Ammonia in RO/DI

mr_alberta · #1 03-15-2006, 10:15 PM

They will do both. The used up carbon filters will allow more chemicals to pass and the sediment cartridge will plug up.

I'd test my water, but I don't own a test kit

Beverly · #2 03-15-2006, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr_alberta

I'd test my water, but I don't own a test kit

Ack!! How can that be? I'll test your water if you bring samples over.

Rory,

Test it with the Hagen one and see what you get. Test both tapwater and RO water, if you wouldn't mind.

TheReefGeek · #3 03-15-2006, 11:03 PM

Will do. Might not be until tommorow night though.

mark · #4 03-15-2006, 11:49 PM

Using a Hagen NH3 test kit.

Increments from 0.0; 0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 1.2,...

Never been a fan of these colour matching tests (that's why I switched to Salifert for pH) but I read it as 0.0, maybe 0.1 but definitely not matching 0.3.

mark · #5 03-15-2006, 11:55 PM

If chlorine and ammonia bind to form chloramine, can the ammonia component still be accurately measured using a ammonia only test?

StirCrazy · #6 03-16-2006, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark

If chlorine and ammonia bind to form chloramine, can the ammonia component still be accurately measured using a ammonia only test?

nope, well not by our test kits anyways.

Steve

Beverly · #7 03-16-2006, 01:37 PM

Mark,

Did you measure ammonia in your tapwater as well as ammonia coming out of your RO unit with your Hagen kit?

Steve,

If it's true that our test kits do not measure ammonia in the chloramine molecule, why am I measuring 1 ppm ammonia from my tapwater, and .5 ppm from my RO/DI water with my Aquarium Pharmaceuticals kit?

When I first started keeping FW fish in 1998, I used to have an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals chlorine test kit that would measure slightly more chlorine than ammonia in Edmonton's tapwater. Chlorine and ammonia test results seemed to jive with what an Epcor lab guy told me back then about there being more chlorine added than ammonia, and that there was free chlorine in our water supply along with chloramine. The lab guy explained why they added more chlorine than ammonia, but I can't remember why that was.