what does everybody use and is there an ulternative to the store bought stuff
yep, one of these........
[img:48b7fe9be7]http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/91/1001924a4nk.jpg[/img:48b7fe9be7][/url]
and that is a .................. :?:
hehe, that is a wayne special chlorine killing in-line water filter.
he says you get a years worth of use out of every cartridge.
not bad value.
and umm....wayne, any chance of my 511+ posts? :oops:
water purifaction units that are used in the home can be adapted for fish use.<
>bunnings sell a simple but effective unit for $85.00, with a few modification this unit can become one of the most important parts of the fish room.<
>while at bunnings you can also get the hose fittings, which lets you to run your hose straight from the tap into the unit, then another to your tanks with out having to move the unit from tank to tank.<
>these part cost another $4.00.<
>now the most important part, the filter.<
>these filters can filter down to half of one micron, which in layman terms, it dont let anything through.<
>these can range from $15.00 to $45.00 depending on how good a job you want.<
>always get the filter cartridge with the carbon in it as this will take out the chlorine from the tap water and think of the money you''ll save on dechlorinators.<
>one cartridge will filter an olympic swimming pool so under normal use you should get at least a year befor wanting a new one(cartridge).<
>if you cant be bothered chasing around for the parts i sell them for $95.00 complete.<
>yes you have a bit of an out lay at first but for $15.00 a year i cant think of a better way. AND NO CHEMICALS.<
this is the single unit.
[/img]http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/91/1001924a4nk.jpg(//and%20this%20is%20the%20double)http://img400.imageshack.us/img400/1051/1001942ab1qf.jpg[img]
:lol:
steve, suck up to desty thats his department.....
[quote:9d43dfbfe6="wrk21"]steve, suck up to desty thats his department.....[/quote:9d43dfbfe6]
dammit, he told me to suck up to you :oops:
thats called passing the buck.............
ill have a word to him for ya ))o
I use the same as Wayne, bloody good investment
:wink:
i got a twin filter off wayne last auction, it works a treat, no more chemicals for me.
cheers lloyd
ps wayne every fitting leaked, :lol: but not to worry easily fixed.(//D)
Does it remove chloramines?
My understanding is that they don't remove chloramines.
The following is an extract from Brisbane Water web site.....
Water for home aquariums
Brisbane Water uses chloramine to disinfect water for drinking purposes. This is toxic to aquatic life.
You need to remove all traces of chloramine when using tap water in your aquarium. You can do this by:
.boiling the water for 10 minutes and letting it cool to room temperature, or
.ageing and exposing water to sunlight for at least two days, or
.buying de-chlorination agents from aquarium shops
NOTE....it doesn't say anything about filtration systems!!!
Why buy something that takes out trace elements? :mrgreen:
Just get a large bucket/ drum & airate your water for a day.
Frenchy :D
Activated carbon filters remove disolved gasses and organic dyes. Chloramine is a combination of chlorine and amonia, (both gasses). They do not remove minerals and other ions in solution.
Perfectly safe for treating aquarium water.
There seems some debate that activated carbon doesn't remove ammonia?
I found the following comment ???
[/url] http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_chlorine.htm
The debate continues? :D
So are you saying that these filters do remove ammonia? If so where does it state that, I must be missing something.
As far as Chlorine and Chloramine go, none of these tap filters remove either, to a degree of safety for fish, as I stated 12 months ago.
My belief after numerous experiments, is that water aerated for 48 hrs is perfectly safe for fish, and I personally have never had a fish die from Chorine or Chloramine poisoning after that amount of time.
Theo
Hi Theo
The article I referred to says these filters DONT remove ammonia....but could do with zeolite added to the system.
I agree with and follow the same procedure as you by ageing water for a week before each water change.....but I am not running any big tanks or a big fish room.....2/20 litre buckets is all I need.
I have looked at reverse osmosis system myself (mainly because I keep fish that prefer soft water) but I would not use that water exculsively because it is TOO pure.
I also top up a small pond directly from the tap with no treatment.....but that is about 40 litres in 1000 litre pond and never causes any problems.
I can sympathise with people who have big tanks or big fish rooms who want to have regular water changes and storage of water is difficult or impractical.....filtration system direct from the tap would be attractive....but I was just trying to point out that is worth doing a bit of research before relying on domestic filtration systems.....and then come to your OWN conclusion as to what will work for you and what risks you are prepared to take?
ie. I happy to fill my pond direct from the Tap....but I would never do that with my other tanks....
Rod
spot on alan,
thats exactly what i found out today about carbon.......
[quote:3ee0e6f3a5]thats exactly what i found out today about carbon[/quote:3ee0e6f3a5] :lol:
how long you been using it & singing its praises for, sorry couldn't help myself. :roll:
Carbon eh,
[quote:3ee0e6f3a5]Many of these tap filters only offically claim to remove the "taste and odor" of the chlorine, making no promise of how much chlorine is really removed. Other carbon filter units specifically claim to be able remove chlorine but the amount of chlorine they remove depends on the quality, size, and flow-rate of the filter, and the amount of chlorine in the tap water to begin with.
In addition to the effectiveness concerns regarding the removal of chlorine, is the issue of chloramine. Very few carbon filters can remove chloramine. The chlorine-ammonia bond prevents standard carbon from removing the chlorine. [/quote:3ee0e6f3a5]
hmmmmmmmmmm
I do as Theo, airate the water for a couple of days. But I do add just a tad of prime for good measure. Gotta use shop credit any way.
Frenchy :D
ok, for a years ive been saying that carbon will remove chlorine , but was asked the other day about chloiamines and found out that , to quote justin,"a good quality carbon filter will take out chloramines "
but it will not take out trace elements.
the slower you fill your tank the more exposure the water has to the carbon and the more effective it will be.
you do the same as DT so good on ya , no one making you buy one of there filters!!!!
DT might feed his fish differently to me but we still come up with the same resault, healthy, breeding fish.
and i just changed over 1000L of water yesterday with 1 of waynes filters on my tap yeah it took 2 hours to do 1000L at a slow rate but i am 100% happy with the results from the water and to make it all worth wild my Frontosa'a spawned 2 hours later so i am sure there is nothing wrong with the water that is coming out of them water filters
and is there such a test to find out how much chloramines are in water anyway?
or are we just guessing that stuff like water ager and prime etc removes it?
all in all happy as thanks Wayne
Darren :D
:lol:
Frenchy :D
Hi Darren,
I think you will find that the Gold Coast water supply is treated with chlorine....not chloramine....so if the carbon filter has the right sort of carbon then you would have no problem....provided you maintain the cartridges.
Brisbane water is treated with chloramine...
Most local water providers have a web site so it is worth checking what chemicals you are trying to get rid of before you start.
Point is....ever hobbyist needs to know how their local water supply is treated....or have a big bottle of prime ready just incase your assumptions are incorrect!
I have seen posts of people having problems with increased ammonia after water changes....using prime....so perhaps the dose of prime needed to remove chloramine is greater than for chlorine...NOTE! Also they use greater concentrations of chloromine because it is not as Good as chlorine for killing bugs....but they use it because it is harder to get rid of.
:D
thanks for the reply Rod
cheers i didn't no that info
Darren :D
when i seen this post i thought mmm so i went to our local irrigation shop ask about them. {it will help but not the answer only removes about 6%. it is for human consumption to satisfy the taste }
all i will say is that i will put my money to better use else where.
I looked into carbon a while ago too, but was worried about a couple of things, the fact that carbon breeds harmful bacterias,(make sure to flush out filter before each use), most don't have how much chlorine is filtered, & as for how much water they filter, its only an estimate. As it goes by contact time with water not the amount of water that passes through.
Good point raised before about chlorine neutralisers I have often wondered how much chlorine...they remove, I know prime states how many ppm it removes. Then again how much chlorine is in our water?
So if there are no chloramines on the gold coast(south of Helensvale) then airating the water is the cheapest & safest option for me. 8)
Frenchy :D
Just bringing this back up.
Chlorine and chloramine catridges...
Matrikx CR1
0.5 micron rating for >99.99% chlorine and >99.99% for Cryptosporidium & Giardia cysts, treatment ratings are up to 10L/min for 40,000L. Cost about $40.
There chloramine cartridges aswell from Pentek and Omnipure, such as Pentek CGAC-10 Chloramine, which reduces 3ppm down to <0.5ppm at flow rate of 3.8L/min for about 7,000L. About $50.
You can also check for chloramines with your ammonia test kit (well my Hagen kit does anyway)
I use water conditioner and there are three types I'm aware of:
-Stuff that neutralises chlorine and chloromines only
-Stuff that neutralises chlorine and chloromines AND ammonia, and heavy metals (what I use).
-Stuff that claims to do the whole lot as well as create ideal water conditions for your fish (eg Geo Liquid)
Or you can use carbon/Zeolite canisters as described by the others,
Or the natural way is water in large buckets or the like, and let it stand for a few days.
I use Aquastar which claims to neutralise not only chlorine and chloromines, but also ammonia and heavy metals (like copper) and other contaminants. Essentially it's like a more expensive European product called Prime. I live in a 65 year old house with copper pipes, so a good neutraliser is essential.
You can check what Aquastar does from below link if interested. It works out cheapest to use 'cause it's so potent (only need about 5 drops for an 18L bucket). People might get caught out with just the basic chlorine neutraliser as found at the supermarket, as all it does is neutralise chlorine/chloromines but not other contaminants. Plus the cheaper stuff isn't as strong so you end up using more each water change thus spending more $$ over time. I've never had a drama with the better stuff.
Best place I've found for water conditioners is Age of Aquariums, they seem to be the cheapest:
http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/category36_1.htm
I guess you need to weigh up costs:
ongoing requirement for water conditioner,
or ongoing requirement for carbon/zeolite + cost of a cannister setup.
or just go the old fashion way and age your water in a bucket.