Tap water tested high for ammonia
- Thread starter Beardog
- Start date
Here are some standards, just to give you an example of what to look for. EPA, state, county, local regs and supplies and data on these should be available on the web. You will probably wish to look for them with your search engine.
One to get you started: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/index.html
Regards,
TA
chloramine is a mixture of chlorine and ammonia. when you break that bond you end up with straight ammonia. many city water suppliers are switching over. i suspect this will be more common in the future unless the regulations change. i could be absolutely wrong. does your tap smell like a lot of chlorine?
at any rate i would get another tank and throw a filter in it for holding water. once the tank is cycled it should eat that ammonia up in a day or 2. that should make your water safer for your tanks once the ammo is converted all the way to nitrates.
make sure to treat it for chloramine when or before you put it in your holding tank.
at any rate i would get another tank and throw a filter in it for holding water. once the tank is cycled it should eat that ammonia up in a day or 2. that should make your water safer for your tanks once the ammo is converted all the way to nitrates.
make sure to treat it for chloramine when or before you put it in your holding tank.
I can never remember being able to find any detectable levels of ammonia in tap water which has been available to me.
However, started looking about, found this page: http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw000/contaminants/dw_contamfs/nitrates.html
If I read it correctly, it allows water suppliers to group together "nitrogen", ammonia, nitrites, nitrates under one lump sum, the result of which: nitrite level can be 1.0 and nitrate 10.0 ... this has been very cleverly done, in my opinion ... the only meaningful figure is the 1.0 for nitrite. The 10.0 figure could, conceivably, IF I am understanding this correctly, and that is a big IF--be composed of 10.0 ammonia! (no other nitrogen forms present.)
Double check me on that logic ...
Regards,
TA
However, started looking about, found this page: http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw000/contaminants/dw_contamfs/nitrates.html
If I read it correctly, it allows water suppliers to group together "nitrogen", ammonia, nitrites, nitrates under one lump sum, the result of which: nitrite level can be 1.0 and nitrate 10.0 ... this has been very cleverly done, in my opinion ... the only meaningful figure is the 1.0 for nitrite. The 10.0 figure could, conceivably, IF I am understanding this correctly, and that is a big IF--be composed of 10.0 ammonia! (no other nitrogen forms present.)
Double check me on that logic ...
Regards,
TA
I'd invest in a RO water filtering system for my drinking water if I were you. It would save you money in the long run over buying bottled water. You could then use the RO water for your tanks using RO water conditioner before hand.
If he's already buying bottled water instead of drinking the tap than he probably thinks it is an issue. $10 a week or more on bottled water (I'm guessing more) saved would pay for RO system in less than 6 months.
i agree... it will not successfully rid your water of ammo either... maybe some, but not all and old cartridges are largely useless.
My carbon can last for years ...
Actually, if I understand carbon correctly, and if the carbon is suitable for the application it is placed in service for, carbon can last for years (perhaps longer.)
The little carbon cartridges on the top of undergravel filters are highly inadequate, you need large amounts of carbon--the amount of carbon included with AquaClear filter packs are a good indication of the MINIMUM amount of carbon to be used, when service is for extended periods of time.
Ages ago we would boil/rinse our carbon in clean soft water, dry it in a clean place--absent of undesirable poisons/toxins/gasses, and place it back into service--and, every 6 months--or, year or so, I would soak it in a bowl of hydrogen peroxide to help "boil" the "crud" out of the pores, like for overnight, then dry and place back into service.
Somewhere along the lines, in the intervening decades, carbon became "dirt cheap", manufactures/suppliers began to recommend tossing the carbon ... today that is "just how it is done." Indeed, if you use carbon to "suck up" some of the more toxic meds we use in aquariums--instead of water changes to get rid of them, I'd toss it!
Overtime, bacteria and other organisms will "feed" on the "stuff" carbon absorbs--in effect, these organisms "rip" the "stuff" which the carbon first absorbed, back out of the carbon. They either eat it, or take it up as a "luxury uptake" or "luxury consumption" (actually a bit more complicated than that--but that provides a model one can wrap their mind around.)
If you want to toss your carbon, TOSS IT!
If you don't want to toss your carbon, learn how to take care of it and keep it functional for extended periods--no religious wars, PLEASE!
Regards,
TA
Actually, if I understand carbon correctly, and if the carbon is suitable for the application it is placed in service for, carbon can last for years (perhaps longer.)
The little carbon cartridges on the top of undergravel filters are highly inadequate, you need large amounts of carbon--the amount of carbon included with AquaClear filter packs are a good indication of the MINIMUM amount of carbon to be used, when service is for extended periods of time.
Ages ago we would boil/rinse our carbon in clean soft water, dry it in a clean place--absent of undesirable poisons/toxins/gasses, and place it back into service--and, every 6 months--or, year or so, I would soak it in a bowl of hydrogen peroxide to help "boil" the "crud" out of the pores, like for overnight, then dry and place back into service.
Somewhere along the lines, in the intervening decades, carbon became "dirt cheap", manufactures/suppliers began to recommend tossing the carbon ... today that is "just how it is done." Indeed, if you use carbon to "suck up" some of the more toxic meds we use in aquariums--instead of water changes to get rid of them, I'd toss it!
Overtime, bacteria and other organisms will "feed" on the "stuff" carbon absorbs--in effect, these organisms "rip" the "stuff" which the carbon first absorbed, back out of the carbon. They either eat it, or take it up as a "luxury uptake" or "luxury consumption" (actually a bit more complicated than that--but that provides a model one can wrap their mind around.)
If you want to toss your carbon, TOSS IT!
If you don't want to toss your carbon, learn how to take care of it and keep it functional for extended periods--no religious wars, PLEASE!
Regards,
TA
2 stage carbon filtering through household and/or hobby r/o units has been tested to only remove approx. 50% of ammo when brand spanking new. that efficiency breaks down considerably by half of many manufacturers recommended shelf life.
i filter my tap water and have tested positive almost identical results from straight tap and from the filter. simple hobby test kits can confirm this.
i haven't used carbon on or in my tanks for a couple years. it has it's benefits just like uv but neither are absolutely necessary to have a healthy system.
i filter my tap water and have tested positive almost identical results from straight tap and from the filter. simple hobby test kits can confirm this.
i haven't used carbon on or in my tanks for a couple years. it has it's benefits just like uv but neither are absolutely necessary to have a healthy system.
