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anglecoral
08/01/2007, 05:56 PM
Can you explain the dangers of chloramines to me .

Is it that a the typical RO/DI system doesn't remove them and there is a meaningful amount in the resulting RO/DI water .

or just that you need to replace the cartridges more often ?

I had kinda forgot about it after i read randys article on it . seemed to kinda come to the conclusion that the typical RO/DI was effective at removing them .
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-11/rhf/feature/index.php

I googled it quick but the results i came up with were pretty ambiguous . The ones that said normal carbon filters didn't work of coarse sold a more expensive carbon block that did http://www.thewaterexchange.net/chloramine-water-filters.htm

Unfortunately there are no cartridges that remove the ammonia. Even reverse osmosis won't remove it. One solution offered by an engineer at Calgon Carbon, the manufacturer of catalytic carbon (offered in our whole house filters) designed to reduce chloramines, is to add triple the amount of chlorine to your water which would change the chloramines and the ammonia would be removed. But this isn't a practical solution for drinking water filters. Ammonia, even in very low levels, is a problem for tropical fish owners and those with Coy ponds. Chemicals are available to reduce the ammonia, however filters are not.

Our KDF/GAC filters will reduce the chloramines taste and odor. However, we found a specially designed GAC carbon filter that will reduce more of the chloramines taste and odor than other types of carbon filters, so we are now offering that cartridge as an option in our water filter systems. As an alternative, our double filters: under-counter Model UCD-CB and countertop Model CTD-CB will also reduce chloramines taste and odor using our KDF/GAC cartridge as a pre-filter followed by a 0.5 micron extruded carbon block cartridge.

In spite of what you may have read on the Internet, carbon block filters alone do not effectively remove chloramines, GAC (granulated activated carbon) in the special form, manufactured by Pentek, is effective in reducing chloramines taste and odor in a single cartridge. Extruded carbon block filters alone will only reduce some of the chloramines. However, if you use a combination of GAC and carbon block filters and move the water through the filters at a slower rate, you can reduce the chloramines. Also, chloramines can be reduced with catalytic carbon filter media.



The ones that said normal carbons were effective didn't sell the special ones. http://www.pwgazette.com/problemchloramines.htm
contrary to another widely promoted myth, reverse osmosis units do remove chloramine. In fact, they do it quite well, because any good RO unit contains a couple of carbon filters and the water gets an extra slow pass through the first one.


what is the real deal ? how much of a threat is this to someone with 5 stage RO/DI unit ?

Thefilterguys
08/11/2007, 11:06 AM
Anglecoral your question is important sorry I missed it. I will try to give you the best answer I can. Chloramines is produced by adding ammonia to chlorinated water and is a long lasting disinfectant. Unlike chlorine it does not off gas by leaving it stand in an open container. If left unfiltered it is deadly to fish.

All carbon filters may work for chloramines but cheap filters are very poor and exhaust very quickly leaving chloramines unfiltered. Low volume drink water systems are not producing the same amounts of water as hobbyists are and it is causing confusion as to filter quality. Quality is the key work as carbon life is greatly reduced by chloramines. You want the highest quality carbon filters you can get and at least TWO carbon stages. If you are using Granular carbon it should be Catalytic Granular Activated Carbon CGAC and we now have chloramine carbon blocks which do not have the dust issue you have with CGAC. Slow water flow of less them 15 GPH is also important as long carbon contact time is needed to break the bond between the ammonia and chlorine. Changing filters every six months or earlier if your filters slow down is important to your fish.

The ammonia is not filtered by the carbon and you need RO/DI or chemicals to get rid of the ammonia. Chloramines can pass through an RO membrane without doing damage where chlorine will destroy the membrane. A five stage system properly filtered works perfect for chloramines but you must keep the filters up.

The question is do I have chloramines in my water? All municipal water systems with 25 customers or more are required to file and annual water report quality report on your municipal goverment web page. It is easy to look up and it will say in the report disinfectant chlorine of chloramine. If anyone has questions we are happy to look up your water report.

Jim

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/chloramine_filters.htm