GrayLadyPat
05-17-2013, 10:09 AM
Hi, everyone!
As you know from an earlier post (original thread here (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?102727-There-s-Something-(New)-In-The-Water!)) I have been battling with my local water company about what they do to decontaminate our drinking water and how it affects my tank.
Well, I thought I would give you all an update to let you know how things have gone.
The quality of my source water has improved immensely since the original issues arose, and I am happy to say that I can confidently remove the carbon from my filters. After months of testing and refining their new procedures, they have now successfully removed most of the chlorite and chlorate contaminants from our source water. From what I understand (as told by the local water guru) they have begun to use a new type of carbon powder filters at the outflows so that the chlorate and chlorite levels are negligible, even for my fish. Evidently, when they began to use the Chlorine Dioxide to disinfect the water, their carbon filtration at the source was not up to standard, and they had some catching up to do.
Thankfully, the amounts of chlorites and chlorates that were in the water from day one were small enough that "higher organisms" such as dogs, cats, and humans wouldn't be affected. Unfortunately, the fish were, and until recently, carbon in the filters 24/7 was the only recourse.
Thank you, local water company for sorting it out for me! (Yes, I know they didn't do it specifically for me, but I'm a happy discus owner anyways!)
In any case, please take my experiences as a head's up to keep checking your source water. Everything that ends up in the water affects your finny kids, even if it doesn't affect you and me.
As you know from an earlier post (original thread here (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?102727-There-s-Something-(New)-In-The-Water!)) I have been battling with my local water company about what they do to decontaminate our drinking water and how it affects my tank.
Well, I thought I would give you all an update to let you know how things have gone.
The quality of my source water has improved immensely since the original issues arose, and I am happy to say that I can confidently remove the carbon from my filters. After months of testing and refining their new procedures, they have now successfully removed most of the chlorite and chlorate contaminants from our source water. From what I understand (as told by the local water guru) they have begun to use a new type of carbon powder filters at the outflows so that the chlorate and chlorite levels are negligible, even for my fish. Evidently, when they began to use the Chlorine Dioxide to disinfect the water, their carbon filtration at the source was not up to standard, and they had some catching up to do.
Thankfully, the amounts of chlorites and chlorates that were in the water from day one were small enough that "higher organisms" such as dogs, cats, and humans wouldn't be affected. Unfortunately, the fish were, and until recently, carbon in the filters 24/7 was the only recourse.
Thank you, local water company for sorting it out for me! (Yes, I know they didn't do it specifically for me, but I'm a happy discus owner anyways!)
In any case, please take my experiences as a head's up to keep checking your source water. Everything that ends up in the water affects your finny kids, even if it doesn't affect you and me.