chloramine

[pangasiusfan]

So chlorine evaporates if left out in the sun for 24hours. and most of it gets released as gases when i spray it in the bucket, correct?

but what about chloramines, do they evaporate too?

since all i have been doing the past few weeks is just spraying water in the bucket, leaving it outside for 24hours and then dump the water in the tank. i never added any chemicals...

are my fish ok?

 

[Miles]

Chloramine is the combination of Chlorine and Ammonia added to a water source to prevent disease and bacteria.

Chlorine can be removed through gas exchange, Ammonia can not. Ammonia is lethal to your fish. I would recommend Prime for a chloramine remover, it's very concentrated.

 

[pangasiusfan]

what?
then were drinking, bathing, washing in ammonia water?

can i use prime even on cycling tanks? i don't want to keep on killing the ammonia..that'll be like a water change during cycling

 

[Miles]

Prime is suppose to neutralize ammonia, but still allow your bio-filter to process it.

and yes, small traces of ammonia will be in your water if you have chloramine in your water.. you probably can't taste it, especially if you've always had it.. Just drink bottled water and you can tell the difference..

 

[guppy]

Miles has it right, chloramine lasts for weeks in open water unless treated. And , yes, there is ammonia in your drinking water.

 

[pangasiusfan]

oh that sucks..
i've been leaving water outside and then just dumping that water in during waterchanges...

do you think my city doesn't use chloramine(i'll call today)?
since none of my fish seem like they're dying...

well maybe it's because they're hardy guppys, goldfish.
i did have id sharks, pleco, cichlids, and corydoras in that tank over-night

 

[Wolf3101]

few people really know what all is allowed is thier drinking water or take the time to either do the proper testing or find out. This is why I go to so much trouble to use RO/DI water in all of my aquariums rather than tap water.

 

[pangasiusfan]

what's RO/DI?

can we use like heated lake water?
and are there any test kits that i can check the chlorine/chloramine?

 

[Miles]

You would know if you had chloramine in your water, and you weren't treating it. Your fish would be dying, and your water would be cloudy.

Just use a good water conditioner, and don't worry too much about it.

 

[Wolf3101]

You can use your standard ammonia test kit to check for clorimines...the reagent will react to the ammonia and give you a notacable reading.

RO = reverse osmosis

DI = De-Ionized

this set up removes EVERYTHING and produces totally pure water that you then condition for aquarium use.