Does RODI filtration remove chlorine/chloramine?

[Reefer911]

I’ve always been on a well until now and will be setting up a new RODI unit soon. I’ve never had to worry about chlorine so I’d like to know if there’s anything else I will need to do to my water after collecting it.

My town has very hard water. It tastes horrible yet the city says it’s fine.

 

[Eskew77]

My understanding is that standard ro/di works well on chlorine but not so much on chloramine. I run a chloramine blaster unit by aquafx and it works great.

 

[Exotrezy]

I’ve always been on a well until now and will be setting up a new RODI unit soon. I’ve never had to worry about chlorine so I’d like to know if there’s anything else I will need to do to my water after collecting it.

My town has very hard water. It tastes horrible yet the city says it’s fine.

You would most likely need a specific chloramine filter unless your unit already comes with one.

 

[naterealbig]

Carbon block is needed to remove chlorine and chloramine.

I prefer the BRS Universal Carbon block. It removes both, and lasts a long time.

I prefer to use 2 blocks minimum. They will go between the sediment filter and the RO membrane. (Chloramine will damage the membrane, so placement is important).

 

[theMeat]

Carbon will remove it. If not your membrane will be damaged

 

[Reefer911]

Thanks for the info. My unit does have a carbon block filter.

So is there a test kit I can get for down the road to test for chlorine and chloramine? And how far down the road should I expect to start testing? And I’m referring to when the carbon filter needs to be changed

 

[naterealbig]

Thanks for the info. My unit does have a carbon block filter.

So is there a test kit I can get for down the road to test for chlorine and chloramine? And how far down the road should I expect to start testing? And I’m referring to when the carbon filter needs to be changed

Hanna low range total chlorine checker is what i use. It will capture your chlorine and chloramine level reading together (but can't tell the individual numbers). When I get a reading of more than 0.05 ppm I replace two of my 4 total carbon blocks (chlorine and chloramine are both super high in my city water).

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Thanks for the info. My unit does have a carbon block filter.

So is there a test kit I can get for down the road to test for chlorine and chloramine? And how far down the road should I expect to start testing? And I’m referring to when the carbon filter needs to be changed

You need a 6 stage. Two carbon blocks 1 micron.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/6-stage-deluxe-75-gpd-ro-di-system-bulk-reef-supply-bundle.html

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Explanation from BRS

5 Stage Premium RO/DI Systems - Our most popular systems handle common impurities found in well water along with most types of city water treated with chlorine including small amounts of chloramines.
6 Stage Deluxe RO/DI Systems - If you are not sure what is in your water, or it contains excessive amounts of TDS or hard to remove contaminants like chloramines, phosphates, nitrates, silicates, etc. The BRS 6 Stage systems are designed to effectively treat any water your home may have prior to using it in your aquarium. The Dual DI stage helps with the hard to remove ions like ammonia, phosphates, silicates, etc.

 

[Reefer911]

Explanation from BRS

5 Stage Premium RO/DI Systems - Our most popular systems handle common impurities found in well water along with most types of city water treated with chlorine including small amounts of chloramines.
6 Stage Deluxe RO/DI Systems - If you are not sure what is in your water, or it contains excessive amounts of TDS or hard to remove contaminants like chloramines, phosphates, nitrates, silicates, etc. The BRS 6 Stage systems are designed to effectively treat any water your home may have prior to using it in your aquarium. The Dual DI stage helps with the hard to remove ions like ammonia, phosphates, silicates, etc.

I don’t know man. BRS is in the business of making money so my question is, is a 4 stage adequate?

Surely there are people running 4 stage units on city water and coming out fine

 

[Reefer911]

Here’s the latest water report available from my town. Neither chloramines nor phosphates are mentioned. Edit: after a little research it seems that chlorine vs chloramine use is an either/or thing. Correct me if I’m wrong.

Water tested at the tap only addresses lead and copper. Doesn’t mention anything else. So now I have more questions

Here’s a link to the report if anyone cares to take a look and tell me what they think

https://www.valparaisoutilities.org/DocumentCenter/View/1483/2024-Water-Quality-Report?bidId=

 

[KStatefan]

I don’t know man. BRS is in the business of making money so my question is, is a 4 stage adequate?

Surely there are people running 4 stage units on city water and coming out fine

It can be. Look at the specs of the carbon filter you are using. Example of Chloragard specs below. If you meets the requirements for a single carbon block really just give you more capacity or peace of mind for a back up.

 

[twentyleagues]

I don’t know man. BRS is in the business of making money so my question is, is a 4 stage adequate?

Surely there are people running 4 stage units on city water and coming out fine

This all depends on how much chlorine or chloramines are used. 1 carbon block may be adequate for standard levels if your city goes off grid and dumps a truck load in you may need another in line to provide the surface area to remove it from the water. Either way this will also affect longevity of the filters.

When I was on city water I ran 2 carbon blocks. I would typically switch them out at 6 months. By switching them out I would take the first in line and toss it moving the second to the first spot and put a new in the second spot. I didnt have chloramines but did have chlorine. Typically this kept my tanks chlorine free. You can get simple chlorine tests from pool stores or hardware stores to periodically check if your filters are working fine. Yoo really dont want chlorine going through your membrane though it will damage it pretty quick and an extra carbon block is a good piece of mind for very little cost in the grand scheme.

 

[Reefer911]

Here’s a pic of the latest water report from the link in post #11 above

 

[GARRIGA]

Don't need Hanna to test chlorine/chloramine. BRS used to sell test strips that showed chloramine vs total chlorine and easy enough to find total chlorine test strips cheap on Amazon but I'd just focus on assuming one has both and buying a carbon block that solves chloramines since that could be added at any time and one may not be aware therefore best just assume it exists.

BTW, some municipalities run extra chlorine to flush their systems and this might not be solved by one pass through a single carbon block. Supposedly, my municipality is supposed to warn us ahead of time yet I've never received that notice and only know because of FB following of a local LFS that warns about it and that's useless as what I get on my feed changes constantly and why best go equipped for bear even if hunting pheasants.

Plus any chlorine bypassing that carbon block I'm told will shorten the life span of the RO membrane. Adding extra carbon blocks just adds redundancy and rather cheap investment considering what it's protecting. Nice part of municipal tap is being absent larger particulates therefore might get away with 20 micron sediment and already have spare canister for extra carbon.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Any cheap total chlorine test kit will reliably test both chlorine and chloramine.

 

[Reefer911]

Don't need Hanna to test chlorine/chloramine. BRS used to sell test strips that showed chloramine vs total chlorine and easy enough to find total chlorine test strips cheap on Amazon but I'd just focus on assuming one has both and buying a carbon block that solves chloramines since that could be added at any time and one may not be aware therefore best just assume it exists.

BTW, some municipalities run extra chlorine to flush their systems and this might not be solved by one pass through a single carbon block. Supposedly, my municipality is supposed to warn us ahead of time yet I've never received that notice and only know because of FB following of a local LFS that warns about it and that's useless as what I get on my feed changes constantly and why best go equipped for bear even if hunting pheasants.

Plus any chlorine bypassing that carbon block I'm told will shorten the life span of the RO membrane. Adding extra carbon blocks just adds redundancy and rather cheap investment considering what it's protecting. Nice part of municipal tap is being absent larger particulates therefore might get away with 20 micron sediment and already have spare canister for extra carbon.

Yeah I was wondering about placing a carbon block in the place of the sediment filter, but is there a sediment filter that contains carbon? Like a two-in-one?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yeah I was wondering about placing a carbon block in the place of the sediment filter, but is there a sediment filter that contains carbon? Like a two-in-one?

All carbon blocks that I have seen are sediment filters. The issue is they are more expensive and can clog up and need discarding before the carbon is exhausted. But there's nothing wrong with just using carbon blocks.

 

[GARRIGA]

Yeah I was wondering about placing a carbon block in the place of the sediment filter, but is there a sediment filter that contains carbon? Like a two-in-one?

Not that I know of. Carbon does have it's own low micron filter wrapping it of the one's I've seen but that I believe is just a final check and best run say 20 and separate 5 micron prior. Some use depth filter that go from 20 down to around 5 micron. The more steps downs the less likely the lower micron component clogs.

Most seem to use 5 micron then carbon. You might be fine with that. I'm just going to add 20 micron in front of the 5 to prolong that from clogging as I've been told in my area for whole home people tend to use 20 micron to start but all municipalities are different.

Here's a BRS four stage. I'm going with a larger unit as I need to process more water due to lack of storage options in my home and tend to overbuild and why the extra 20 micron just in case. I'm also exploring rain water and why my recommendation might be overkill for you. You might be well off with that shown below although depending on other contaminants such as copper might want to go with DI and three stage where anion and cation separate then finished by mixed bed. No two taps the same and being I have no clue what might change including how I actually source my water then I'm just going all out and take no chances.

BRS has a good video on the three stage just for DI as well as general use of RODI.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Here’s the latest water report available from my town. Neither chloramines nor phosphates are mentioned. Edit: after a little research it seems that chlorine vs chloramine use is an either/or thing. Correct me if I’m wrong.

Many water systems rotate chlorine and chloramine - typically annually. chlorine is strong and acts fast, chloramine is less reactive, has less by products and lingers. So it makes its way much further into the system with a lot of residual action. So Chlorine for basic water quality and then a run of chloramine for a while to break down biofilms and keep the entire system clean.

Be careful of the water reports - they are A) likely taken at opportune times and B) just a snapshot of one day of the year anyway.