What is the difference between chlorine and chloramine?
Many communities have changed their disinfecting agent used in water treatment from chlorine to chloramine. Chloramine is a mixture of chlorine and ammonia. While chlorine is easy to remove from your water, ammonia is very difficult. Even a Reverse Osmosis system will not remove the ammonia from the drinking water, a special filter must be added to the system and in a filter system a different KDF media is used to remove the ammonia Centaur Catalytic absorptive carbon filter is very effective in the removal of both chloramine and hydrogen sulphide and can be purchased as a whole house 20″ filter or a standard 10″ point of use filter which can be placed into a standard 10″ housing in a RO system or in a filter housing. The problem with chloramine is most people are either unaware that it is being used in their community or they are using a water purification system that is not effective in removing the ammonia.
Both disinfection agents used by water municipalities to treat drinking water, chlorine and chloramine differ slightly. The chemical chlorine, which is still the predominant choice of many water municipalities worldwide, is fed directly into the water source where it kills a host of contaminants and bacteria but produces the potentially harmful byproduct trihalomethanes or THMs. Chloramine, which is increasing in popularity as the disinfection agent of choice for many water municipalities, is created when chlorine and ammonia are simultaneously fed into the water supply. Not as reactive as chlorine with organic material in water, chloramine does not produce harmful levels of THMs and cannot bond to skin or hair reducing the irritating external effects of chlorine, like red, itchy eyes and dry skin and hair. In addition, chloramine is a weaker disinfectant than chlorine, but is more stable, thereby extending disinfectant benefits throughout a water utilities distribution system. Finally
In the United States, regulations require that all municipal be treated with chlorine to limit bacterial growth. However, water treatment companies may choose to use either chlorine or chloramine. For most people it doesn’t make any difference, but to the aquarium owner the difference is very significant. Chlorine The concentration of chlorine required by law in the United States, 0.2 ppm, is high enough to be lethal to your fish. Fortunately it is easily neutralized by one of two methods. The first option is to chemically treat the water with sodium thiosulfate. Virtually every water treatment product available at your local pet shop contains this chemical. In other words, if your water contains only chlorine, all you need to purchase the most inexpensive product containing sodium thiosulfate. The second option utilizes the fact that given the opportunity, chlorine dissipates pretty rapidly into the atmosphere. If water is simply exposed to the air for twenty-four hours, it will be ch
