My Plan To Eliminate Ammonia From My Tap Water

[CrustyOnEastCoast]

So here are my tap water stats:

Ammonia: 1.5 to 2.0 ppm (from the Chloramines probably)
Ph: 8.0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0-5ppm

There are 3 months out of the year when the municipal water company uses
only chlorine and not chloramines to treat the water. I imagine during those months
my tap water ammonia might register as 0ppm. I compared my test results against what the
water company claims is in the water. Their claims/test results are somewhat lower than
my results but not a lot.

I am currently running a fully stocked 5 U.S. gallon aquarium, using purchased RO water with added minerals
(Seachem Replenish). It is working wonderfully, and the RO water is not that expensive for such a small aquarium.

However, in the next year or so, I want to get a 30 U.S. gallon aquarium. I won't use purchased RO Water
for that due to the expense.

Following are some options that I DON'T want to do for the 30 gallon:

I don't want to use my tap water

- Proper dechlorinators will break down the chloramines and change the free ammonia to ammonium .. BUT ..

- ammonium is still somewhat harmful to fish (I have heard, true?)
- The ammonium will revert back to ammonia in about 24 hours (if not consumed by the
healthy bacteria) but probably quicker for me because the Ph is so high. Also, no way to
really tell how much time I have .. and can't control.
- The ammonium added from the water change is quite simply an extra load on the biological
filtration, the exact opposite of what a water change is for, and it
interrupts the carefully established balance (almost like adding several new fish at once!!)

- I have been advised that I can just do frequent, very small water changes. In theory,
this option would probably work fine .. BUT ...

- I don't want the hassle of having to do multiple water changes each week
- It will be difficult to clean my gravel .. I will only be able to do very
small bits at a time and I will have to keep careful track of what sections are
uncleaned all the time

- Perhaps most importantly, I will have no emergency supply of clean water that I can
use if I experience an ammonia spike

I don't want to buy and use an RO unit

- I have heard that you have to keep the RO unit running all the time (even if you don't need the water)
so that the membrane doesn't dry out, true? I would only need the pure water once a week for the water change. So this option seems very wasteful.

Following is an option I AM considering:

Retire my 5 gallon tank and use it as a water conditioner:

- Remove all plants, decorations, gravel, etc., leave just heater and filter
- Tweak filter so that it just performs biological filtration
- Feed the 5 gallon aquarium with a set ammount of ammonia each day to keep bacteria colony flourishing

When I need to do my water changes I will:

- The night before, I will replace all the water in the 5 gallon tank (to eliminate Nitrates)
- Feed 5 gallon tank with some ammonia (that will all be consumed, nitrites too, the following day).
- Use the water in the 5 gallon tank for the water change in the 30 gallon tank
(amounts to a little under a 20% water change) and then replenish the 5 gallon tank for next time

Just posting this for the sake of sharing .. but also wondering what other people think and what
other ideas people have or have used?

By the way, I have yet to meet anybody else that has an ammonia reading of 1.5 to 2.0ppm! (API liquid master
test kit). The closest I have seen is 1.0ppm, so unfortunately, I guess not too many people will be able to relate to me.

 

[Danbarb]

don't want to buy and use an RO unit

- I have heard that you have to keep the RO unit running all the time (even if you don't need the water)
so that the membrane doesn't dry out, true? I would only need the pure water once a week for the water change. So this option seems very wasteful.

I hope for an answer to that as well, as that would pretty much rule out an RO unit for myself as well which I was considering getting.

 

[mtbdean]

I have a R.O Unit running at home, and it stores water in the compartments, so it wouldnt dry out. But, needs to be switched on every 7 days to keep the silica fresh.

 

[roadmaster]

Would do something similar to the five gallon biological filtration method you mentioned except,,I would use a tub capable of holding 20 or 30 gallon. Would slap a filter /heater on the tub and let it run. Ammonia in tapwater over time,, would establish bacteriaL colony in the filter(just like cycling a tank) and once established,,the bacteria should process the ammonia from the tap (not fish) and ammonia free water would be available for water change. After each water change,,simply re-fill the tub with tapwater and by weeks end,there should be enough ammonia fee water for another water change.
So long as you feed the bacteria with the tapwater containing ammonia,,there would be no need for adding ammonia to the tub and larger tub would give you enough water for emergency water change if needed.
Would also consider adding lot's of plant's to the aquarium.they too can process a fair amount of ammonia and use it for growth.

 

[CrustyOnEastCoast]

So long as you feed the bacteria with the tapwater containing ammonia,,there would be no need for adding ammonia to the tub

If I don't feed the tub daily, won't the bacteria start to die off after they finish processing the ammonia in the tap water (that won't take the whole week)? Will feeding the bacteria once a week with the water change be enough to keep them healthy?

I have a R.O Unit running at home, and it stores water in the compartments, so it wouldnt dry out. But, needs to be switched on every 7 days to keep the silica fresh.

Hmmm .. maybe I need to learn more about these things. If I can just let it sit in water for 7 days and only use it once a week .. then might be a good option.

 

[Vin Swords]

take it easy....