Anyone using Dr. Sochting's Oxydator

[najer]

The Oxydator mini is the smallest produced and that is IMO nano size Pic below.
Oxydators have been used by myself and a number of my friends for many years as I believe you may know. We are well aware of many of the marine animals we keep that will react negatively to overdosing of peroxide. However, used as recommended we have not experienced any negative effects with a whole host of corals and inverts.
Oxydators have been used in the UK for many years and many discus keepers and breeders use them as well as those who keep shrimps but only in the last 30 years approximately have they been used in marine systems as far I know. Of course, I am just a hobbyist but I do have one friend who uses Oxydators who has a degree in marine biology, many others here also enjoy the benefits Oxydators can bring to their marine aquariums. The benefits people notice using Oxydators are well reported inc many posts and short articles written by many inc myself over the years. Slowly but surely they are becoming accepted as a great aid to water quality and more.

Great answer as always, to the person in the post you quoted, I have one in an 11 litre / 3 G, I just popped it behind the rock.

 

[johnthehermit]

@LES: a few questions if I may:

You mentioned that a sump location is not ideal for an Oxydator, any reason ?

I'd be interested in an answer to this also. I recently moved my 2 A,s to my sump but would be happy to move them back to the DT if that's a prefered location.
John

 

[drtrash]

Don’t think it matters where it is in system I think it’s a great product to treat with hydperox wish I had orp meter

 

[atoll]

OOps I guess I missed your post, right let's take a look and answer as best I can.

Ive been running 9% for over a year with no issues have not had any cyano or dono events either a few questions if I may:

You mentioned that a sump location is not ideal for an Oxydator, any reason ?

They do work OK in the sump but IME better in the DT. I guess the reason being. depending on where located in the sump the peroxide is less effective probably due to it working first on the detritus and organics etc in the sump before it gets to the DT so by the time the water in the sump is pumped to the DT it has lost some of it's effectiveness to a point. Also as the water from the sump is usually returned near the surface rather than low down again the effectiveness may well be reduced as some of the O2 may be lost through the surface. When Oxydators are in the DT the O2 released is low down and seems to be better spread throughout the tank. All Oxydators are designed to fit on the bottom of the DT and even the pond version is designed to sit on the bottom I would guess for better distribution throughout the pond.

@LESI assume if a sump location was the only possibility then after the skimmer would be preferred ?

Ideally, I would say yes, however, given my smallish sump my Oxydators are just before my skimmer, not ideal but it is the only place I can fit them. They don't seem to affect the working of the skimmer as Oxydators have no effect on CO2 or the bubbles the skimmer produces it seems.

@LES Have you heard of any issues on systems that carbon dose (vodka etc) and use an Oxydator ?

None that I am aware of no.

@LESIn one post it was mentioned about "known" risks to "known" animals, can you elaborate ?

When I was experimenting with Oxydators including various combinations of % peroxide and numbers of catalysts I pushed the concentration till I got a negative reaction from something and first to react was a large H.magnifica anemone but that was using 17% peroxide and 2 catalysts if I recall correctly. Bare in mind as far as I am aware at the time nobody was using Oxydators in marine aquaria and along with a couple of friends we were exploring and pushing the limits. BTW the magnifica made a full recovery within a few hours after I removed the supper strength peroxide in the Oxydators. Mushrooms also started to curl up at the edges.
I have never gone more than 12% since and I use 9% peroxide and 2 catalysts in my 2 Oxydator As and rarely advise anybody to go beyond that strength and number of catalysts.
They say you have to fall off a motorbike before you know the limit of it and I have done that more than once in the past, lol

@LESOverall any risk of having 1ltr of 12% Peroxide in a large reef system, what's the worst case scenario ? I assume a vessel leak and all contents coming out, has anything similar happened and what was the result ?

I have never had an accidental spill with my model As as the small turn cap is very secure when in place with little chance of not putting it on properly. however, I know of a few people who failed to ensure the caps on their model Ds with the resulting peroxide leaked into the DT far too quickly. Obviously with an Oxydator being used in a system designed for a much less capacity than the system you are using it on higher % of peroxide can often be used and I would say 12% would be fine in many large systems depending on the circumstances with volume, stocking levels of the DT. The Oxydator W is similar to the model A in that the small locking cap fits very securely.

Sorry for so many questions

@LESI'll be back over to the UK soon and may get chance to get to Bury market !

Be sure to stock up on black and white puddings OH! and Oxydators to take back to the US

 

[atoll]

I'd be interested in an answer to this also. I recently moved my 2 A,s to my sump but would be happy to move them back to the DT if that's a prefered location.
John

Thanks for bringing the questions from Ridgeway to my attention, I missed that post. I have replied above.

 

[drtrash]

I placed mine in sump near return pump would like to have room in day, wonder what coaline algae will do to ceramics

 

[atoll]

, wonder what coaline algae will do to ceramics

IME nothing at all apart from growing on it if it gets the light

 

[Ridgeway]

Thanks Les and Lasse for the answers.

I have my W model here already, just not got round to starting with it yet.

In summary I'll start with 9% and 2 catalysts and place in in my sump, post skimmer. Here my water returns to the bottom of the tank so in theory increases contact time for that nicely O2 saturated water.

I'll let you know how i get on.

Now where's my peroxide mixing gloves.....

 

[atoll]

Thanks Les and Lasse for the answers.

I have my W model here already, just not got round to starting with it yet.

In summary I'll start with 9% and 2 catalysts and place in in my sump, post skimmer. Here my water returns to the bottom of the tank so in theory increases contact time for that nicely O2 saturated water.

I'll let you know how i get on.

Now where's my peroxide mixing gloves.....

Keep us informed of anything you notice. The first thing many people notice is the clarity of the DT water.

 

[Black Pearl]

I have stopped doing water changes, now using ATI Essentials for the past month, my water clarity has suffered, I run GAC according to their instructions which is 1-2 times a month for 4 days only and that works, but I want to get away from using GAC completely. What I'm expecting is clearer water increased ORP and an hair algae deterrent. my tank has a high bio load; six tangs two fox face, trigger, Morrish idol, 2 clownfish, and about 6 wrasse. my skimmate is very dark brown. I have read that I will be able to tell if its working on bio load by the color of the skimmate, it will be lighter. presently NO3 and PO4 being controlled by ATS

 

[johnthehermit]

Thanks for bringing the questions from Ridgeway to my attention, I missed that post. I have replied above.

Thanks Les. Your explanation makes complete sense, I'll move mine back to the DT as in my sump they only have a couple of inches of water above them.
John

 

[atoll]

Thanks Les. Your explanation makes complete sense, I'll move mine back to the DT as in my sump they only have a couple of inches of water above them.
John

John, I only have a couple of inches above my Oxydators and yes they are closer to my skimmer, neither is ideal IMO but given I have no alternative place to put them I am stuck with them there. However, like I say they still do work there even if perhaps not as efficient or ideal. In the DT you could possibly use a lower concentration of peroxide than where my Oxydators are positioned as they will be more efficient in the DT, IMO.

 

[atoll]

I have stopped doing water changes, now using ATI Essentials for the past month, my water clarity has suffered, I run GAC according to their instructions which is 1-2 times a month for 4 days only and that works, but I want to get away from using GAC completely. What I'm expecting is clearer water increased ORP and an hair algae deterrent. my tank has a high bio load; six tangs two fox face, trigger, Morrish idol, 2 clownfish, and about 6 wrasse. my skimmate is very dark brown. I have read that I will be able to tell if its working on bio load by the color of the skimmate, it will be lighter. presently NO3 and PO4 being controlled by ATS

Carbon although in some ways will remove some or even many of the chemicals etc that an Oxydator will I doubt it will remove all. I still use carbon but not 24/7 but I just use it now and again to mop up anything then Ocydator might not oxidise.
Regarding the colour of skimmate, Yes, I noticed the colour became lighter but then my Oxydators are right next to my skimmer. I am not sure if it would still be the case with the Oxydator's after the skimmer or in the DT but I suspect there will be some lightning and even a slight reduction in skimmate production. I wouldn't necessarily assume if the colour of the skimmate remains the same the Oxydator is not working. In my case sometimes the skimmate is darker than at other times, this IMO is much to do with the workings of my skimmer than the Oxydator's given the way skimmate is produced but I have no doubt Oxydators do have such an effect, how much depends on so many other factors it would seem.

 

[najer]

According to what I read in the various places that I could find info, the A model is recommended for up to 106 gallons and the D recommended for up to 26 gallons. My system will be approximately 150 gallons. What I read said that you could combine Oxydators, if your system is a little larger. My display is a 125, a remote refugium will be 20 and the sump will hold about 15 gallons. So, I am estimating that my system volume will be about 150 gallons. I didn't run into any info about using different strengths of Hydrogen Peroxide and more catalysts, until now.

So, my plan is to have an A in the main display, a D in my sump and another D in my refugium. I was planning on using 6% with the two catalysts in the A and the singles in both of the Ds. This is all very new to me, so does anyone have any suggestions of changes that I might make? Thank you in advance.

I have an A and a D in 550 litre water volume (just under 120 G) both run 2 catalysts and 6 or 9 % depending what the pharmacy can get me.

 

[atoll]

The Oxydator A is for up to 106 US Gallons (UK gallons are larger so in UK it is rated at 88 gallons) Now the clue here is in the "upto" That will be for lightly stocked freshwater systems (no recommendations for marine as they were designed for freshwater tropicals but I am not sure what if any difference that would make) using 6% and 2 catalysts. I think you could probably half the recommended tank volume with a well stocked reef tank feeding well. I run 2 model A's in my sump using 2 catalysts in each and 9% peroxide Total gallonage about 96 UK gallons about 115 US gallons. I have a heavily stocked tank both fish and corals and feed 4 times a day.

 

[atoll]

Quote "The Söchting Oxydator breaks down hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen: 2 H2O2 ----------------------------> 2 H2O + O2."

 

[Fin]

Thanks for the replies. I will try what I have to start off with (1 "A" and 2 "Ds".) Will likely start with 6% and see how that does, as the aquarium will be lightly stocked in the beginning anyway. I will also see if I can get some extra catalysts.

One thing that I thought of that I haven't heard mentioned elsewhere, is I am wondering if these will be a significant help in the event of power outages? I will have a couple of MP-40s in the tank, with one of them on dual backup batteries (around 60 hours run time). It seems that having one of these Oxydators in the tank, along with some constant water flow, would be helpful in keeping the oxygen level up while power is off - as an added benefit?

 

[atoll]

Thanks for the replies. I will try what I have to start off with (1 "A" and 2 "Ds".) Will likely start with 6% and see how that does, as the aquarium will be lightly stocked in the beginning anyway. I will also see if I can get some extra catalysts.

One thing that I thought of that I haven't heard mentioned elsewhere, is I am wondering if these will be a significant help in the event of power outages? I will have a couple of MP-40s in the tank, with one of them on dual backup batteries (around 60 hours run time). It seems that having one of these Oxydators in the tank, along with some constant water flow, would be helpful in keeping the oxygen level up while power is off.

I have written often about the benefits of having an Oxydator in the tank and 'its usefulness during a power failure they are a great help in keeping oxygen levels high enough to aid fish to breath easily. An Oxydator will also nullify ammonia so it's a win win in such circumstances. I have never had a serious power outage just one for 4 hours and it wasn't a problem but I know of people having substantially longer powercuts and their Oxydators helped save their fish and tank.

 

[najer]

Very interesting point, I had a 12 hour plus power failure / outage / cut last September, this first thing I did was put the A into the display, lost a few corals and creatures.
Today.

DSC_0005 by sshipuk, on Flickr

 

[najer]

I now have a backup generator.