Dosing oxygen???

[James Kanouff]

Dosing 02 does not effect C02 in the reef tank. I'm 100% positive, ill go down swinging to anyone who argues it does, as i tried this initially to solve my c02 problem. I have used the Oxydator product to dose pure 02 in very small consistent amounts in all my tanks for 3 years. It does how ever have many other benefits that having fully saturated oxygen in the tank helps with like fish gill health low algae and so forth.

I'll also add that occasionally removing the c02 issues creates a ALK swing issue. If your gonna do it you need to do it consistently and constantly say via a whole house air exchanger or something. or be super diligent with C02 removing media. when that stuff runs out then you get a c 02 push that drives the ph down and precipitates all your alk n ca and stress the corals worse than the low ph would have to begin with.

BTW 02 is very very dangerous...... if it comes in contact with many common materials it can cause instant combustion.

GL with you pesky c02.. I gave up and put my big tank setup in my separated garage. No pesky people in there to muck up my nice stable ph.

 

[Rick.45cal]

My first comment was largely tongue in cheek, but I also didn't realize that dissolved O2 doesn't affect pH. (See I learn stuff too).

One thing most people don't realize is how much more soluable CO2 is in water than O2. Regardless of what you do, CO2 will always push O2 out of the water. Running CO2 scrubbers is great, but it's just one more consumable, and it's a temporary solution. Without changing the environment surrounding the tank anything will just be a stop gap solution.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

My first comment was largely tongue in cheek, but I also didn't realize that dissolved O2 doesn't affect pH. (See I learn stuff too).

One thing most people don't realize is how much more soluable CO2 is in water than O2. Regardless of what you do, CO2 will always push O2 out of the water. Running CO2 scrubbers is great, but it's just one more consumable, and it's a temporary solution. Without changing the environment surrounding the tank anything will just be a stop gap solution.

with co2, you want to suck not blow.

Things that suck. c02. Plants corals.

I believe the surface agitation and air line is more about dilution and adding lower concentration of co2 laider air, rather than blowing fresh oxygen into the water.

 

[Rick.45cal]

with co2, you want to suck not blow.

Things that suck. c02. Plants corals.

I believe the surface agitation and air line is more about dilution and adding lower concentration of co2 laider air, rather than blowing fresh oxygen into the water.

That's why a reverse photo period refugium is hard to beat in this situation. (I wish I had one)

 

[Carl Potts]

Way back in the late 1980s I used one of these oxygen generators that converted hydrogen peroxide into O2. I did not run a controlled experiment so it's impossible to tell if it was helpful or not:
https://saltwater-conversion.com/products/sochting-oxydator

 

[JamesP]

Way back in the late 1980s I used one of these oxygen generators that converted hydrogen peroxide into O2. I did not run a controlled experiment so it's impossible to tell if it was helpful or not:
https://saltwater-conversion.com/products/sochting-oxydator

Ive heard you can add peroxide in an emergency if you have no power and fish look like theyre running out of time. I got a generator, but when a hurricane came through i stocked up on peroxide in case i needed it. I wouldnt do that unless i had to, but ive heard it can buy you days if dosed every 12 hours. I forget the amount you add. But nothing would be removing the co2 i guess.

 

[Randygus01]

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.

Well just I

 

[Randygus01]

Well just a thought but ozone has been used for years and is basically 3 parts oxygen. Not sure if injecting o2 would do much. There are much easier ways to control ph as many have stated. But hey if it works we will all follow you. I have 4 scuba tanks ready to go

 

[chomoney]

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

Could you tell me more about this? I'm not familiar with the nomenclature, and no professional, so I'm not entirely sure what "open draft head" refers to?

 

[chomoney]

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

What do you monitor? C02 levels?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Way back in the late 1980s I used one of these oxygen generators that converted hydrogen peroxide into O2. I did not run a controlled experiment so it's impossible to tell if it was helpful or not:
https://saltwater-conversion.com/products/sochting-oxydator

Were you doing it to add oxygen for a fish only or reef keeping and corals?

 

[JamesP]

Could you tell me more about this? I'm not familiar with the nomenclature, and no professional, so I'm not entirely sure what "open draft head" refers to?

This is a similar effect as turning on a bathroom fan. Air is forced out and new air seeps in the cracks. The opposite is what i do to vent my house. I bring in fresh air to my air handler and stale air is forced out through cracks in the house. There is also a balanced ventilation system when you do both simultaneously for the biggest effect. Intake only is preferrable if you cant do balanced since with exhaust only the fresh air seeping in through cracks may be coming from nasty places like the attic or wall cavities.

The easiest but least effective way to get co2 out (besides opening a window) would be to leave the bathroom fans and range hood on 24x7. My wife would kill me though lol. And if you create too much negative pressure, dont use the fireplace as it can suck smoke back in the house instead of up the chimney.

 

[JamesP]

Opening a window is easy and effective is what i meant to say.

 

[sundog101]

Dosing 02 does not effect C02 in the reef tank. I'm 100% positive, ill go down swinging to anyone who argues it does, as i tried this initially to solve my c02 problem. I have used the Oxydator product to dose pure 02 in very small consistent amounts in all my tanks for 3 years. It does how ever have many other benefits that having fully saturated oxygen in the tank helps with like fish gill health low algae and so forth.

I'll also add that occasionally removing the c02 issues creates a ALK swing issue. If your gonna do it you need to do it consistently and constantly say via a whole house air exchanger or something. or be super diligent with C02 removing media. when that stuff runs out then you get a c 02 push that drives the ph down and precipitates all your alk n ca and stress the corals worse than the low ph would have to begin with.

BTW 02 is very very dangerous...... if it comes in contact with many common materials it can cause instant combustion.

GL with you pesky c02.. I gave up and put my big tank setup in my separated garage. No pesky people in there to muck up my nice stable ph.

Is the O2 saturation point of seawater harmful to fish?

 

[atoll]

I am far from convinced dosing oxygen would raise your PH as low PH is mostly connected to high levels of CO2 and I doubt dosing O2 would have much effect on CO2. However, with regards to safe dosing of O2 I do in fact dose it but not in an attempt to raise PH. I dose O2 safely using Oxydator's that use hydrogen peroxide which is converted in the Oxydator into O2 in a safe and controlled way. I and many of my friends have been using Oxydators with positive results for many years (over 25 years here in the UK) but they have little or no real effect on CO2 as they do not gas the CO2 off. I have written a number of articles on the use of Oxyadtor's in the reef and fish only aquarium and wrote the piece for Albert Thiel that he included in his nano reef book "Nano Reef Aquariums" There are many positives to be had using an Oxydator, however, the raising of PH is not one of them unfortunately.

 

[kennedpa]

Why do you say you cannot run an airline to the outside? I scrub CO2 via my skimmer with fresh outdoor air. Instant pH improvement (for my goals) which thankfully everything handled well. Went from 7.9-8.3 as a daily swing to 8.2-8.4 daily. Air line is cheap, and all you need is a small hole and some silicone.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Why do you say you cannot run an airline to the outside? I scrub CO2 via my skimmer with fresh outdoor air. Instant pH improvement (for my goals) which thankfully everything handled well. Went from 7.9-8.3 as a daily swing to 8.2-8.4 daily. Air line is cheap, and all you need is a small hole and some silicone.

I'm not sure who you are responding to, but yes, that can help raise pH if indoor air has elevated CO2.

 

[kennedpa]

I'm not sure who you are responding to, but yes, that can help raise pH if indoor air has elevated CO2.

Yeah I should've quoted by didn't scroll back through to find it. It was the originator of the article.

 

[Velcro]

Running CO2 scrubbers is great, but it's just one more consumable, and it's a temporary solution. Without changing the environment surrounding the tank anything will just be a stop gap solution.

It's the best consumable I've ever added to my tank. pH changed from 7.6-7.8 up to 8.3-8.4 and my alk consumption more than doubled (not from precipitation).

Yes a counter lit refugium if large enough (10% display volume) does wonders, as I've had to take my CO2 scrubber offline now that we have windows open in the house (pH was reaching 8.6 between Kalk, refugium and CO2 scrubber). Some people don't have the space for a refugium though.

 

[klp]

We have a pretty tight well insulated house with 6 children and 2 adults (wife babysits). I measured Co2 as high as 2500 ppm. We open up the house every morning now, run exhaust fans in the bathrooms, until it gets down to 500ppm or below. I have not seen it rise higher than 1200ppm after that though still high. Just by opening the house we dropped Co2 by 50%! The meter is a tim 10 costing 129.00 if any are interested https://www.co2meter.com/. There may be better options but that is what I use.