Chlorine and Chloramine Clarification & Removal Tips

[Naycha]

It would be great to see an actual comparitive experiment growing Cannabis with and without chlorinated water. Even better would be doing it in a country where the harvested Cannabis could be tested by mass spectrometry.

 

It's not something I hold my breath for as when ppl's beliefs are so set in stone the motivation to do this kind of study is lacking.

 

Fish dying etc, while saddening is purely anecdotal evidence. Anecdotal evidence is not completely useless but it doesn't hold a lot of weight for me. One example is I too used to run home aquariums and I never had a problem from chlorine and I know for a fact chlorine was present in my water. Another example is I have been running dwc with chlorinated water for a long time with no noticeable negative affect on plant health.

 

I appreciate the post and information. I would be interested in seeing any evidence of chlorine (and the other chemicals you mentioned) remaining present in dried Cannabis, and then again their concentrations in Cannabis smoke and vapour comparative to Cannabis grown without the presence of the chemicals you mentioned. There has been current research along the same lines but focusing on different chemicals such as PGR's.

 

Interesting topic.

 

Naycha

[louise]

 

 

.... if fish can't tolerate it why do we??

 

Ummm, because we aren't fish...

 

That's as rational as saying 'penicillin kills guinea pigs... why do we tolerate dr perscribing it for infections?'

[Lenore]

I've not read the entire post, but I can agree. Tap water in SEQ is SHIT!

Not only am I faced with chlorine and ammonia, but we're also being poisoned with FLUORIDE....

 

Not only is all that bad for you, it's bad for the plants.

For the past 8 months I have only been drinking water we have treated with a bench tip reverse osmosis unit. And I have noticed a change in my general health for the better.

We also stopped using aged tap water, and switched to using R/O water. Yep. The proof is in the pudding. The plants are so much healthier!

I strongly advise and support the use of the cleanest water possible. I've not tried rain water, I've never had a tank. And being so close to the city, I can't imagine the water coming out of the sky would be that clean any way.....

 

May your crops grow well.

 

Lenny

[ConvexConepiece]

ffs..... just let ya water sit for 24 hours before ya use it and the chlorine will evaporate. It's not that hard.

 

 

As mentioned, the problem for people with chloramine in their tap water is that it simply will not evaporate....

 

 

louise, on 09 Apr 2014 - 08:56 AM, said:

Ummm, because we aren't fish...

 

That's as rational as saying 'penicillin kills guinea pigs... why do we tolerate dr perscribing it for infections?'

 

 

What's so irrational about saying that an oxidiser like chlorine kills living cells, including ones inside our body? 

 

If the residual is high enough to kill pathogens such as e-coli, pseudomonas, giardia and the like it's certainly high enough to kill beneficial bacteria, cell walls and the like inside our body.

 

I think you need to open your eyes to the truth. Anyway I would like to keep this on topic about negative effects on it's usage in cultivation.

Edited April 8, 2014 by ConvexConepiece

[onemancrew]

ffs..... just let ya water sit for 24 hours before ya use it and the chlorine will evaporate. It's not that hard.

 

 

 

Nibbler

Quoted original post.......

 

Now let me clear up some misconceptions about the REMOVAL of chloramine.

 

You can't remove it by boiling the water (well it can if boiled for a cpl hrs strait but not with a regular kettle)

You can't remove it by aeration or letting the water stand (takes a few weeks in my testing)

Even standard reverse osmosis systems do not fully remove it unless you run it slowly through multiple carbon filters, usually specialty purpose catalytic ones. (end quote)

 

Remember it's not just chlorine, it's chloramine. Chlorine and ammonia Mixed. It's very well much proven that chlorine is a very toxic chemical. and also, remember the flouride problem.

 

So why are they putting it in our water again?

 

Can anyone give a good reason as to why they use toxic chemicals to treat our water when it's quite possible to treat the water without toxic chemicals? http://www.wynman.com/chlorine.html

 

Ah. Guess no one will believe it until they hear it on tv...

Edited April 8, 2014 by onemancrew

[ConvexConepiece]

http://www.wynman.com/chlorine.html

 

Ah. Guess no one will believe it until they hear it on tv...

 

That link is interesting, yet just a snippet from studies done around the world by various professionals.

 

Of note is hot showers. It is indeed true that when showering if the water is above something like 50 degrees the chlorine turns into chlorine gas which is many many times more poisonous.

 

Plenty of people are sent to hospital each year from spraying bleach in their shower for cleaning and then cleaning it off with hot water in the confined space of cubicle.

[pegz]

Once again, chlorine has been proven as a carcinogen. The definition of which means that traces of this are staying in the buds after harvest and YOUR SMOKING IT. Not to mention drinking it from the tap. Or eating fruit with it.

Yes we differ from aquatic wildlife in that we do not absorb strait into the bloodstream but heck we aren't all that different so if it kills my fish in seconds then what is it doing long term to our ENTIRE population?? This generation and the next?? Scientists will probably find out too late. I've always thought that we will wipe ourselves out one way or the other and making the population sterile is up there on the possibility list.

 

Chlorine is an essential element and plant micronutrient.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_nutrition

 

Technically I guess what we should be referring to hypochlorite, as that is what is often used in water treatment, not elemental chlorine.

 

 

They are talking about this exact topic on the radio at the moment, apparently you can treat water with ozone. It's a very safe way being basically oxygen therapy for water. The Russians do it like that so they said.

 

So there ya go, there's many ways to get the same result without using toxic chemicals.

 

It only kills certain bacteria, it doesn't remove other chemical or material pollutants.

Edited April 9, 2014 by pegz

[ConvexConepiece]

 

Chlorine is an essential element and plant micronutrient.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_nutrition

 

Technically I guess what we should be referring to hypochlorite, as that is what is often used in water treatment, not elemental chlorine.

 

There's no need to add confusion by being technically correct in this regard. Without the oxygen atom then yes elemental chlorine is harmless as it's then not an oxidant which is what we're actually discussing here so for the relevant purpose, chlorine is the correct word to use.

 

 

It only kills certain bacteria, it doesn't remove other chemical or material pollutants.

 

 

Not sure what your point is. Chlorine does not remove chemical or material pollutants either, that's what the treatment plant does and anything that is picked up in the pipes on it's way to your house will come out your tap regardless unless you run a post filter.

 

The disadvantage that ozone has compared to chlorine is it's lessened residual disinfection after leaving the plant.

Edited April 9, 2014 by ConvexConepiece

[louise]

I think you need to open your eyes to the truth. Anyway I would like to keep this on topic about negative effects on it's usage in cultivation.

 

And I think you are needlessly alarmist.

 

I grow using tap water... shit I even drink 3-4 litres of it each day. At less than 1 part per million chlorine (yes, I checked with the local authority), ec of 0.01 and a pH that fluctates seasonally between pH 5.8 - 7.4 (readings from my laundry taps)... I can't say that I have noticed any negative effects in cultivation and I have some very delicate ferns amongst the potted collection.

 

Granted, we do have excellent water around here. 

[ConvexConepiece]

And I think you are needlessly alarmist.

 

I grow using tap water... shit I even drink 3-4 litres of it each day. At less than 1 part per million chlorine (yes, I checked with the local authority), ec of 0.01 and a pH that fluctates seasonally between pH 5.8 - 7.4 (readings from my laundry taps)... I can't say that I have noticed any negative effects in cultivation and I have some very delicate ferns amongst the potted collection.

 

Granted, we do have excellent water around here. 

 

As I mentioned, I am qualified and work in this industry. I go to conferences on this and similar subjects, converse with other like minded professionals, and I assure you there is no such thing as being needlessly alarmed. Infact most everyone in these circles feels the same way I do.

 

You might be lucky enough to still have regular chlorine in your townwater however checking with your local authority will only give you their TARGET specs. As i've said both accidental and reactive overdosing happens frequently either by equipment failure, operator of the plant incompetence, when work is done on the lines and contamination enters and in reaction to a bad microbiological result from our labs . I've seen quadruple the target coming from taps and believe me it happens alllll the time. Once again, pool water is usually 1.5ppm.

 

I respect your thoughts however it doesn't sound like you would know any different because you simply haven't tried removing it. I speak from experience here, believe me you could benefit respecting that.

 

The market is flooded with loads of bullshit products costing huge $$$, claiming to do gods work and yet simply don't.... why we look past getting our source water right in the first place is beyond me. 

 

PS. if your tap water gets down to 5.8 pH that's not good to drink either, infact the body prefers an alkaline pH over 8. Remember pH is a logarithmic scale, each reduction by 1 point is actually 10x the acidity. 5.8 is low enough to strip the lining on the concrete and copper pipes and adds that to your water. After my drinking water goes through RO I then pass it through a re-mineralizer to add back some calcium and correct the pH back over 8 for pure drinking bliss. 

Edited April 9, 2014 by ConvexConepiece