Chloromine In Jhb water?

Hi Prof!

If The jhb water services mixes ammonia & chloride together don't you get Chloromine?
I'm worried that the de-chlorinators that we use with sodium triosulphate are not enough to remove everything harmful.

 

I have heard that chloromine is only really found in KZN water, not here. But let's see what Prof says.

 

No, the ammonia and chloride will definitely not give you what is called Chloramine T, so you do not need to worry about this. What you need to find out from your municipality is if they are adding Chloramine T specifically, I know that Durban Municipality was considering to add this to their water. All European dechlorinators do react with chloramine T so no worries there. If your water is treated with Chloramine T though, aeration, with which you can remove chlorine, is no longer good enough to remove this and you have to use a dechlorinator, which I would not like to do as this then adds new chemicals to your water.

On the other hand one should actually be pleased if chloramine T is added to one's drinking water because it stays there longer and it is a better sterilizer than the old chlorine!

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Prof, if I understand you correctly, you are saying not to add dechlorinator to water, due to adding new chemicals?

I always use dechlor, I thought it was the only way! How do you do it?

 

For my discus and other softwater fishes I want to add as little as possible to the water, and that is why I do not want to add dechlor. It is not as though there is anything wrong with it, on the contrary, if you have high chlorine we know it is beneficial. You can however, get rid of chlorine in water, but just allowing the water to stand overnight in a bucket and aerating it strongly with an airstone. Within 12-15 hours all the chlorine will be gone. What you must obviously make sure of is that your water is not treated with chloramine T, because as I say, aeration will not remove the chloramine T.

Hope you understand what I am saying, I do not want to have you kill your fishes!

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Ok, I do understand

 

ahem....

 

So the ahem.... is telling us that not all of them do?
Which de cholorinator is the best in your opinion?

 

Tetra, Seachem, Hagen take your pick - read the bottles to make sure

 

Thanks Henk will do!

 

Thanks dirk now I can definately sleep easier at night but will phone Municipality just to make sure.

 

I use, as a rule, Seachem's SAFE. It's brilliant! Never had a problem. Used to use Tetra, but it just gets too expensive. The small bottle of SAFE will treat 10 000 GALLONS of water. Seachem stuff is Brilliant, I swear by it.

 

:questionmark: We've started using Seachem's products too, just makes a difference somehow.... Just btw.. "Daro" products, so available and affordable, are they good enough? I believe a lot of folks out there do believe that they are, and in my personal opinion, haven't had much luck with them....

 

Neither did i.Daro i believe is for "Birds"

 

Hi

Maybe of some interest.

http://www.reservoir.co.za/

 

Just to confirm what Henk has said, all of the dechlorinators remove chloramine T, IF USED AT THE RECOMMENDED DOSAGE!

Now you can go and do your calculations as to which one is cheapest (in other words price and dosage is what you should be looking at!).

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Hi Butcherman,

Thanks for finding this out for us, this is important stuff for you guys from Gauteng.

What I want to say again though is that this monochloramine is NOT chloramine T as I mentioned before. Monochloramine can be removed by aeration over a period of hours.

However, you are quite correct that Gauteng folks must add a dechlorinator if they wish to add water directly from the tap into the aquarium.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

A slight misunderstanding?

Hello Dirk!

If I may, assist , since there was a slight pre-existing confusion.
Some Help for Gauteng fishkeepers:

Monochloramine is NH2CL
Formed by Ammonia dosage downstream at water treatment, in correct ratio to Chlorine ( as quoted by butcherman)

NH3 + Cl2 <=> NH2Cl + HCl ( favoured when Cl2 :NH3 is 3-5:1)
It is also principally formed between pH 7.5-9.0

Monochloramine cannot be removed by aeration.
Simple aeration (even boiling), whether over several hours or not, is not going to remove ANY NH2Cl, besides the residual Ammonia.

ALSO, it has been discovered that, NITRIFICATION by NH3 oxidising bacteria within the water delivery reticulation system, is a potential problem with monochloramine. So, NH3, and/or possibly NO2/NO3 may test present .
This however, ONLY when excess NH3 is dosed. It seems RandWater guys keep WELL within safety margins.

The same source,suggests any residual monochloramine be neutralised.
It could follow one of the following methods:

1) Low flow rates over fresh, activated carbon, followed by residual ammonia adsorption by mineral zeolites.

2) Reducing-agent based "dechlorinators", from cheap to better products will ALSO destroy the COMPOUND NH2Cl, but MOST will not get rid of the resulting Ammonia.
THEN flow over zeolite ("amrid",etc ) to adsorb residual Ammonia.

3) Reducing-agent based products which combine an Ammonia binding additive in it's formulation
eg) the better products by Seachem, Tetra, Hagen (and others) are used first time, then ........

Recommending use of a quality "dechloraminator" would be a better ONE-STEP product description, maybe?:blink1:

Quick References
Chemicals in Drinking water: Chloramines
Drinktap.org
Making Tapwater safe for the aquarium
Chloramine and the Reef aquarium

Regards
Liaquat