (300 US gallons) as needed to reduce chlorine and chloramine or use 1.25 g (1/4 tsp.) for every 300 L (75 US gallons) for ammonia.
Comparing apples to apples, we'll use 1.25g for every 300 gallons. It also says on the bottle that 1kg treats 240,000 gallons.
Cheapest I can get this is usually $35/kg but I saw it on sale for $24, so let's use that. $24/240,000 gallons treated
Or $0.01/gallon treated
That's a lot less zeroes
If you're having trouble, let me go the other way with the numbers.
5lbs of Sodium Thiosulfate for $26 treats 6,056,000 gallons
1kg of safe for $24 treats 240,000 gallons
Obviously your prices and water may vary but if this can help you save money like it does me, I hope it helps