something to reef on Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Whats the fastest way to bring O2 levels back up after they drop? I had a 12 hour period with no circulation, and my O2 crashed. Didn-t realize how low it was to begin with on this tank. I did a 10% water change (dont have any more salt) and increased surface agitation and my fish are still slow and breathing heavy almost 48 hours later. All other water paramaters are normal and corals are doing fine. Any other methods? I have even spent a good amount of time taking a pitcher of tank water out and dumping it back in over and over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XanReefer Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 add a bubbler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Air pump and bubbler! Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
something to reef on Posted September 28, 2014 Author Share Posted September 28, 2014 I have a skimmer running. Air pumps dont actually add oxygen to the water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Can you lower the salinity a bit? It should be able to hold more oxygen (right?). Lower the temp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena95GT Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Lower temp water holds more dissolved oxygen. So in a pinch you could lower the temp and increase surface agitation. An air pump with a limewood bubbler will also increase the dissolved oxygen in the water. We only spent a whole semester on this my senior year in Enviromental science lol Would walk down to the creek at the falls and measure the dissolved oxygen weekly. We also did tests in tanks in the classroom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 I have a skimmer running. Air pumps dont actually add oxygen to the water Air pumps add some oxygen via absorption through the bubble surface interaction with the water but the majority of the addition of oxygen will be through agitation of the water surface, allowing more atmospheric oxygen to dissolve into the water. Typically atmospheric oxygen levels are around 18-19% by volume if I remember correctly... definitely a lot less in an average household in Texas since we always keep the doors and windows closed because it's a million degree outside. That being said, you skimmer creates much better microbubbles than an air pump so if you are already running that, I would look elsewhere for other potential causes of your fishes distress as the skimmer should solve any oxygen-related issues pretty quickly. Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Air pumps can add some oxygen to the water but they are more efficient at off gassing. Your C02 levels are probably still high. It is possible your c02 levels to be super saturated and your 02 levels to be normal at the same time. By adding an air stone you will increase the off gassing rate of the c02 and allow the water to balance again. Where is your ph at? Sorry if I come off as brusque but this is planted freshwater tank 101 . Increase surface agitation and add an air stone. If you haven't rebalanced in 2-3 hours with a proper sized air stone there is another problem. Yes I have gassed my fresh water fish before using c02. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 If I had a guess, I would imagine a higher potential for hydrogen sulfide releases or perhaps a mass die off in your tank of plankton and benthic micro organisms from the anoxic environment that caused a mini spike of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate that is causing stress to your fish? Have you tested your nutrient levels? Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
something to reef on Posted September 28, 2014 Author Share Posted September 28, 2014 Thanks for all the input, I'm gonna pickup one of those air pumps when the store opens today. I never thought about CO2 being too high, but I bet that's it. I live in a new built home and CO2 levels are higher than normal inside I'm sure. No nutrient spikes that I know of, I tested for them a few times. All other inhabitants seem to be unaffected. The only change that has not been corrected is in my flow rates, only about 30% of before. I wasn't able to buy a large enough pump locally that fit my system so I am waiting for it to come fedex, bought 2 as I dont want to be in this mess again. Gonna have to look into a backup power supply and a control/monitoring system too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 I'm a big fan of my Apex if you ever go down the controller route. I wouldn't worry about an air pump if you have that skimmer still running. The skimmer should saturate it to atmospheric conditions very quickly. If I were to suggest anything, I'd suggest opening the windows on a beautiful morning like this and let some of that CO2 out of the house. Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 I agree with Ty. What is your ph at? That is one indicator of you c02 levels. There are a couple ways to regulate your c02 levels. 1) run your skimmer air line outside. Make sure to put some kind of filter on the air line. I use carbon in a pill bottle with a white and blue filter to keep the carbon from getting everywhere. My ph was chronically low at 7.8-7.9. Now it's at 8.2-8.35. 2) a c02 absorber on the air line to your skimmer. It will scrub all of the co2 out of the air before it gets injected into your tank. DO NOT DO THIS IF YOUR RUNNING A CALCIUM REACTOR. A calcium reactor uses a ph probe to control it and it will not function properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
something to reef on Posted September 28, 2014 Author Share Posted September 28, 2014 Things seem to of stabilized overnight. Fish are more active and not breathing heavy. My ph runs, and was still at, about 8.1-8.3 during all this, measured using elos test kit, dont have a probe. I'll have ti see what I can do about adding a co2 scrubber. My skimmer is undersized and does not pull much out of the water. My tank is a truvu 90 gallon aquasystem, which has a built in overflow with 3 compartments. First compartment houses my hydor skimmer, then overflows into a trickle filter, 3rd chamber is the return where I also have a media reactor running carbon and gfo. It's a nice design other than not being able to get good skimming on it, but I ran all my previous fish only tanks without a skimmer no problem. I was going to pull thus one out too, but it appears I need it to aerate my tank. It's a closed top, and I now know is not allowing the water to be very saturated with O2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 I would think you don't need a CO2 scrubber if your PH results are as you indicated above. It might raise your PH 0.1 and the media can get expensive (I am running a CO2 scrubber on my 32 gallon and it goes through media like crazy!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 I would forget the c02 scrubber and replace the top with a screen top. If your ph is naturally that high your c02 saturation is probably ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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