# Dechlorination



## Ian61 (28 Mar 2021)

Hello. What is the consensus re best method for dechlorinating tap water? My instinct tells me removing chlorine etc using carbon before adding tap water to a tank should be preferable to adding other chemicals to the tank to ‘neutralise’ it


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## Jaseon (28 Mar 2021)

Just use a good de-chlorinator? Using carbon is a form of chemical filtration, but ive not heard of it being used to de- chlorinate tap water.


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## jaypeecee (28 Mar 2021)

Ian61 said:


> What is the consensus re best method for dechlorinating tap water?


Hi @Ian61 

It's not just chlorine that's a potential problem in tap water. And, nowadays, some water companies use chloramine instead of chlorine to disinfect tap water. So, it's a little more complex than it first appears. There is also no reason to be concerned about 'other chemicals' - it all depends what chemicals are used. I suggest that you have a read of the following and then ask any remaining questions that you may have. A very popular tap water conditioner is Seachem _Prime_. I use it and millions of other aquarists use it.






						Water conditioners - The Free Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit - The Aquarium Wiki
					






					www.theaquariumwiki.com
				




JPC


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## Ian61 (28 Mar 2021)

Hi. Thanks for that. My more recent fishkeeping exploits have been in koi keeping where it seems to be very much standard practice to pass tap water through an activated carbon filter before entering the pond water. This is related to removal of chlorine/chloramine and heavy metals in particular. Clearly the water volumes involved are different but one would imagine the principles are the same.


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## Ian61 (28 Mar 2021)

Oase and EA market versions.


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## Cherries (28 Mar 2021)

Actually activated carbon should not be used unless removing medication from water. As for water dechlorinator, I use standard API water dechlorinator and it is more than sufficient. I am not sure whether its choramines or chlorine that is broken down to ammonia.


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## Ian61 (28 Mar 2021)

Hi Cherries. Can you explain why carbon shouldn’t be used on tap water for water changes?


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## Ian61 (28 Mar 2021)

Hi Jaypeecee. Thanks for the link but can’t say it has changed my opinion. Quite a list of chemicals there that I might prefer not to add to my water if avoidable


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## sparkyweasel (28 Mar 2021)

Activated carbon will remove chlorine, but not chloramine or metals. It's also good for organic compounds, but those are unlikely to be a problem in UK tapwater.
Catalytic carbon will remove chloramine as well as chlorine.
A good tapwater conditioner will remove or neutralise chlorine, chloramine, heavy metals, ammonia and nitrite.
Your water supplier may not routinely use chloramine, but they may use it occasionally to treat a particular problem or risk, so it's good to be protected against chloramine.


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## Ian61 (29 Mar 2021)

Thanks Sparky.  Didn’t realise chloramine wasn’t reliably removed by carbon. Not sure whether it’s ever added to water here.


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## dw1305 (29 Mar 2021)

Hi all,


sparkyweasel said:


> Your water supplier may not routinely use chloramine, but they may use it occasionally to treat a particular problem or risk, so it's good to be protected against chloramine.





Ian61 said:


> Didn’t realise chloramine wasn’t reliably removed by carbon. Not sure whether it’s ever added to water here.


I think all water companies have the option for chloramine dosing. The EU limit on <"faecal coliform bacteria"> in tap water is really stringent, which means that as soon as the integrity of the water main is threatened they add <"emergency chloramine dosing">.

I'm not a <"tap water user">, but if I was I'd use a water conditioner like <"Prime">.

cheers Darrel


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## Ian61 (29 Mar 2021)

Thanks  dw


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## Oldguy (29 Mar 2021)

Does any one have formulations for de-chlorination/de-chloramination.  Judging by aquarium ferts I assume they they are also expensive compared to the actual ingredients.
The forum has done a lot of work on EI mixes, time for a new venture someone.


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## dw1305 (29 Mar 2021)

Hi all, 


Oldguy said:


> Does any one have formulations for de-chlorination/de-chloramination. Judging by aquarium ferts I assume they they are also expensive compared to the actual ingredients.


Kordon's Amquel <"has a patent"> and I'd be surprised if the composition of "Prime" was chemically much different. 

This is probably the best we've got <"Chloramine and the Reef Aquarium"> by Randy Holmes-Farley.  


> ...... _Other products, such as hydroxymethanesulfonate (HOCH2SO3-; a known ammonia binder15 patented for aquarium uses by John F. Kuhns16 (sold as Amquel by Kordon and ClorAm-X by Reed Mariculture, among others) can be used to treat chloraminated water because they both break down chloramine and bind up the ammonia.
> 
> The reaction of ammonia with hydroxymethanesulfonate is mechanistically complicated, possibly involving decomposition to formaldehyde and reformation to the product (aminomethanesulfonate; shown below).15 The simplified overall reaction is believed to be:
> 
> ...



cheers Darrel


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## not called Bob (29 Mar 2021)

Oldguy said:


> Does any one have formulations for de-chlorination/de-chloramination.  Judging by aquarium ferts I assume they they are also expensive compared to the actual ingredients.
> The forum has done a lot of work on EI mixes, time for a new venture someone.


I use sodium thiosulfate to remove it, its very cheap and a little goes a very long way


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## Ian61 (29 Mar 2021)

Been doing some research on koi forums and there does seem a lot of doubt about the claimed chlorine removal effectiveness of in line dechlorinators. Several reports of effective removal of chlorine (verified by testing) only at miserly flow rates. Not great for aquaria, let alone koi ponds with capacities of 1000s of gallons! 
Think my Oase dechlorinator might be staying in its box and going back to the retailer. I’ll re-invest the £99.99 in bottled dechlorinator. Any recommendations anyone?


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## John q (29 Mar 2021)

Seachem prime. Costs a bit more to buy but price per dose is a lot less than other brands. 5ml treats 200L.


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## Ian61 (29 Mar 2021)

Great. Thanks John. Very difficult to compare brands as contents/concentrations not detailed so have to trust stated dosing regimes


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## Ian61 (29 Mar 2021)

Looks like I’ve gone full circle here!


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## jaypeecee (30 Mar 2021)

Ian61 said:


> Hi Jaypeecee. Thanks for the link but can’t say it has changed my opinion. Quite a list of chemicals there that I might prefer not to add to my water if avoidable


OK.

JPC


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## jaypeecee (30 Mar 2021)

sparkyweasel said:


> Activated carbon will remove chlorine, but not chloramine or metals. It's also good for organic compounds, but those are unlikely to be a problem in UK tapwater.
> Catalytic carbon will remove chloramine as well as chlorine.
> A good tapwater conditioner will remove or neutralise chlorine, chloramine, heavy metals, ammonia and nitrite.
> Your water supplier may not routinely use chloramine, but they may use it occasionally to treat a particular problem or risk, so it's good to be protected against chloramine.


Hi @sparkyweasel

Excellent summary!

Just add dihydrogen monoxide and away you go.....

JPC


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## Ian61 (30 Mar 2021)

Hi jpc. Looks like I’ve come round to sea hem prime after all!  Thanks


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## dw1305 (30 Mar 2021)

Hi all, 


Ian61 said:


> Looks like I’ve come round to seachem prime after all!


Some-one who knows <"what they are talking about"> will need to confirm it, but I think that the dry powdered "Seachem Safe" is the same compound, <"but a cheaper option">.

cheers Darrel


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## sparkyweasel (30 Mar 2021)

jaypeecee said:


> Just add dihydrogen monoxide and away you go.....


The price shipping is a bit high, - best to buy the dehydrated version and add water at home.


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## jaypeecee (30 Mar 2021)

jaypeecee said:


> Just add dihydrogen monoxide and away you go.....


Hi Folks,

When I made the statement above, it was intended as a bit of a joke! But, I'd forgotten that some products from the US of A are now being shipped in the dry form to keep costs down. However, unless @Ian61 has a ginormous tank and/or large, frequent water changes, a bottle of Seachem _Prime_ goes a long way.

JPC


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## Ian61 (30 Mar 2021)

Tank isn’t a swimming pool and hopefully my pension will support an adequate supply of seachem prime


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