Newbie with a fungus problem?)
When you say your “baseline tests were zero for ammonia at first then went up the next day”… was that for your tap water baseline? Did you add dechlor to the tap water immediately before testing or strictly rely on your Britta filter? My first thoughts would be that the Brita filter would catch the chloramine but we know carbon doesn’t catch ammonia but is supposed to catch chlorine… so I’m not sure how it treats chloramine (which is a combination chemical made of chlorine and ammonia). But then I would think that Brita and Pur would add something to their little tap water filters that would catch the chloramine since I’m sure their customers expect it.
Here’s what Brita says… http://www.brita.com/us/support/about-impurities/ BritaR water tastes better because BritaR filtration systems reduce chlorine (taste and odor)1. Because BritaR filters remove only small amounts of fluoride over the life of the filter, you don’t have to worry about missing out on the benefits of fluoride in your tap water.2
How the BritaR Faucet Filter works An added layer around the filter traps large particulate matter from the water Activated powdered carbon acts like a sponge, sucking up Chlorine (taste and odor and Benzene) A zeolite acts like a magnet attracting Lead
Then from the FAQ page… http://www.brita.com/us/support/faq/faucet-faq/ The BritaR Faucet Filter removes microbiological cryptosporidium and giardia. It also reduces lead, TTHM, VOCs, lindane (pesticide), 2,4-D, alachlor, atrazine (herbicide), chlorine (taste and odor) and sediment1. For more information about the impurities that BritaR Faucet Filters reduce, including any health risks they may help avoid confusion.
NOTICE that it specifically mentions “Chlorine” but doesn’t mention Chloramine… and then it says it only “reduces chlorine”, not remove it completely…. things that make you go hmmmmm????
To be “Fair and Balanced”, here’s what I found on the Pur website… http://www.purwater.com/#/contaminants http://www.purwater.com/manuals/PUR_Filter_Comparison.pdf Well.. unfortunately, you’ll have to read the Pur website yourself since the Pur website relies on Flash Player and PDF file to display what their filters do but they also do NOT mention anything about removing or reducing chloramine… only REDUCING chlorine.
Unless someone else can find something definitive and in writing from either of these companies, I would strongly suggest that you NOT rely on these faucet filters for removing chlorine or chloramine from your tap water to be used in your fish tanks. You should still use a dechlor product when using these types of filter systems. They might be OK in removing some other nasties that our fish may not like but they do not make the water completely fish ready.
Lenny Vasbinder Fish Blog - http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com (Links to any articles referenced in above reply are listed on the right side, alphabetically under Labels and also under Archives by Year, Month)
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
