Questions About Water Conditioners That Contain Amines And Ion Exchange Resins

We have been currently receiving questions about whether any of the Kordon products contain amines.  We can say up front that none are "amine based," nor do they contain any amines.  In fact it is the opposite, because amines are toxic in the water to fishes and aquatic invertebrates.  Kordon for over 30 years has championed in its main water conditioner products that they detoxify amines, namely in the form of chloramines that are added to  the public water supplies by many water utilities.  These questions to us have been prompted by the notices by SeaChem on their web site that their product Purigen™ should not be used with any other product containing amines. 

The technical definition of amines is:

"Amines are a class of organic compounds of nitrogen that may be considered as derived from ammonia (NH3) by replacing one or more of the hydrogen atoms by organic radicals, such as CH3 or C6H5, as in methylamine and aniline. The former is a gas at ordinary temperature and pressure, but other amines are liquids or solids. All amines are basic in nature and usually combine readily with hydrochloric or other strong acids to form salts."

www.aquatechnologies.com/info_glossary.htm

 
One of SeaChem's notices on amines on its web site as of Apr 28, 2007 is as follows (for current notices see http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Purigen_faq.html ).

"...certain slime coat products will cause Purigen™ to become toxic; the products that do this are amine based....
What amine based polymers will do is bond not just to Purigen but to any organic scavenging resin as well as any ion exchange resin and when you attempt to regenerate the resin they will then bond with the chlorine to form chloramine which can be released into the aquarium. This is not just an issue with Purigen but with all resins being sold in the pet trade. The problem only occurs when one attempts to regenerate the resin, there is no problem unless you wish to regenerate the resin you are using. Seachem products do not contain amine based polymers and are safe to be used in conjunction with not only our resins but also with other companies resins."

SeaChem has further informed Kordon LLC as follows: 

"We are simply pointing out the potential toxicity issue that would occur should an amine be bound to the Purigen resin, and subsequently come in contact with chlorine during the regeneration procedure. Chlorinated amines are toxic, and we feel a responsibility to warn the user of Purigen against this possibility."

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Kordon's response to SeaChem's notices is that we commend SeaChem for providing such information and forewarning on their products.  It should be noted that the product that SeaChem is citing by name on its web site regarding amines is AP Aquarium Pharmaceutical's Stess Coat. 

The aquarist and pond keeper should keep in mind that a great number of the public water utilities in the U.S., as well as elsewhere -- including in most U.S. metropolitan areas -- are adding amines in the form of chloramines (chlorine and ammonia) to their water supplies to kill harmful viruses and bacteria.  Just about every week additional public water utilities are doing the same.  Therefore, an aquarium or pond product that should not be used where amines are present in the water, should not be added to aquariums or ponds using tap water in many areas of the country.

It is Kordon's position that all forms of chloramines and ammonia need to be removed from aquariums and ponds, because the ammonia in fishes' excretion, as well as all chloramines from tap water are toxic to fishes and aquatic invertebrates.  The Kordon products that are beneficial in aquarium and pond keeping by at least breaking down the chloramines and removing the chlorine from the water are the NovAquas, Fish Protector, and PolyAqua products.  Those Kordon products that completely remove chloramines, chlorine, and ammonia from the water are all the other products listed, including the kits and tablets.  Click on the product links to see their descriptions:

Aquarium NovAqua
Aquarium NovAqua Plus
Aquarium AmQuel
Aquarium AmQuel Plus
AmQuel/NovAqua+ Conditioning Kit
Fish Protector
PolyAqua
Betta Smart Start Conditioning Kit
Betta Tabs
Goldfish Tabs
EZ4U Instant Water Conditioner
Pond NovAqua
Pond NovAqua Plus
Pond AmQuel
Pond AmQuel Plus
Pond Fish Protector
Pond PolyAqua
Pond Prep

What About Kordon Products That Contain Resins And Are Possibly Affected By Amines?
As for ion exchange resins that are indicated by SeaChem as being affected by amines, none of the Kordon products have any resins in them, nor are any Kordon products adversely affected by amines, including Kordon's PhosRid.  PhosRid is further described on its web site.