Aging water release chlorine and chloramine?

[ocdiscus]

Hi,

Aging water 24hrs, does it release chlorine and chloramine?

Thanks

[jeep]

It depends on the amount of aggitation in the water, but most chlorine should be gone within 24 hours. Chloramines take much longer or have to be treated with a detoxifier such as Prime or Amquel...

[ocdiscus]

Thanks Jeep! So, what you are saying is no matter how long I age it, the Chloramine can not be released?

[mikeos]

Depending on the type and concentration, chloramine can, and does, persist for several days to several weeks. Better to just treat or filter the stuff and be sure. Filter must be a chloramine removing filter, not just carbon.

Most chemical agents used to break the chlorine=ammonia bond leave the ammonia in the water, not had an acceptable explanation as to why this is seen as acceptable in an aquatic product yet.

[Cosmo]

From what I've read, chloramines can take up to a month to break down and dissipate simply by aeratioin in an aging tank. Better off adding something like Prime unless you have a DI setup
Cosmo

[jeep]

Correct.

Chloramines are a chlorine/ammonia bond that is intentionally more stable than chlorine alone.

You can use carbon filtration, which will break the bond but leave the residual ammonia. Or, you can use a detoxifier like Prime which detoxifies the chlorine and ammonia, which answers this question :) ...


Most chemical agents used to break the chlorine=ammonia bond leave the ammonia in the water, not had an acceptable explanation as to why this is seen as acceptable in an aquatic product yet.
I'm assuming that this is why Prime and AmQuel produce false positive readings for ammonia :confused:

[ronrca]

Prime doesnt remove the ammonia rather binds or detoxifies rendering it harmless however it still will be "processed" by the bio filter. This is why you get 'false' ammonia readings if you were to test the ammonia level!

[nanik]

From what I've read, chloramines can take up to a month to break down and dissipate simply by aeratioin in an aging tank. Better off adding something like Prime unless you have a DI setup
Cosmo

Hi Cosmo,

What kind of DI setup can remove Chloramines ? if you don't mind can you post some links on how this kind of setup works ?

Thanks a lot

[Eddie]

SO then what is the whole purpose of aging water? To match the perameters of the tank water. If you have to add a chloramine remover anyways. I would just like a break down. Thnks :o

[jeep]

Two other benefits to aging water are to stabilize the temp. and ph, and any other gasses that may exist :)

[Eddie]

it kinda seems pointless if my ph doesn't change much from the water out of my tap. I do water changes so frequently that it can't change. I just add a chlorine/chloramine remover and go straight from the tap. Is this not a good technique?

[Carol_Roberts]

If you are sure that your pH is nearly the same from the tap as that in your tank (right before the water change) then aging your water is not as important. Guessing that the pH is the same because you change water so often may not be a valid extrapolation ;)

[Cosmo]

Nanik... at work so can't search for any links, but.. my understanding (which may be off so others jump in) is that the carbon prefilter of any RO unit will break the ammonia/chlorine bond and remove the chlorine but leave the ammonia to move along to your RO membrane. If your membranes in good shape AND you have plenty of pressure (as provided by a booster pump) then I'm told most if not all the ammonia will be removed and flushed in the waste water. Low water pressure w/ high output membranes will allow the ammonia to flow thru the RO membrane and into your storage tank. The DI cannister is the last in line of an RO/DI unit, (and there are stand alone DI filters available as well)... these use various Resins (cation and anion) that filter out anything that gets thru the membrane, each resin removes specific things depending on their electrical charge. The Anion resin will remove any ammonia before it gets into your holding tank.

This is the overkill method though and can become expensive to buy and maintain as the resins either need to be regenerated or replaced as they are depleted ... trust me on that :) Also, if aging your water overnight seems like a long time.. RO and DI units make water very very slowly as measured in gallons per day, and even then it's good to add back minerals, salts, and trace elements and wait while they mix and stabilize so this method is probably counterproductive from a time perspective.

Unless you want to go thru all the hassles and expense, a good additive to your water is probably the way to go if you have chloramine issues.

As you suspected, and Jeep and Carol said, aging allows you to stabilize the water parameters before adding the water to your tank while also releasing certain gasses and chemicals into the air thru the gas exchange process - which is why you want an airstone and heater in your aging tank. Test your tap water by taking readings out of the tap, aerate overnight, and test again.. if you get the same ph readings and no ammonia your water should be fine out of the tap other than possible temp concerns..

hth
Jim

[Eddie]

Thanks for the info folks

[Buckeye Field Supply]

Nanik... at work so can't search for any links, but.. my understanding (which may be off so others jump in) is that the carbon prefilter of any RO unit will break the ammonia/chlorine bond and remove the chlorine but leave the ammonia to move along to your RO membrane. If your membranes in good shape AND you have plenty of pressure (as provided by a booster pump) then I'm told most if not all the ammonia will be removed and flushed in the waste water. Low water pressure w/ high output membranes will allow the ammonia to flow thru the RO membrane and into your storage tank. The DI cannister is the last in line of an RO/DI unit, (and there are stand alone DI filters available as well)... these use various Resins (cation and anion) that filter out anything that gets thru the membrane, each resin removes specific things depending on their electrical charge. The Anion resin will remove any ammonia before it gets into your holding tank.

This is the overkill method though and can become expensive to buy and maintain as the resins either need to be regenerated or replaced as they are depleted ... trust me on that :) Also, if aging your water overnight seems like a long time.. RO and DI units make water very very slowly as measured in gallons per day, and even then it's good to add back minerals, salts, and trace elements and wait while they mix and stabilize so this method is probably counterproductive from a time perspective.

Unless you want to go thru all the hassles and expense, a good additive to your water is probably the way to go if you have chloramine issues.

hth
Jim

Unfortunately, the ammonia will go through the RO membrane, but it will be caught by DI resin. activated carbon is an effective prefilter stage for water containing chloramine - the contact time is key here. We've had long term success with our Chloramine Special Systems that have a special fast acting GAC, called Catalytic GAC, prior to a very high quality carbon block.

Russ @ BFS

[RandalB]

Actually, RO membranes will reject SOME of the ammonia, but if it's at higher levels in your treated water, you will need special filtration. DI or Chloramine specific carbons like Russ Said.

RandalB