a few new to Aqua Mira questions

[Joshua Welbaum]

Simple questions really, but I wanted to know if I could treat 4 liters of water at a time in a MSR Dromlite? Or can I only do it a liter at a time? Is this product still in favor with BPL?

[Dave T]

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[Joshua Welbaum]

can it really be that easy?? thanks for the post.

[EndoftheTrail]

Joshua:

There's an even easier way! When you finish up your A.M. liquids and need to replenish — just buy A.M. solid tablets instead. With tablets, all you need to do is tear open the bubble wrap and drop in one tablet per liter. You can also break the tablet in half to treat 1/2 liter.

No more counting droplets — and no more of that 5-minute pre-mixing wait either.

Finally, while the tablets and liquids contain identical active ingredients (chlorine dioxide) — the tablets come in a more potent concentration so they are good for treating viruses and protozoa (e.g. crypto, giardia, etc.) too! The liquids are weaker — and if you read the A.M. label — it ONLY mentions treating bacteria.

[Roleigh Martin]

Ben, but you have to wait 4 hours for the water to be treated though, right? I can go through 2 liters in 4 hours when really thirsty. That means I'd have to hike with 2 liters extra water which is far more weight than taking along a steripen.

[Elliott Wolin]

You can use less Aqua Mira, drops or tablets, if you let it sit longer. E.g. I often put in half the dose if the water will sit all night. Note that exposure to sunlight and other factors can lower the ClO2 concentration, so you can't keep cutting the dose down and increasing the dwell time. I usually don't go below half-dose, for no particularly good reason.

The tablets and drops provide the same chemical, chlorine dioxide…there is no difference. The ridiculous "4 hour" wait time has to do with marketing strategy.

It has to do with whether you claim it handles Cryptosporodium and Giardia, or just Giardia. Cryptosporodium is harder to kill. Also may have something to do with whether you call it a "disinfectant" or a "purifier." Finally, water temperature is important, as noted in the post following this one.

[EndoftheTrail]

Chemicals get sluggish in low temps. AM liquids are not meant to treat protozoa. As for solid tablets, treatment range per Katadyn Micropur (which would also apply to AquaMira tablets):

Water at 20C: 15 min for bacteria and virus / 30 min for protozoa cysts

Water at 4C: same 15 min for bacteria and virus / 4 hours for protozoa cysts.

The four hour max time is for water that is near freezing.

Each to his or her own, but Steripen does nothing to improve water clarity or taste — which are important to me. Also, it is with turbid water — when you really want to treat that water — that Sterpien performs at its worst. The UV technology requires reasonably clear water to work effectively.

The above is why I use a combination: chemicals to kill viruses and bacteria (with just a 15-min wait time) — then drink through the AquaMira Frontier Pro filter to block protozoa cysts, clarify water, and improve water taste. The Frontier Pro weighs just 2 oz.

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