Increasing O2

[pyton]

what is the best way to increase O2 in the water of a reef tank? I had mine tested and it was only at 5 and the kit said it should be at least 7

 

[returnofsid]

A protein skimmer, along with lots of surface motion, are the best ways to increase oxygenation.

 

[pyton]

we have both, maybe just not enough surface motion. Does it help to have it crash together toward the top, right now we have our powerheads point same way at top

 

[Krish]

You want a nice ripple effect on the surface. I usually dedicate a pump specifically for surface agitation like my return pump. This is where most of your gas exchange takes place. I'll log in on my pc in a sec and show you a picture of the surface agitation I had.

 

[Krish]

Here's what I had in my 38 gal to give you an idea. As Sid suggested, a protein skimmer oxygenates the water really well as well.

 

[thatguy559]

I have all the above plus I inject air 3 times a day and I have an airstone in my refugium 24/7 I never tested or O2 though

 

[ac7av]

What kind of kit are you using for checking O2?
Did you think you were having an O2 problem?

 

[Maxx]

I'm not a Bourneman fanboy, but I did attend one of his speaking engagements where he said something I found interesting. He stated skimmers dont increase O2 levels that much and the real sources of O2 were from algae in the tank,(even micro algaes on the rock surface), and from water movement. Bourneman stated O2 levels dropped rapidly after main tank lights went out,(within an hour), and they dropped significantly. I dont recall the amount he stated but it was somewhere in the 50% range. He stated due to his testing on his personal tanks, he had decided to run a refugium on a reverse light cycle to counteract the drop in O2 levels.

Nick

 

[Krish]

I'm not a Bourneman fanboy, but I did attend one of his speaking engagements where he said something I found interesting. He stated skimmers dont increase O2 levels that much and the real sources of O2 were from algae in the tank,(even micro algaes on the rock surface), and from water movement. Bourneman stated O2 levels dropped rapidly after main tank lights went out,(within an hour), and they dropped significantly. I dont recall the amount he stated but it was somewhere in the 50% range. He stated due to his testing on his personal tanks, he had decided to run a refugium on a reverse light cycle to counteract the drop in O2 levels.



Nick

This is probably because of photosynthesis. Plants use carbon dioxide and release oxygen as a "waste" so when the lights are on, photosythesis is taking place. Lights off, it ceases as lighting is needed for photosynthesis so you run an alternate photoperiod in a fuge from the main tank and that way, the tank is getting light 24/7 so photosynthesis is always taking place somewhere in the system at all times.

Hope that made sense. I will have to re-read this when these meds wear off. Go glad this is the last day for them

 

[pyton]

What kind of kit are you using for checking O2?
Did you think you were having an O2 problem?

forgot the name of the kit but I have issue with bleeching and RTN. It started after I got a wrasse that mixes up the sand. So we were trying to cover all the base testing. I lose nothing during the day only at night. in the morning when we wake up we check the tank for any new bleeching / RTN. if we see any we remove the coral frag the good and place in qt tank. We read all over and no oen can tell us why this happen so we test for everything.

We read one guy have issue like this every six months and he never figure out what is causing it.
This is what we have done

Test morning and night -
Alk was low did water change to help bump up to 7.0 and added more over 7 days increasing .05 per day. Over that 7 days used 1.0 to 1.5 and now is stable at around 10.0
Cal 450
mag 1350
O2 5, was told to have it at 7 at least
Phosphate, nirate, amonia all 0

Added Cal reactor
Added Kalk reactor
Added another powerhead that point at top of tank to make water crash more and swirl the water better.
Order Apex Controller to help keep things steady (still waiting on this to get here)

Thinking of getting rid of the wrasses and removing sand, someone say they have same issue until they removed the sand. We would like to keep sand but not if it cause so many problems.

 

[ac7av]

Well your definitely over my head into it. I cant imagine the sand having anything to do with it unless the new fish is stirring up some gasses that may be trapped in the sand. Probably need a deep sand bed for that to happen. I don’t know, I’m just guessing. I don’t know if all wrasses do this but mine buries itself in the sand at night and can really stir things up.

 

[pyton]

that is why we tested the O2 level. the gases might be causing it.

Can anyone else think of anything else that could cause this?

 

[pyton]

I'm not a Bourneman fanboy, but I did attend one of his speaking engagements where he said something I found interesting. He stated skimmers dont increase O2 levels that much and the real sources of O2 were from algae in the tank,(even micro algaes on the rock surface), and from water movement. Bourneman stated O2 levels dropped rapidly after main tank lights went out,(within an hour), and they dropped significantly. I dont recall the amount he stated but it was somewhere in the 50% range. He stated due to his testing on his personal tanks, he had decided to run a refugium on a reverse light cycle to counteract the drop in O2 levels.

Nick

Thank you Nick, do you think Zoas would have the same effect as a refugium? I have a compartment in my sump but I was planing on using to raise Zoas for trade or give aways.

 

[mojoreef]

Changes in O2 can come from many sources and can be kind of a scary thing to screw around with. Its that constant battle between oxidizers and reducers and its not one you really want to play around in to much.

I would look to outside sources. Is your tank getting fresh air? is it next to a furnace vent? I would look to stuff kind of like that prior to playing around with adding O2 or sources of it.

Mojo

 

[pyton]

Mojo,

Tank is next to window that we open from time to time during the day to help keep the temp down from the heat from lights.
Heat ducter above tank but closed off.

We just want natural things to incease the O2

Thank you for your help

 

[returnofsid]

I don't think it was mentioned, is your tank open top?

 

[pyton]

yes, but it has a canopy on it. We have been leaving it cracked open for fresh air

 

[returnofsid]

Your canopy is probably open, in the back though isn't it? How about a glass top? That will really trap Co2, lowering your O2 levels, significantly. Maybe you could put some vents, in your canopy, with computer style fans, sucking air into the canopy. This would also help with heating issues.

 

[pyton]

yes it is open there too, no glass tops on the tank itself. We do have fans in canopy three push in three push out the length of the tank.

 

[returnofsid]

Given all that I've read, it seems like your water should be well oxygenated. A couple more questions.

What is your pH? Low oxygen, should result in a drop in pH.
When you had your O2 levels tested, did you perform the test or take the water to someone to test? If you took the water, to be tested, it could be that the O2 levels, in your water, dropped in transit.

The only other thing that I can think of would be the addition of Co2, through your Calcium Reactor, but this would result in a corresponding drop in your pH.

If something is decomposing, in your tank, it could be putting off Co2 gasses, which could be dropping your O2 levels.

If you don't mind, I'd like to move this thread to Boomer's Chemistry forum. I think Boomer may have some valuable input, but rarely ventures outside of that forum...lol. Be patient, as Boomer sometimes takes a day or two, to chime in. Let me know if you'd like me to move the thread.