Getting rid of chloramine

I have this stuff for a fish tank that says it removes chloramine. Has anyone used this stuff or similar for their plants? Says it's an all natural herbal extract so it seems like it should be just fine.

Really this is my only option as I won't invest in an RO filter just wanted to see if the community thought it was worthwhile to use or not.

The small amount of chloramine in tap water won't hurt your plants. I've been watering plants with tap water for decades and we have chlorine and chloramine in the water. I water straight from the tap. People make too big of a deal out of chloramine and chlorine. Some companies even add chlorides to their nutrients.

There have been studies done by the agricultural departments of numerous universities about chloramine and chlorine and their effect on soil microbiology. The studies concluded that both chloramine and chlorine while making a slight dent in the microbial population that there is no long term effect and that the populations of microbes bounced right back as they are extremely resilient.

I personally don't feel comfortable using anything that doesn't clearly list the ingredients.

xtsho said:

The small amount of chloramine in tap water won't hurt your plants. I've been watering plants with tap water for decades and we have chlorine and chloramine in the water. I water straight from the tap. People make too big of a deal out of chloramine and chlorine. Some companies even add chlorides to their nutrients.

There have been studies done by the agricultural departments of numerous universities about chloramine and chlorine and their effect on soil microbiology. The studies concluded that both chloramine and chlorine while making a slight dent in the microbial population that there is no long term effect and that the populations of microbes bounced right back as they are extremely resilient.

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I’m with you on that one.

I was updating my thread last night after just filling up my 20L container in my bathroom and hauling into my grow room.

I then mixed my nutes. Updated the thread with pics etc.

Then pH’d said nutes and fed to my plants.

I’m with @xtsho on this one. In 10 years of growing I only ever left my water out to “dechlorinate” a few times before I stopped doing it altogether.

if you’re source water at home is good enough to drink and has an EC value under 0.5EC I would highly doubt it’s going to do any harm to your plants if you don’t offgas it.

the reason you allow fish tank water to dechlorinate or use an additive such as SEACHEM PRIME is that chlorine kills the bacteria responsible for the nitrogen cycle that is found in fish tank filters.

Here's an article that says the amount of chlorine/chloramine in tap water is of no concern for the plants or the microbial life. They even say "In one study, researchers continuously applied highly chlorinated water to soil for 126 days. Two days after they stopped, the soil microorganism populations reached pre-treatment levels at all depths of soil."

Removing chlorine is as pointless as flushing.

Thanks for the info guys. I did see that article about the small amount of chloramine and its effects on agriculture while I was doing research. Just trying to give the plants every advantage possible and I will be watering straight from the tap plus rain water

If it gives you peace of mind It's simple to bubble chlorine out. Chloramine however doesn't evaporate like chlorine. There are many articles though that seem to reference using humic acid to neutralize the chloramine. I think it somehow breaks the bond between the chlorine and ammonia. I've read up quite a bit on it but most goes right over my head. Regardless, I've seen no ill effect from using tap water on my plants. That includes growing flood and drain, DWC, coco, or soil. In fact the disinfectant properties of chloramine and chlorine can help prevent root issues in hydro. I used to use a few drops of plain old clorox bleach in my reservoirs. Never any ill effects on the plants and I never had root issues or slimy gross reservoirs.

This particular document gave me a headache.

"HANs and non-halogenated acetonitriles are produced when chloramines are reacted with humic materials and amino acids (Trehy et al., 1986). The reaction pathway for these products is quite complicated and very similar to that for chlorine, with many intermediates and by-products formed. In the case of aspartic acid, De Leer et al. (1986) demonstrated the presence of at least 11 other significant products. "

A couple points to remember.

Concentration levels in tap can vary widely. Same with well water.

Most of these studies are done on living soil in outdoor crops with a much wider buffering capability. Those studies don't really apply to indoor growers using small containers.


RO units do create a lot of waste water so if you're not comfortable with that, a Boogie Blue filter is a great alternative.

Tangerine_ said:

A couple points to remember.

Concentration levels in tap can vary widely. Same with well water.

Most of these studies are done on living soil in outdoor crops with a much wider buffering capability. Those studies don't really apply to indoor growers using small containers.


RO units do create a lot of waste water so if you're not comfortable with that, a Boogie Blue filter is a great alternative.

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Most municipalities have a maximum ppm permitted of these chemicals, which is usually 6ppm or less, and it takes over 150ppm to cause any real damage to the microbes in the soil. If you aren't using living soil, then there's even less to worry about when using tap water treated with chlorine or choloramine.

I have a 20 gallon drum i keep my water in with a fish take bubbler in it. After a day the chlorine smell is gone. That's the easiest way i found.

Ppms of clorine do fluctuate wildly in tap stuff like calcium might depending on the source during the year though.

Your trying to make argument chlorine is bad in this situation when everyone has said from experience it isnt.

The limit seems 6ppm max, it wouldnt even bother anything let alone kill to any level things suffer.

Soil is food in high demand, when one species suffer hundreds other swoop in, if anything the slight chlorine amount will help make a more resiliant population.

Tangerine_ said:

A couple points to remember.

Concentration levels in tap can vary widely. Same with well water.

Most of these studies are done on living soil in outdoor crops with a much wider buffering capability. Those studies don't really apply to indoor growers using small containers.


RO units do create a lot of waste water so if you're not comfortable with that, a Boogie Blue filter is a great alternative.

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TreeFarmerCharlie said:

Most municipalities have a maximum ppm permitted of these chemicals, which is usually 6ppm or less, and it takes over 150ppm to cause any real damage to the microbes in the soil. If you aren't using living soil, then there's even less to worry about when using tap water treated with chlorine or choloramine.

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And their by-products.

2Hearts said:

Ppms of clorine do fluctuate wildly in tap stuff like calcium might depending on the source during the year though.

Your trying to make argument chlorine is bad in this situation when everyone has said from experience it isnt.

The limit seems 6ppm max, it wouldnt even bother anything let alone kill to any level things suffer.

Soil is food in high demand, when one species suffer hundreds other swoop in, if anything the slight chlorine amount will help make a more resiliant population.

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Source?

Source - put a high powered microscope to a slide of tap water and see how much shit is still swimming about.

Some do not understand tap water well.

Tangerine_ said:

Source?

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Tangerine_ said:

Source?

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Did you read the article I linked earlier? It talks about how the microbe population only took 2 days to get back to the numbers it was at, pre-treatment, after being watered with 65ppm of chlorine for 126 days.

Are munched by one of the many bacteria or life that lives in soil. Shit lives in highly acidic toxic volcanic streams, on superheated toxic vents under the sea eating a myriad of toxic chems and yet you think nothing wants chlorine in its many forms and products.

Tangerine_ said:

And their by-products.

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you can use vitamin c to remove it.i think... make sure u goggle that. haha

I'm not saying its bad. I'm saying when searching for science based briefs, consideration should given that the studies are generally done on outdoor living soil and the effects the reactions between HOCl and NH4+ will have can be vastly different in containers.
I'm surprised I have to explain that but if I'm wrong, point me in right direction and I'll check it out.

TreeFarmerCharlie said:

Did you read the article I linked earlier? It talks about how the microbe population only took 2 days to get back to the numbers it was at, pre-treatment, after being watered with 65ppm of chlorine for 126 days.

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I did read it but I don't put a lot of stock into GardenMyths. I've have read too many of their "Op Eds" debunked. Some right here on this forum.

2Hearts said:

Source - put a high powered microscope to a slide of tap water and see how much shit is still swimming about.

Some do not understand tap water well.

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LOL