Chlorine vs. Chloramine
Understanding the Difference
While both waters are use to sanitize tap water, chloramine is much more stable, longer lasting and ultimately more cost effective. These are the reasons more and more water treatment facilities are using chloramine instead of chlorine. To find out if your tap water contains chloramine you can contact your local city public works department or local water treatment facility.
According to the EPA, more than 1-in-5 households use water treated with chloramine. If not removed, chloramine can cause serious problems within your aquarium including: • Excessive Algae Growth• Rapid Exhaustion of DI Resin• Deterioration and Death of Livestock
It is possible to check for chloramines yourself by testing the waste water coming from your RO/DI system with a total chlorine test kit. Because standard carbon block filters remove all traces of chlorine, if your waste water still tests positive for total chlorine, it means your tap water most likely contains chloramine. Moreover, because chloramine is a combination of Chlorine and Ammonia, if you test positive for ammonia in your RO water, your water source contains chloramine.
- Stage One: Purtrex 5 Micron Sediment Filter
- Stage Two: Catalytic Activated Carbon
- Stage Three: ChlorPlus 10 Carbon Block
- Final Stage: DI Resin