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Re: White Diamond by Marineland




On Tue, 21 Sep 1999, Scott McLaughlin wrote:

> I do not have the explanation of how this is accomplished.
> The only information I got was that the stuff uses ion exchange to reduce ammonia
> levels through the cycle period of a new tank. I also received some graphs showing
> the difference in the levels with and without the white diamond.

I didn't respond to this question originally, because it sounded like
Scott had some information about the product that was inconsistent with my
expectation.  Now it appears that my expectations were probably right.

Ammonium (the common form of ammonia in solution) can be removed from
water by a cation exchange medium.  This is just as a cation exchanger can
remove other positively charged ions like calcium or magnesium.  Other
products (Amrid, for instance) have been on the market for years to do the
same thing.

How the exchanger will otherwise effect your water depends on how it's
charged and on the starting composition of your water.  I suggest you use
ammonium exchangers only when ammonia levels reach a point where getting
some of the ammonia out is an overriding concern.  This probably means
that you never need to use it in a heavily planted, well-lit tank.


Roger Miller