Source water treatment. What do you use?

I've been looking into source water treatment options lately, and I'm not 100% sure what my best bet is. My water company uses chloramine to treat the water. I'd prefer to be able to get rid of this some other way than a dechlorinater and adding ammonia to my tanks. I'd also like to be able to use the same unit for both my salt and freshwater tanks.

It is a pretty easy decision for my salt tank. The easiest way is probably to install an RO/DI unit and reconstitute with a commercial salt mix. I've always had easy access to a unit, so it was never a problem in the past. That changed a while back, and I'm getting very tired of having to lug around gallons of distilled water.

Fresh water seems to be a bit more of a problem. There aren't as many handily available commercial mixes to reconstitute the water. It seems that most people around the plant forums add a mixture of commonly available chemicals and measure hardness. Another option that I've seen recommended a few times is using a calcium based substrate or similar that will dissolve and help stabilize ph and hardness when pure water is added.

There are a number of carbon prefilters available that I could simply connect my python to and fill straight from the tap. They appear to have good results in removing chloramines and organics, but I'd still be stuck using something else for my salt water tank. Evaporation top off would also increase the hardness in my tanks with this method vs pure RO water.


What do you guys use? Do you see some advantage or disadvantage to one or the other that I'm missing? If I were to use an RO/DI unit for my freshwater tanks do you know of a decently priced and easy to dose mixture that I could use to reconstitute the water?

I've been looking into source water treatment options lately, and I'm not 100% sure what my best bet is. My water company uses chloramine to treat the water. I'd prefer to be able to get rid of this some other way than a dechlorinater and adding ammonia to my tanks. I'd also like to be able to use the same unit for both my salt and freshwater tanks.

It is a pretty easy decision for my salt tank. The easiest way is probably to install an RO/DI unit and reconstitute with a commercial salt mix. I've always had easy access to a unit, so it was never a problem in the past. That changed a while back, and I'm getting very tired of having to lug around gallons of distilled water.

Fresh water seems to be a bit more of a problem. There aren't as many handily available commercial mixes to reconstitute the water. It seems that most people around the plant forums add a mixture of commonly available chemicals and measure hardness. Another option that I've seen recommended a few times is using a calcium based substrate or similar that will dissolve and help stabilize ph and hardness when pure water is added.

There are a number of carbon prefilters available that I could simply connect my python to and fill straight from the tap. They appear to have good results in removing chloramines and organics, but I'd still be stuck using something else for my salt water tank. Evaporation top off would also increase the hardness in my tanks with this method vs pure RO water.



What do you guys use? Do you see some advantage or disadvantage to one or the other that I'm missing? If I were to use an RO/DI unit for my freshwater tanks do you know of a decently priced and easy to dose mixture that I could use to reconstitute the water?

What about collected rainwater off of your downspouts into a barrel? I get plastic 55 gallons drums for about $13.00 from a store in my area called "Rural King,"for other uses, and I understand it's quite easy to hook them up to a drain spout. You could elevate the barrel enough to install a small bulkhead and hose, and gravity feed it when you need it.

http://www.gardenwatersaver.com/

I use groundwater with iron issues for my larger system. I'm using an iron filter I've rented from Culligan but I've figured out a mechanical way to get rid of the iron so will suspend using it in the future.

Edited by az9, 07 January 2010 - 10:10 AM.

It would solve the chloramines issue, but I'm not sure the resulting water would be any more beneficial than dechlorinated water. Any atmospheric pollutant or chemical used in the roofing could get picked up by the water. Are those $13 barrels drinking water safe? They'd probably make nice holding/mixing/quarantine tanks.

I know that the shingles on my roof have something in them to keep moss from growing, I'd be afraid to use collected water for aquariums. I have a livestock tub set up that I pretreat tap water in. I don't have any marine tanks. I filter, heat and aerate the water at least overnight before I use it. I know that my municipal water is treated with chloramines some of the time.

It would solve the chloramines issue, but I'm not sure the resulting water would be any more beneficial than dechlorinated water. Any atmospheric pollutant or chemical used in the roofing could get picked up by the water. Are those $13 barrels drinking water safe? They'd probably make nice holding/mixing/quarantine tanks.

I know people use it for gardens and they use it for raising fish in aquaponic systems in Austrailia where rainfall is sporadic. My concern would be the lower PH of rainwater in some areas. I thoroughly clean barrels I purchase at the farm supply store, and from what I could tell the ones I bought had either a slightly soapy oder or of sugar. I know what pesticides and petroleum products smell like and I'm not smelling that.

Edited by az9, 07 January 2010 - 09:24 PM.

I don't believe that you will find too many tap pre-filters that will effectively remove chloramine.
Nor will heating and/or aerating the water overnight help. These are options that will remove/dissipate chlorine, but not chloramine.

I've been dealing with chloramine for the past 12 yrs, my solution - Seachem Safe.
At 2 mg/l chloramine (which is the doseage rate found in our local tap water) a 4 KG container of Safe will treat 400,000 gallons of tap water. (neutralizes both chlorine, and free ammonia.(NH3))

Seachem Safe is basically the dry powder version of Prime, it's just a LOT more economical.
A 4KG container can be purchased online for $70+ change.

It might not be the perfect solution, but it's the best that I've been able to come up with for freshwater set ups.

I don't believe that you will find too many tap pre-filters that will effectively remove chloramine.
Nor will heating and/or aerating the water overnight help. These are options that will remove/dissipate chlorine, but not chloramine.

I've been dealing with chloramine for the past 12 yrs, my solution - Seachem Safe.
At 2 mg/l chloramine (which is the doseage rate found in our local tap water) a 4 KG container of Safe will treat 400,000 gallons of tap water. (neutralizes both chlorine, and free ammonia.(NH3))

Seachem Safe is basically the dry powder version of Prime, it's just a LOT more economical.
A 4KG container can be purchased online for $70+ change.

It might not be the perfect solution, but it's the best that I've been able to come up with for freshwater set ups.

Thanks for the info on Seachem Safe. I'll look into it. As far as tap pre-filters go there are actually an abundance of them on the market. Search for Chloramine filter on your favorite search engine and you should come up with plenty of links.

With regards to tap filters, the key word was effectively. Most of the sink style tap water filters being marketed for chloramine removal are designed for low flow, cold water conditions only. There's a ton of junk out there marketed for chloramine, when in reality most are only truly effective for chlorine removal.