[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [APD] cycling water for water changes (Derek Parr)
Derek wrote:
>Part of the reason I ask, is that my tap water may be coming in with
>ammonia to about 4ppm occasionally, according to a fellow local
>aquarist, I've been too lazy to verify that. That, and the other
>advantages are causing me to think seriously on the subject. Presently
>my water changes either come straight from the tap after going through
>an under sink carbon filter, or from the same tap but stored in gallon
>jugs for the tank at work and drinking water at work... and small tanks
>at home. So, another question then, does carbon filter out ammonia? Or
>are those white pellets the only thing that does that? (besides plants
>of course)
>
>thanks,
>-derek parr
>
>
I did some research earlier this year, and as far as I can tell, carbon
does not filter out ammonia, while zeolite does. Carbon is best for
aromatic, uncharged molecules like DOCs and traps them by a combination
of hydrophobic interactions and small pore size. It also traps some
metals, but I'm not sure of the mechanism. Zeolite also has very small
pores, and does a bit of trapping by pore size, but it traps cations
like NH4+ because it has negatively charged sites as part of the mineral.
Personally, I use mine straight from the tap treated with AmQuel for the
chloramines for all but my most sensitive fish. For those, I run an
air-driven box filter with a bag of Chemi-Pure in the water overnight
because it seems that I have a subtle problem with my tapwater. It
tests fine, but sensitive fish don't like it until it's been chemically
filtered. I bet you could do something similar with a little internal
filter filled with zeolites. All you'd need is a Fluval 1 or 2. Slow
flow rates are better for chemical media.
HTH,
Elaine
_______________________________________________
Aquatic-Plants mailing list
Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo/aquatic-plants