Dehumidifier water

[drpleco]

Interestingly, I just tested my dehumifidier water and found ammonia, about 3 mg/l. No, there is no wee in my dehumidifier, and I'm pretty sure my kids didn't do anything unusual. So I won't be mixing this in my tank again. Fred, thanks for giving us the test results.

I'm still mystified by this, but it really doesn't matter what the cause is.

Maybe the previous owners of your house operated a methamphetamine lab.

[MChambers]

Hah! If they had a lab here, it was more than 20 years ago, because we've lived here that long.

[apistomaster]

I suspect spurious test results are the explanation.
I doubt whether ammonia/ammonium ions are actually present in your dehumidifier reservoir.
I have already stated that I think it is safe to use in my earlier post. Too many Killiefish breeders are using it with delicate Killiefish species like Rivulus xiphidius and Diapteron spp. Dehumidifier water is used widely by expert Killiefish breeders because they often use such small sized aquariums that the few species they raise that must have very soft water do not require very much pure water.
Catfish breeders typically use much larger tanks and have to use RO water to get enough pure water to meet their needs.

[Fred T. Washington]

I suspect spurious test results are the explanation.
I doubt whether ammonia/ammonium ions are actually present in your dehumidifier reservoir.

But there have been two positives for ammonia (myself and MChambers). Part of the scientific process is having your results repeated by another, which has happened. Something has to be going on with this water.

MChambers, maybe it's your meth lab!

[apistomaster]

If you have ascertained that your dehumidifier condensate is contaminated with ammonia then it raises questions about the presence of other deleterious substance that cannot be detected by ordinary aquarium water test kits. It is possible for the water to have become contaminated by household cleaner vapors. Hopefully you can isolate and exclude this potential source. The addition of any organics like cat food dropped by mice or dead insects could be sources as they decay. I am grasping for straws here but am trying to expand where and what is causing the presence of ammonia. This has never been reported by any of the users of dehumidifier water with whom I am familiar with.

You could use water conditioners as others have suggested or natural zeolite sold for ammonia removal and run some experiments. One easy bioassay technique is to see if Daphnia will survive in the untreated water as long as they do in your aquarium water. You would need to mineralize the condensate water to a similar level as your aquarium water as nothing will live in pure water long.
Make sure you run this test at the same temperatures as the Daphnia have been cultured/collected. The test period only needs to be about 24 hours since otherwise you would have to begin feeding the Daphnia but they would have already proven your water is likely quite safe by then anyway. If the water is toxic, the Daphnia should die within a few hours.

[Fred T. Washington]

I think everyone with a dehumidifier (wether they use the water or not) should test it and post their results. Maybe MChambers and my test results are just flukes. I have run a second test on my water and got identical results.

So far I'm leaning towards cleaning products as the source of ammonia, but it still doesn't make sense.

[Jackster]

With any experiment, one needs some type of a "control" factor.
Did you try testing your tap water for ammonia? Just curious.
I have also experienced that the reservoir in my dehumidifier will
grow all kinds of strange stuff if I don't sterilize it on a regular basis.
To be accurate with your results, I would clean the reservoir, let the
dehumidifier run for awhile, and then re-test. I might add that I clean
the dust filter on the front frequently, clean the coils and fins, and
vacuum the inside of the entire unit at least once a month.

[MChambers]

With any experiment, one needs some type of a "control" factor.
Did you try testing your tap water for ammonia? Just curious.
I have also experienced that the reservoir in my dehumidifier will
grow all kinds of strange stuff if I don't sterilize it on a regular basis.
To be accurate with your results, I would clean the reservoir, let the
dehumidifier run for awhile, and then re-test. I might add that I clean
the dust filter on the front frequently, clean the coils and fins, and
vacuum the inside of the entire unit at least once a month.

Yes, I was thinking that I should test my tap water and my aquarium water to see if the problem is with my test kit.

I fear we have a mouse in our basement, so I suppose that is a possible source of contamination. I suppose cleaning products could be an issue, but I still think it is unlikely.

Fred, we closed down our meth lab months ago, so I don't think that's it.

[Fred T. Washington]

After my near panic abated I tested the water straight out of the tap:

pH 7.6, ammonia 1.0 Numbers I can live with (although I'd like to see the pH lower)

[Jackster]

My tap water is very hard and the city adds fluoride and ammonia to their system.

Does Cedar Radips IA use chloramine in their water supply?
This might explain ammonia in the tap water but I seriously doubt
they would add ammonia to the tap water. I would be calling your
local utility company and asking a bunch of questions.

[apistomaster]

Jackster,
I had the exact thoughts. There shouldn't be any detectable ammonia in your tap water. 1.0 is high. Your aquariums should test 0.0 ammonia.
Depending who you reach at a water department they may say they add ammonia. Of course they are also adding the chlorine at the same time to create the more stable chloramine. I've never detected ammonia in our chloramated water but with a pool water test maybe you can test for chlorine but I don't think ammonia tests are used much in pool testing.
In any case, all one has to do is call the administrative office and request their latest comprehensive water quality compliance test report for free.
It is always nice to have a copy as a reference for every parameter that matters to fish keepers and as a baseline to compare to your own test results for TDS, conductivity, pH, alkalinity, nitrites, nitrates, ammonia, KH, GH and even radon! Nitrates are often high in areas of intensive agriculture.

[Jackster]

I just wanted to update this post because my

Ancistrus claro

finally spawned this week.
I've been trying to get this species of bristlenose catfish to spawn for over two years
so I'm pretty excited. I guess the proof is in the pudding so if these notoriously hard
to spawn and even hard to keep alive Ancistrus managed to breed in dehumidifier
water, then I think it's safe to assume that there is no ammonia.

[apistomaster]

Hi Jackster,
Please keep me in mind as a member of an Ancistrus claro species maintenance group. Barbie sold me 8 juveniles a few years ago but I couldn't get them to thrive. I may have underestimated their demands.