WATER
& CHEMICAL ADDITIVES

ON THIS PAGE:

Chloramine
Filters
Goldfish, etc, & Chloramine
Distilled Water & Minerals
New Data - (Awaiting Verification)
Links

CHLORAMINE ITEMS

http://www.chloramine.org/ - (anti-chloramine citizens group)
Google Search: Chloramine
www.rockymountnc.gov/utilities/importantinfoaquariums06-11-02.htm - a Government site


  • Chloramine is admitted to be "harmful to fish & animals". It must be removed from aquariums, for example.

  • Chloramines may take WEEKS to evaporate in an open container, unlike chlorine which dissipates when water sits for a few days.

    • If you do not want to use a dechloraminating chemical, the next best solution is to install an activated carbon filter and allow for sufficient contact time (1 min) (See "filters" section).

  • The water systems using chloramine need to wear full Hazmat gear when adding it to our water

  • Accidental release of chloramine-treated city water (primarily by water-main breaks) has already resulted in mass kill-off's of fish, frogs and other amphibians. (http://www.deepwaterweb.com/)


Poisonous to Animals, Dialysis Patients...

Chloramines are only harmful when they directly enter the bloodstream.

[THINK OF THE LIVER: they're relying on the human liver to filter out this poison that "kills animals." When the government's animals are concerned ( zoos, aquariums, fishing reserves, etc), THEN they talk of how "dangerous" chloramine is; Where HUMANS are concerned, it's "acceptable" - rj]

Because fish take chloramines directly from the water into their bloodstream, you will need to remove the chloramines from the water used by your fish and other aquatic animals.

Aquarium owners must remove the chloramine from their tap water because it is toxic to fish. Aging the water for a few days removes chlorine but not the more stable chloramine, which takes several weeks to evaporate.

Animals are sensitive to chloramine and it must be removed from water given to many animals in zoos.

Chloramine must be removed from the water prior to use in kidney dialysis machines, as it would come in contact with the bloodstream across a permeable membrane. However, since chloramine is neutralized by the digestive process, kidney dialysis patients can still safely drink chloramine-treated water.


Home brewers use reducing agents such as sodium metabisulfite or potassium metabisulfite to remove chloramine from brewing liquor as it, unlike chlorine, cannot be removed by boiling.


The following operations require chloramine removal:

  • chip manufacturers
  • medical suppliers
  • Pharmaceutical companies
  • dialysis machine technicians
  • pet stores with fish, amphibians, reptiles
  • food businesses that use water (fresh or saltwater)
  • breweries
  • photo labs
  • biotech companies

FILTERS

To remove chloramine, an extensive carbon filter (to remove the chlorine part of the chloramine molecule) followed by a reverse osmosis or cation filter (to remove the ammonia).

The carbon filters must contain high quality granular activated carbon and you must allow for sufficient contact time of one minute or more.

CHARCOAL or GRANULATED ACTIVATED CARBON (GAC) can reduce chloramine concentrations of 1 to 2 mg/L to less than 0.1 mg/L. REVERSE OSMOSIS can follow this to remove carbon ["fines" (sic)]. Reverse Osmosis cannot be used by itself because chloramine will damage the membrane of the RO filter.
From PDF: www.sfwater.org/Files/FAQs/removal.pdf



Fish: How Long Can They Live in Chlorminated Water?

http://www.australianportraits.com/aquarium/topics/newaquarium/water/tapwater.htm

Both chlorine and chloramine are death to fish. Chloramine can kill fish in several ways:

  1. It can break down to ammonia and chlorine, both of which are deadly to fish.
  2. It can combine with amino acids and protein in aquarium water to form even more toxic organic chloramine.
  3. It can pass through the gill membrane of fish more easily than chlorine, where it enters the blood stream and penetrates the red blood cells causing eventual destruction of the cells.
Symptoms of Chloramine:
Fish that are affected become lethargic, go off their food, rest on the bottom and then after about four days, they die suddenly. A fish that an hour before was sluggish, but still swimming, will be found dead at the surface, floating belly up. Of course elevated levels of chloramine would result in a quicker death.

The Removal Of Chlorine, Chloramine or Ammonia:
These are the most toxic ingredients authorities add to tap water. "Although important to human health, they are deadly to fish and have to be neutralised." [Unbelievable! Revealing info from government sites (Australia): "Healthy" to humans, "deadly" to fish. - rj]


Distilled Water & Minerals

Distillation is the process in which water is boiled, evaporated and the vapour condensed. Distilled water is free of dissolved minerals. There are benefits to drinking distilled water when one is seeking to cleanse or detoxify the system - for short periods of time (a few weeks). The problem is that, because it is stripped of minerals, it leaches minerals from the bones.

Reverse osmosis water tends to be neutral and is acceptable for regular use provided minerals are supplemented.

Water filtered through a solid charcoal filter is slightly alkaline. Ozonation of this charcoal filtered water is ideal for daily drinking. Longevity is associated with the regular consumption of hard water (high in minerals). Disease is more likely to be seen with the long term drinking of distilled water.

EXPERIMENT:
"No Salt" by Morton is made primarily from Potassium Chloride. Try this when using distilled or Reverse-Osmosis water.


NEW DATA -
Awaiting Verification

Chloramine requires a modified carbon called "catalytic carbon" [check this]. It possesses greatly enhanced capacity to catalyze, enabling it to REDUCE chloramine.



LINKS
NSF Certified filter site - Choose what you want the filter to do, and they list brands & models (not perfect)

Google: +kidney +dialysis forum message "at home" +water +chloramine

Foster City Water Dept Coc - Boiling CANNOT remove chloramine



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