ammonia in tap water?
- Thread starter Mav
- Start date
first you need to know if you have chloramines in your water supply. If you do, it probably releases ammonia. You will need a different filter cartridge than your standard ro/di.
"Chloramines are different than Chlorine and are used in 10% of U.S. water supplies. Standard RO filters will not remove chloramines from the water."
"Chloramines are different than Chlorine and are used in 10% of U.S. water supplies. Standard RO filters will not remove chloramines from the water."
Here's a good read on chloramines in the aquarium, and methods of removal:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-11/rhf/feature/index.php
As for the ammonia...what test kit are you using? I had an API kit that consistently gave me false positives of 0.25 and I know that I'm not the only one that's had that issue.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-11/rhf/feature/index.php
As for the ammonia...what test kit are you using? I had an API kit that consistently gave me false positives of 0.25 and I know that I'm not the only one that's had that issue.
LOL, that seems to be a popular consensus. I threw mine out months ago.
And to the OP, to summarize one of the conclusions in that article and answer your question...with regular changing of your sediment and carbon filters, yes a DI resin cartridge should be enough to remove ammonia from your water. They do sell filters specific for chloramines, but the DI resin should be plenty. And as Juan pointed out you can always add a dechlorinator like prime that will lock up any residual ammonia after dissociating the chloramines in the water.
And to the OP, to summarize one of the conclusions in that article and answer your question...with regular changing of your sediment and carbon filters, yes a DI resin cartridge should be enough to remove ammonia from your water. They do sell filters specific for chloramines, but the DI resin should be plenty. And as Juan pointed out you can always add a dechlorinator like prime that will lock up any residual ammonia after dissociating the chloramines in the water.
I just don't like APIs color cards at all. In my planted nano I dosed KNO3 for nitrates and had to keep track of the levels. The card was uselss...I had to make standard solutions with known concentrations of NO3 at 25, 50, and 100ppm. In doing so I found that the color card reading was off by a significant amount. I can't remember which way things were scewed...but the readings were either double or half of their perceived value if I tried matching the color of the standard test solution to the color on the card. Thinking back...I'm pretty sure it was half, so that what read on the color card as 50ppm was actually a 25ppm solution, and the 100ppm solution that I made was way off the color chart...which maxed out at 100ppm.
I also tested my tank, bottled, and RO/DI water and got ammonia values of 0.25ppm each time. This was after I seemingly had a never-ending cycle in which the ammonia level spiked and never fell below 0.25ppm...I really don't trust the accuracy of the API kits.
I also tested my tank, bottled, and RO/DI water and got ammonia values of 0.25ppm each time. This was after I seemingly had a never-ending cycle in which the ammonia level spiked and never fell below 0.25ppm...I really don't trust the accuracy of the API kits.
My API failed from day one. I fought what I thought was extremely high nitrates for a few months before I took water to my LFS and he came back with 10 on his test (I was reading 160) I still have my API as backup but the nitrate and Ammonia are both off... My Ammonia defaults to .25 as well. I tested some water I got with a frag from a very reputable retailer and got .25 ammonia from their water.
I'm beginning to question my Redsea test kits too... But they expire in a month... So I might get something different at that point.
I'm beginning to question my Redsea test kits too... But they expire in a month... So I might get something different at that point.
Any time you use a color chart, you will have some discrepancies. The amount of liquid used, the amount of reagent used, color variations from person to person, chemical temperature, age of test kit, etc... At this point in time, there is no "100% accurate" test kit available. I use Salifert for all my tests but sometimes i see some variations on my charting. From one test kit to the next. I figure as long as the readings arent too extreme, i'll be alright. If you are really worried about ammonia, use Prime like previously suggested. It cant hurt. Also consider dosing Microbacter 7. If you have an established system with refugium, your system should be able to handle small amounts of ammonia without issues.
reefmaster719;194505 said:
Yup. There is a trick to the nitrate number 2 bottle. Don't shake it like they say. Just turn it upside down and put drops...try it and post here 