Chlorine- the missing element?

[Anonymous]

OK...I was thinking about the some of the reef inhabitants, like gonnipera(sp?), for which we seem to have all of the right conditions and yet their survival rate is poor due to some unknown missing link (e.g. special diet). Then it occurred to me, aren't there trace amounts of chlorine in ocean water? And what is one of the basic elements we ALWAYS remove whether it's from tap or RO/DI water?

It may not be the magic bullet, but hey...

What do ya think?

-Greg

 

[jdeets]

Your tank is full of Chlorine. It's the Cl- ion from NaCl. The most abundant negatively-charged ion in your tank...

 

[Anonymous]

Doh! Basic chemistry ain't it. I must be having a bout with CRS again!

Never mind.

 

[bigtank]

I think not. Chloride ions are present in seawater, but free chlorine is not, to my knowledge. Chlorine is toxic to marine life.

IMO most reef tanks are definitely not set up for animals like Goniopora that come from turbid water. There is a lot of emphasis on "excellent water conditions" and "crystal clear water", which is not good for some animals. Most LPS live in turbid water in nature, but most can do just fine in clear water. I think a skimmerless system with just a DSB and live rock would be needed to properly keep Goniopora and it's brethren over the long term.

 

[FishHead1]

My kid threw a chlorine table from my swimming pool into my tank.
It didn't help the Goniopora!

 

[MattM]

Almost all chlorine from chlorination is removed before the water leaves the treatment plant. What's left is various "residual" ions. The levels set by the EPA for chlorination residuals are:

Chlorine: 4 ppm
Chlorite: 0.8 ppm
Chloramine: 4 ppm
Chloride: 250 ppm

You can see that chloride is by far the most common ion, and it's the same ion that's in salt.

So not only is there plenty of chlorine present in the form of the chloride ion, as James stated, but the need for dechlorinators is highly questionable in saltwater tanks - most of what you'll remove is the ion you are going to put right back in.

[ August 07, 2001: Message edited by: MattM ]