Chlorine or Chloramine

[AA24]

Hi all.. I have been wondering about this for the longest time.. Hence, I wrote to NEA and this is their response..

"The chlorine in the drinking water supplied in Singapore is in the form of chloramines".

I guess that means I gotto get the anti-chloramine... But that poses another question.. which is.. As I have been using tap water all this time and at best leave the water to age for a few days before use, how is it that the nitrifying bacteria in my tank doesn't get killed when I add the aged water, as chloramine would not have dissipated..??..

Thanks..

[Quixotic]

Chloramine does actually dissipate, but over a much longer period than chlorine. And even if nitrifying bacteria gets killed, it cannot be assumed that your fishes will suffer instant deaths, especially so in a planted tank.

Diana Walstad states that plants prefer ammonium uptake although that does not guarantee all of them will grow better, though she hypothesises that they probably do. The whole idea is that considering plants readily take up ammonium and probably grow better, biological filtration (nitrification) can be deemphasised in aquariums with healthy aquatic plants.

Some FAQs on chloramine in PDF format from San Francisco Public Utilities Commission which I find to be really good reading.
http://sfwater.org/detail.cfm/MC_ID/...ord/chloramine

I don't think it is as clear cut as black and white, there are definitely some grey areas, so mileage may vary. This is probably why some don't use any dechlorinators at all.

[AA24]

Thanks QUIXOTIC for the info and the really good link.. Sooooo... the options available if I wanted to get rid of the chloramine are ..

1. use an activated carbon filter at the the tap.
2. add citric acid in the form of orange or lemons to the water for about 30 mins. 1 orange per gallon..ie 4.2ltrs..
3. dissolve a vitamin C tablet in the water.
4. buy water conditioners for chloramine from LFS. (not anti-chlorine)

please help to correct the above if I got it wrong.. ..

thanks again.........

[|squee|]

I've been using water straight from the tap for about a year now, no fish/shrimp deaths.

[Aquaculture]

Me too... After upgrading to a 422 tank, can you imagine how much space u would need to treat the excess water? Especially when most of us live in HDB flats...

[Quixotic]

.... the options available if I wanted to get rid of the chloramine are ..

1. use an activated carbon filter at the the tap.
2. add citric acid in the form of orange or lemons to the water for about 30 mins. 1 orange per gallon..ie 4.2ltrs..
3. dissolve a vitamin C tablet in the water.
4. buy water conditioners for chloramine from LFS. (not anti-chlorine)

Seriously, 2 and 3 aren't practical for aquarium water usage as I don't know if we wanted to add anything that changes water parameters. These are probably more for other water usages.

The easiest method is to get de-chlorinators (that removes chlorine and chloramine) for aquarium usage. Frankly, even with a 4x2x2 feet tank, you won't cost that much of the de-chlorinators to treat the water.

See this related thread, most aquarists will use de-chlorinators regardless, and as mentioned, milage may vary.
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=19917

[Aquaculture]

Hi Quixotic. Seems like the usage of de-chlorinators depends very much on the psychologically effect it has when you do use it. Just read the thread u provided. Some use it, some don't... although some swear by it. But both school of thoughts has no adverse conclusion.

Does anybody has some encourging results from the usage of it? Like healthier fish, brilliant colours, etc.... I'm very curious and thinking of rushing off to purchase a bottle of Seachen Prime as recommended by some bros.

[Quixotic]

Basically, de-chlorinators aren't trace elements or vitamins that help keep your fish healthier or in better colours. If you have read, chloramine is much more harmful to fishes (depends on the fish too) than chlorine. So their main usage is to bind/remove chloramine, to protect your fish from harm (which does not necessarily translate to healthier fish and such).

The toxicity of chloramine to aquatic organisms is dependent on biological species, chloramine compounds, presence of chlorine and organic chloramines, pH, temperature, exposure duration and life stage of the biological species (Environment Canada, 2001)

I don't think it's just merely psychological in the use of de-chlorinators. Some aquarists do experience fish deaths after water changes. However, it isn't really conclusive what actually causes the deaths, unless you have good test kits to confirm. It may very well be chloramine, or ammonia, or heavy metals (or even something else) that causes those fish deaths.

Some de-chlorinators actually remove chloramine, chlorine, and heavy metals. Some additionally bind ammonia to an inert state, and detoxifies nitrite/nitrate. For those who use de-chlorinators and fish stops dying, it is still inconclusive to point out that chloramine is indeed the culprit considering the many variables.

For others like me, who have stopped using them, I had to experiment and discover that the water contents I use have no adverse effect. However, it doesn't mean the water conditions won't change in the future, so you just have to manage the risk.

Regardless, there is no harm in using de-chlorinators and it is an added protection against the unknown contents of your water (if the de-chlorinators work as they should, which I think they do). This is why most of aquarist will still use de-chlorinators. I have one on standby, just in case.