Monday, May 9, 2016

Removing chloramines safely

The Issue

Earlier today, I expressed concern about the safety of the Tap Water Dechlorinator product that I was using to clear the chlorine and chloramines from the tap water that I put into my system. See the earlier post for details. To summarize, my main concern were:
  1. Is the product disrupting the cycling for aquaponics purposes? My tank has no nitrites but does have a level of nitrates. Is there something preventing those ammonia-eating bacteria from being formed?
  2. Is it safe to add such a product the water of a system from which we will eventually eat the plants?
  3. Is the product actually contributing to a spike in ammonia?
  4. What the hell is in this product? I can't find a site that has MSDS or any other clue as to what is in it?

Analysis and possible solution

After picking the algorithm of my personal librarian (Google), I discovered a couple of tidbits, such as:
  1. Most dechlorinator products are comprised of Sodium Thiosulfate (ST) and/or EDTA. The Sodium Thiosulfate handles the chlorine and chloramine , while the EDTA handles any heavy metals.
  2. I also read in a forum that the dechlorinator detoxifies nitrites and nitrates? There was no reference for this. I'm not sure if this point is relevant as long as these detoxified items do their part in the Nitrogen Cycle.
  3. A forum posting recounted the bad taste of fish in his system while he was using Sodium Thiosulfate as a dechlorinating agent. He mentioned that his fish tasted like sulfur. He stopped using it and it was highly reduced. I'm assuming that he replaced the fish and the water beforehand, but I'll try to find the link to prevent the spreading of bad information.
  4. The reaction of Sodium Thiosulfate winds up leaving ammonia after it does its job. This may explain one aspect of my water readings.
  5. I also read that there are rising concerns about the health effects of ST on humans and fish. However, there was no reference to any actual studies or articles about those concerns or what they comprised.
  6. Vitamin C appears to be the most natural source for removing chloromines from tap water. However, what is actually needed depends on how your municipal tap water is treated, as explained in the video below. Thanks, PhillyAquaponics!

So, will this will help solve the problem and lead to a healthier system? Do I have to perform a series of small water changes to reduce the effects of the dechlorinator product? Only time will tell.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for caring to comment!