Change in Schertz H2O supply

[Carol]

OK, Here is the situation: the Schertz, Cibilo, Universal City Area water system started adding Chloramines to the water supply.

Now, I admitt, I'm cheap, I don't have an RO/DI system and I don't pack water back from LFS's etc. Ammonia, nitrates, nitrates, have never been problematic after the initial cycling until now. Not just in my saltwater but in my freshwater tanks too. I attribute this chloramines being added to the water supply and using this water source for top off. It is my understanding that with water conditioners, they will break the chloramine bond into ammonia and something else. The ammonia will then contribute to the nitrate/nitrite levels. Things like Ammo -lock will bind ammonia but it will still have to be broken down. Sea chem makes a product that binds nitrate/nitrite (or so it says) but that will still have to be broken down, correct? I'm crashing my tank with the top off water.

So am I correct that I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet and pack water or get a RO/DI ? Any way around it?

I'm just really bummed, financially this is not a good time to buy a machine.

As far as getting an outside water source, do the machines that you pay .25/gallon have RO water or at least do they not have chloramines, were can I get good H2O fairly cheap on the Northeast side of town...35/1604?

Suggestions?

Thanks

[Triggerman]

there's one of those windmill water purifier station at the corner of naco. and o'connor in the HEB parking lot. i think somewhere around .25 cents a gal. this should help out until you can get your own purifier. its just alittle hassle to lug around jugs of water. these stations are usually reliable, but you never no unless you test it with a TDS meter.

[ratboy]

High chloramines can really shorten the lifespan of your ro membranes too. I usually turn my ro off for a few days after a big storm on the assumption that austin usually spikes the drinking supply to prevent illnesses.

[Tim Marvin]

The machines put out pretty good water. You can pack it back and forth if you don't want to buy a unit. Also Home depot sells RO units fairly reasonable.

[witecap4u]

You could get a TWF Tap Water filter(DeIonizer). They are like $40 at petco, and I usually get about 75-100gal out of a cartridge. The cartridges are like 25 each. This is all I've been using, and it seems to work good for me. You could probably add this to an RO unit if you got one later....

CS