Tap Water Conditioning

[pixelpefekt]

I understand what chlorine is and use a tap water conditioner for my water changes but can you explain what chloramine is?

Chloramine is mentioned on the bottle of conditioner and the dosage to much higher for that purpose. I'm just worried that perhaps I'm under treating the water...?

Thanks.

 

[hondadal]

Chloramine is a mixture of chlorine and ammonia this makes it far more stable and effective, this is why you need to use more conditioner. your water company should be able to tell you what is used in your area, failing that you can dose the chloramine amount you won`t harm your fish

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah just to clarify

chloramine is a chemical made up by chlorine and ammonia, some water companies use it but not all, only way to find out is to ring your water supplier.

if you have chloramine then you do need to get rid of it, so you'll need a water conditioner that deals with both chlorine and chloramine and you'll need to dose at the higher rate.

most people dont bother finding out though and just dose at the higher rate as really water conditioner isn't all that expensive unless you've enormous tanks

 

[pixelpefekt]

Okay, so I can't over dose them with it? That was my main concern.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

nope, there's nothing harmful in conditioner and it disperses within a few minutes, so use the higher dose then you can be sure it's safe!

 

[ALEXF]

Does anyone know if both of those are in the water supplies in the US as well? or is it mostly in european countries? I had never heard of that before and now im curious to see what my water supplier would say. I also just add extra conditioner for the "just in case" type of senerio.

 

[Tolak]

Chloramine is used by most municipal water suppliers in the US. Any dechlorinator will remove chlorine & chloramine. The problem that arises with chloramine is the ammonia that is left when the chlorine is split & removed.

For smaller water changes on mature tanks this is usually not a problem, as it is only a trace of ammonia, and is dealt with quickly by your bio filtration. Problems can occur when doing larger water changes, dealing with more sensitive fish, or if your water supplier goes heavy on the chloramine.

This is why your better water conditioners state that they remove or neutralize ammonia. What they actually do is convert it to ammonium, which is harmless at levels found in an aquarium. Ammonium is used the same as ammonia by your bio filtration.

 

[Gazoo]

I live in a suburb of Detroit and last year I spoke with someone from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (my supplier) and was told that choramines were not added to the water supply and there were no plans in the future. However, she said that the Ann Arbor water supply does add it.