Dr. GreenBrain
Legal Grower
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2009
- Messages
- 89
- Reaction score
- 83
Hello all,
I am a concerned first time grower, and just like anybody who wants to start up a new hobby, I have been doing endless research. I recently found out that my city uses Chloramine to treat our tap water. For those of you who don't know, Chloramine is an ammonia/chlorine mix that can be particularly nasty to your plants. Unlike Chlorine, Chloramine doesn't easily evaporate when "aged" or left to sit for a few days.
There are a few ways to get rid of Chloramine. First you can buy an expensive filter and hook it up to your faucet. This is better for your plants and family. However they can be quite pricey, and you HAVE to buy the special filter that specifically removes CHLORAMINE. My grow shop has a special deal with the manufacturer who sells them with the special filters in the box. Also, I know there are additives you can buy to put in aquarium water that removes Chloramine, but since my grow shop didn't recommend anything to me, I must assume that the additive can be harmful to plants (more research needs to be done in this area).
Now if you are like me, you spent all of your money building your grow room, so buying a filter is out of the question. In true Dr. GreenBrain style I looked up all the facts about my city's water supply and came across the attached document on removing Chlormine. I now share it with you. Inside you will find such gems as:
Q: What methods are used by the industry to remove chloramine and ammonia?
A: In the water industry, the most widely practiced methods of dechlorination are the addition of reducing agents, for example, sulfite compounds, hydrogen peroxide and ascorbic acid - Vitamin C (Tikkanen et al., 2001). Granular activated carbon (GAC) filters are also used for dechlorination (Kirmeyer et al., 2004). Breakpoint chlorination is used routinely by some utilities to remove chloramine and/or ammonia in the source water or to avoid blending chlorinated and chloraminated water. During breakpoint chlorination, excess chlorine in chloraminated water
consumes the available ammonia and the remaining disinfectant residual exists as chlorine.
and my favorite:
Q: What are other simple methods to remove chloramine for drinking water purposes?
A: The removal of chloramine is not necessary from a public health perspective; however, some customers may choose to remove chloramine for aesthetic reasons. Placing a few slices of fruit (e.g., orange, lime, lemon, mango, strawberries) or vegetable (cucumber) in a water pitcher will effectively dechlorinate the water within a few hours. A peeled and sliced medium size orange can be used for a 1-gal water pitcher and will completely dechlorinate the water in 30 minutes. The fruit can then be removed from the water.
The water pH will become closer to neutral or
acidic (if lime or lemon is used). The ammonia will not be removed but most of the fruits contribute some or more ammonia than the drinking water. Preparing a cup of tea (black, green, caffeinated, decaffeinated, herbachloramine, as does coffee prepared in a common coffee maker.
Anyway, I hope you find this useful. See attachment for full report.
View attachment Chloramine.pdf
I am a concerned first time grower, and just like anybody who wants to start up a new hobby, I have been doing endless research. I recently found out that my city uses Chloramine to treat our tap water. For those of you who don't know, Chloramine is an ammonia/chlorine mix that can be particularly nasty to your plants. Unlike Chlorine, Chloramine doesn't easily evaporate when "aged" or left to sit for a few days.
There are a few ways to get rid of Chloramine. First you can buy an expensive filter and hook it up to your faucet. This is better for your plants and family. However they can be quite pricey, and you HAVE to buy the special filter that specifically removes CHLORAMINE. My grow shop has a special deal with the manufacturer who sells them with the special filters in the box. Also, I know there are additives you can buy to put in aquarium water that removes Chloramine, but since my grow shop didn't recommend anything to me, I must assume that the additive can be harmful to plants (more research needs to be done in this area).
Now if you are like me, you spent all of your money building your grow room, so buying a filter is out of the question. In true Dr. GreenBrain style I looked up all the facts about my city's water supply and came across the attached document on removing Chlormine. I now share it with you. Inside you will find such gems as:
Q: What methods are used by the industry to remove chloramine and ammonia?
A: In the water industry, the most widely practiced methods of dechlorination are the addition of reducing agents, for example, sulfite compounds, hydrogen peroxide and ascorbic acid - Vitamin C (Tikkanen et al., 2001). Granular activated carbon (GAC) filters are also used for dechlorination (Kirmeyer et al., 2004). Breakpoint chlorination is used routinely by some utilities to remove chloramine and/or ammonia in the source water or to avoid blending chlorinated and chloraminated water. During breakpoint chlorination, excess chlorine in chloraminated water
consumes the available ammonia and the remaining disinfectant residual exists as chlorine.
and my favorite:
Q: What are other simple methods to remove chloramine for drinking water purposes?
A: The removal of chloramine is not necessary from a public health perspective; however, some customers may choose to remove chloramine for aesthetic reasons. Placing a few slices of fruit (e.g., orange, lime, lemon, mango, strawberries) or vegetable (cucumber) in a water pitcher will effectively dechlorinate the water within a few hours. A peeled and sliced medium size orange can be used for a 1-gal water pitcher and will completely dechlorinate the water in 30 minutes. The fruit can then be removed from the water.
The water pH will become closer to neutral or
acidic (if lime or lemon is used). The ammonia will not be removed but most of the fruits contribute some or more ammonia than the drinking water. Preparing a cup of tea (black, green, caffeinated, decaffeinated, herbachloramine, as does coffee prepared in a common coffee maker.
Anyway, I hope you find this useful. See attachment for full report.
View attachment Chloramine.pdf
