Dosing oxygen???

[saltyfilmfolks]

It would be interesting to run an oxygen concentrator off of an APEX into a skimmer for when pH drops. (Certainly not the cheapest or best way).

The problem with dealing with O2 is the volatility of it, you wouldn't want the sump cabinet becoming saturated then have a spark kick off an explosion that brings a new definition to "catastrophic failure" in the reefkeeping hobby. ;Wideyed

"My tank blew up my livingroom"

A CO2 scrubber is a good tool if you can't run an outside airline, but you will be paying for media. Your best bet might be to try a refugium with a reverse daylight schedule and chaeto or macro algaes. It will boost your pH when it is lowest, and also remove NO3 and PO4's depending on how you manage it.

Hahaha. Fun experiment.

I'd still go with turn up the lights and buy more Coral and macros. Same difference really

 

[MagisterDamask]

A CO2 scrubber is a good tool if you can't run an outside airline, but you will be paying for media. Your best bet might be to try a refugium with a reverse daylight schedule and chaeto or macro algaes. It will boost your pH when it is lowest, and also remove NO3 and PO4's depending on how you manage it.

I agree with the refugium idea too. If you've got room for one, the benefits are great as Rick mentioned. NO3/PO4 removal, a nice supply of copepods, reverse lighting/elevated pH, and not to mention they're kind cool to look at. But if it's unpleasant to your eyes then throw a couple of mangroves in there to give it a little something to catch your eye. A lot of people groom their refugiums and treat them like another reef tank and display them. I've seen some pretty fantastic ones. I think they are so awesome. I wish I could display mine separately but my wife would kill me.

 

[najer]

I would never run a tank again without a sochting oxydator in it!

 

[Velcro]

Add a co2 scrubber to the skimmer intake or simply pull air from the outside with your skimmer. All thing equal, adding pure oxygen will do nothing for pH

 

[Rick.45cal]

I would never run a tank again without a sochting oxydator in it!

I always forget about them, I run two of them in my tank and they are a big help

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I ran O2 to my skimmer for awhile
made a bubble counter and did like 1 bubble every like 5 sec..
saw no difference in my ph..
and o2 tanks start to get pricey after awhile....

And there is absolutely no reason you should see an effect on pH since O2 has no such effect.

CO2 (which does impact pH) and O2 (which does not) are not necessarily correlated in a reef tank. Certainly, adding O2 does not impact pH unless you drive so much O2 into and back out of the water that it helps carry out out CO2.

 

[MagisterDamask]

I would never run a tank again without a sochting oxydator in it!

@najer I've read about the oxydators, but I've never seen one in person. They've always interested me.

 

[najer]

@najer I've read about the oxydators, but I've never seen one in person. They've always interested me.

I'm in England but I'm pretty sure they are available in the States, google is your friend.

 

[Velcro]

I think it needs to be restated that oxygen has nothing to do with pH in a reef tank. The only way to raise pH without raising alk is to remove co2 from the tank water. This cannot be done with pure oxygen unless you are feeding a skimmer intake or LARGE air pump (stupid when you have a skimmer) with a source of air that has less CO2 in it than the room air (which is what is causing the high co2 in the first place. Yes you could feed the skimmer with pure O2 but that really doesn't make any sense to do when you can just use a co2 scrubber or fresh air.

CO2 scrubber media CAN be expensive if you are pulling high co2 room air through them but I've found a way to make it last much longer... a lifereef skimmer. The lifereef skimmer has a Venturi that pulls air from the skimmer cup. This means that is basically recycling the air from the skimmer except for a small portion that is pulled from the air surrounding the collection cup with there is negative pressure. I put my co2 media in a reactor IN BETWEEN the Venturi and the skimmer cup and BAM. Exponentially less media use. Also has the extra benefit of constantly pulling moist air through the media which make t last much longer.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Best Answer So far.

Well, except that it is wrong.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Yes you could feed the skimmer with pure O2 but that really doesn't make any sense to do when you can just use a co2 scrubber or fresh air.

And to accomplish CO2 removal by pure O2, you'd need to drive dissolved O2 to something like 4-5 times normal levels, which is likely a substantial issue itself and may kill organisms. It will also deplete N2 and other gses.

 

[Velcro]

And to accomplish CO2 removal by pure O2, you'd need to drive dissolved O2 to something like 4-5 times normal levels, which is likely a substantial issue itself and may kill organisms. It will also deplete N2 and other gses.

I think a lot of people don't realize how little oxygen is actually in the air we breath

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I think a lot of people don't realize how little oxygen is actually in the air we breath

yup.
and that coral and macros and trees breath in...co2

 

[chefjpaul]

I think a lot of people don't realize how little oxygen is actually in the air we breath

About 21%

 

[JamesP]

So im an electrical engineer and software engineer and i just love an excuse to make something. When my tank ph got low i read some of randy's articles and ran some tests with a bubbler indoors and outdoors and realized it was the co2 indoors too high. I have a wife, 5 kids, 2 dogs, and me. Lots of breathing and the tank is in the living room where it all goes down. So i got a co2 meter that runs off of 24vac so i can tap into the 24vac feed that powers the thermostat and the meter has the ability to trigger an internal relay to control dry contacts on the back of the device.

First, my co2 was through the roof at 1350ppm. For reference it is about 400ppm outside. Thats just bad, not just for fish but for my family. So i got a 24vac 8" damper and made a circuit that will turn on the hvac fan and open the damper to mix outside air into my return of my internal air handler. If the fan is already running, it just opens the damper and mixes fresh air in the system.

Now my co2 is always below 800ppm. I cant get it lower without pulling pure outdoor air which is not good if you ate trying to actually heat and cool. Always less than 800ppm is great for indoors though.

Ph went up in the tank and everyone has more energy. Sickness doesnt linger in the house. Everyone is happy. I ran an external airline as well and ph went up even more. I am almost always between 8.1 and 8.2. Right now it is almost midnight and ph is 8.14. Mission accomplished.

 

[JamesP]

Pic of the co2 meter

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Ph went up in the tank and everyone has more energy. Sickness doesnt linger in the house. Everyone is happy. I ran an external airline as well and ph went up even more. I am almost always between 8.1 and 8.2. Right now it is almost midnight and ph is 8.14. Mission accomplished.

Nice!

 

[Bbaz123456]

Lol.
My furnace from the 1950s the landlord doesn't want to replace isn't a problem is it?

Valid points.

In my case, I'd venture to guess that the gaping hole in my hot water tank exhaust (same room as my sump) was a contributing favor. Ugh.

Older, less efficient furnaces or hot water tanks should actually increase your o2 levels unless you have a much more serious problem with venting. In that case, you should be worried about you and your families health! An open draft hood will likely draft air up the flu 24 hours a day. To make up for that lost air, there will be fresh air infiltrating through all the cracks and Windows in your home

 

[sundog101]

So im an electrical engineer and software engineer and i just love an excuse to make something. When my tank ph got low i read some of randy's articles and ran some tests with a bubbler indoors and outdoors and realized it was the co2 indoors too high. I have a wife, 5 kids, 2 dogs, and me. Lots of breathing and the tank is in the living room where it all goes down. So i got a co2 meter that runs off of 24vac so i can tap into the 24vac feed that powers the thermostat and the meter has the ability to trigger an internal relay to control dry contacts on the back of the device.

First, my co2 was through the roof at 1350ppm. For reference it is about 400ppm outside. Thats just bad, not just for fish but for my family. So i got a 24vac 8" damper and made a circuit that will turn on the hvac fan and open the damper to mix outside air into my return of my internal air handler. If the fan is already running, it just opens the damper and mixes fresh air in the system.

Now my co2 is always below 800ppm. I cant get it lower without pulling pure outdoor air which is not good if you ate trying to actually heat and cool. Always less than 800ppm is great for indoors though.

Ph went up in the tank and everyone has more energy. Sickness doesnt linger in the house. Everyone is happy. I ran an external airline as well and ph went up even more. I am almost always between 8.1 and 8.2. Right now it is almost midnight and ph is 8.14. Mission accomplished.

That's awesome!

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Older, less efficient furnaces or hot water tanks should actually increase your o2 levels unless you have a much more serious problem with venting. In that case, you should be worried about you and your families health! An open draft hood will likely draft air up the flu 24 hours a day. To make up for that lost air, there will be fresh air infiltrating through all the cracks and Windows in your home

oh yes we have a monitor and yea I check that furnace a LOT