How to Eliminate Chlorine & Chloramines with Aquatic Turtles
It was discussed in an earlier article on Turtle-Tech the effects of the use of Chlorine and Chloramines with Aquatic Turtles.
This previous article is entitled:
The use of Free Chlorine & Chloramines with Aquatic Turtles.
For more information on this subject, this article can be found under the “Care and Husbandry” category on the Turtle-Tech Blog.
Removing/Neutralizing Free Chlorine and Chloramines in Turtle Water:
For the turtle keepers in our communities who are forced to use treated water from municipalities and would rather provide water removed from the possibility of chlorine or chloramines in their turtles’ environments we can offer the following assistance. First however, be sure to contact your provider and find out what form of chlorine is being used in your area, then you can deal with the situation correctly. The use of alternate water sources of course is the best way of providing a safe, chemically free environment for your turtles. Spring water purchased from grocery/food outlets can be a good source, however, check the labels ingredients to make sure no chlorine has been added. RO (reverse osmosis) water can also be purchased at some outlets, although pricey, it is another good choice for use with your turtles. If you live in an area that receives good rainfall, then collected rain runoff can be an option. If you are forced however to trust to tap water treated with chlorine or chloramine, the following information may help you rid the water of these chemicals.
Removal through RO and other Filtration:
One certain way to remove chlorine and chloramines from treated drinking water is through Reverse Osmoses filtration Systems. This process allows for the removal of the chlorines or chloramine through the use of specific membranes and the direct absorption by contact with activated carbon. Generally, a catalytic carbon is used for this application as it renders a higher capacity for absorption of the chlorine/chloramines. These filters have shown to be effective but sometimes expensive to operate, depending on the amount of water being processed and the level of total chemicals being filtered out. Common canister filters packed with high grade activated carbon can also aid in the removal of these chemicals.
Neutralizing Free Chlorine:
Free Chlorine is generally added into your water at .4ppm. This is important to know if you are treating water in large quantities to eliminate the chlorine. Free chlorine will normally evaporate out of the water on its own within 12-24 hours, depending on exposure to sunlight and turbulation of the water, both of these factors increase the dissipation/evaporation process. If you do not want to treat the water chemically and still rid the water of chlorine, place the water in full sun with heavy aeration. The water should be virtually chlorine free within 24hours.
Neutralizing Bound Chlorine (Chloramine):
Chloramine is added at the same .4ppm for the disinfecting of drinking water. Because of its chemically bound nature chloramine will stay stable and active in your aquarium water much longer than free chlorine. Some estimates say as much as 10 times longer, depending on certain factors. Chloramine will eventually breakdown naturally into its core components of chlorine and ammonia, but the decomposing of the chemical bond joining them can take days or even weeks. Once that chemical bond has degraded enough to free the chlorine from the ammonia, the chlorine is able to evaporate naturally, and the ammonia is left behind to be processed by your aquariums biological filter. This is where the chemical conditioners that “neutralize” chloramines come in handy, they break the chemical bond quickly allowing separation of the two parts, then they neutralize the chlorine. The ammonia however is still left in the water to be processed by biological filtration or extracted by ammonia absorbents.
So in review, if eliminating chlorine or chloramine from your turtle’s water is your goal, you’re most certainly going to have a bigger mess on your hands with chloramine. With chlorine, simple exposure to sunlight and sufficient water turnover will have your water ready in a day or so. With Chloramine however, even after treatment with water conditioners, and the evaporation of the now “free” chlorine, you will still have residual amounts of ammonia to deal with, which can cause water clouding, bacterial blooms, and buildups of Nitrites and Nitrates.
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