Poll: What do you use to make water less yellow?

[AnakinReefWalker]

Never had yellow water? Didn't know this was a thing...

It's not really visible when you look at your tank (unless your tank is REALLY dirty), if you want to check you can fill some tank water in a white bucket, if you have yellowish water it'll show

 

[sfin52]

I run gac and purigen. I love both and won’t run a tank with out them.

 

[atoll]

Ozone kicks carbons *** . Rox .8 the best carbon didnt clear my tanks water like ozone did.

See here:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/carbon-vs-ozone-ozone-w-co2-scrubber.343616/#post-4278145

and

Oxydators kicks Ozones ***
I used ozone many years ago (about 30ish) since the last 25 years or so I have used Oxydators which are far simpler and easy to use, cheap and safe, no controller required. Have worked great for me all these years, I wouldn't go back to ozone.

 

[Cory]

and

Oxydators kicks Ozones ***
I used ozone many years ago (about 30ish) since the last 25 years or so I have used Oxydators which are far simpler and easy to use, cheap and safe, no controller required. Have worked great for me all these years, I wouldn't go back to ozone.

We need to do a bucket test like I did. If it clears the yellow ill make the switch. Care to do it?

 

[atoll]

We need to do a bucket test like I did. If it clears the yellow ill make the switch. Care to do it?

I have no yellow water to clear and I have no need to do any further tests. I used ozone years ago now use oxydators. both will give you sparkling gin clear water, however, IME Oxydators are much cheaper, don't need a controller don't use electricity, are cheap to run, safe to use with nothing really to go wrong no probes to calibrate and last for just about forever. Both will give very similar results. You pays your money and takes you pick.

 

[Cory]

I have no need to do any further tests. I used ozone years ago now use oxydators. both will give you sparkling gin clear water, however, IME Oxydators are much cheaper, don't need a controller don't use electricity, are cheap to run, safe to use with nothing really to go wrong no probes to calibrate and last for just about forever. Both will give very similar results. You pays your money and takes you pick.

I tried the test already fwiw strait h2o2 didnt get rid of the yellow a day later. And in a separate bucket, neither did bleach. Ozone did though. I do notice a clarifying effect when I dosed peroxide in an attempt to clear algae. But it did nothing for yellowing.

 

[atoll]

I tried the test already fwiw strait h2o2 didnt get rid of the yellow a day later. And in a separate bucket, neither did bleach. Ozone did though. I do notice a clarifying effect when I dosed peroxide in an attempt to clear algae. But it did nothing for yellowing.

But you added peroxide directly to the water in an oxydator it is broken down inside the perspex beaker and further inside the ceramic pot. In Albert Theil's book on nano aquariums, he put an oxydator in his tank and could not believe how gun clear his water became not long after. He goes onto say his nano sits on his desk away from the wall and he said "it's like the is no water in the tank" it was that crystal clear. Others have noticed similar so we are not alone. Ozone is a bleach O3 Peroxide H2O2 is broken down via a catalyst into Oxygen and water.

 

[Cory]

But you added peroxide directly to the water in an oxydator it is broken down inside the perspex beaker and further inside the ceramic pot. In Albert Theil's book on nano aquariums, he put an oxydator in his tank and could not believe how gun clear his water became not long after. He goes onto say his nano sits on his desk away from the wall and he said "it's like the is no water in the tank" it was that crystal clear. Others have noticed similar so we are not alone. Ozone is a bleach O3 Peroxide H2O2 is broken down via a catalyst into Oxygen and water.

So how does it clear the water if just oxygen and water comes out of it? Maybe "microscrubbing"

 

[atoll]

So how does it clear the water if just oxygen and water comes out of it? Maybe "microscrubbing"

Well, if you have yellowish water then an Oxydator can clear it and make it gin clear as Albert noticed. WWhen people talk about yellow water we are talking a tinge to the water not a full on yellow colour to the water in the majority of instances. Oxydators work in a similar way to ozonisers.

 

[rkpetersen]

I have a reactor with multiple small bags of ChemiPure Blue (GAC+resin). I change one out each month, so there is never the huge acute change that can precipitate RTN.

I also run ozone, with a controller. Look at the poll, so few people run ozone anymore. Too much hassle? Livestock or human safety concerns? Imagined inhibition of protein skimming? I'd say some people are missing out on a superb technique. When I first set this tank up, I ozonized aggressively, but gradually found that less and less ozone was need to maintain water quality and ORP at the same high level. Currently, with ozone running at 80 mg/hr for 5 minutes out of every hour (total 2 hours a day), my ORP runs around 350-400. I have never, not even once, observed any adverse reaction by any livestock that I was sure or even suspected was due to ozone toxicity; more than I can say for many of the other substances I've added at one time or another.

I used to run Purigen in the reactor, but eventually decided it was overkill, with the CP and ozone, so no longer using that. Ditto Poly Filter.

I do water changes with a white bucket so I can observe the tint of the water I've removed. With this regimen, it's always sparkly pale blue, like freshly mixed saltwater. Also, although the aquarium is heavily stocked and in a busy living space, and I feed generously several times a day, we never have that 'fishy' smell in the air that so many aquarists' homes have. Avoidance/elimination of that smell is one way that ozone really shines and something I very much appreciate.

Never had this issue. What generally causes it?

It creeps up on you; many people don't notice it at all until someone else points it out, because it develops so slowly. It's mostly due to CDOM that builds up. German aquarists knew about it many years ago and called it gelbstoff. In severe cases, it can substantially reduce the light reaching your corals, especially blue light which is actively absorbed by it. In fact, some people who've had it bad and removed it quickly wound up shocking their corals due to the sudden increase in illumination.

There are a few ways to test for it. If you have a long tank, you can tape a piece of bright white printer paper up on one end and look at it from the other end. If it has any yellowish tinge at all, there's your answer. Hanna also sells a Color of Water Checker, which measures this yellow discoloration. I assume it's sensitive but I don't know for sure because I've only ever gotten a reading of 0 with mine. The included sealed standard vial however does give me the right reading.

I used ozone many years ago (about 30ish) since the last 25 years or so I have used Oxydators which are far simpler and easy to use, cheap and safe, no controller required. Have worked great for me all these years, I wouldn't go back to ozone.

I've heard others say these things are good but I've also read where some felt they were responsible for problems. It would be interesting to try some time.

 

[Cory]

Well, if you have yellowish water then an Oxydator can clear it and make it gin clear as Albert noticed. WWhen people talk about yellow water we are talking a tinge to the water not a full on yellow colour to the water in the majority of instances. Oxydators work in a similar way to ozonisers.

Okay. But its my understanding that there is no peroxide entering the water right? Just o2 and water. Then theoretically o2 shouldnt clear the water of said coloring unless its through a different mechanism. Id buy one but i got a pile of equipment the wife doesnt like to see lol

 

[atoll]

I've heard others say these things are good but I've also read where some felt they were responsible for problems. It would be interesting to try some time.

This is very true just like we hear about how some feel Ozone has caused problems and not just with their tanks, equipment and animals but their health with some reporting headaches and nausea. There will always be a small minority that will have problems with both but many are operator related IMO.
I am not knocking ozone far from it, after all, I used it for a number of years with good effect before I discovered Oxydators. around 30 years ago. I and a few friends experimented with them including but not limited to the numbers of catalysts used and % of peroxide employed. Believe me, I pushed beyond safe limited to see how far I could push it before problems occurred. However, I didn't lose any animals but a very fine H.magnifica anenome reacted quite badly at using 17% peroxide but it made a full recovery within hours. With ozone or peroxide we must remember we are playing with bleach and have to be a little careful how we use such or problems can arise.

 

[anit77]

Okay. But its my understanding that there is no peroxide entering the water right? Just o2 and water. Then theoretically o2 shouldnt clear the water of said coloring unless its through a different mechanism. Id buy one but i got a pile of equipment the wife doesnt like to see lol

It's not O2 that's released. It's just one of the Oxygen atoms. So H2O & O.
I'm sure some of the atoms combine to create O2 molecules but I don't think there will be much, if any, O3.

The same thing happens, at a much more rapid pace, when you dose straight 3% H2O2 directly to the tank. It's believed that the Oxydator's constant steady release of the Oxygen is better than a quick dosing of hydrogen peroxide. Whether it's better than an O3 generator, I don't know, I don't have either yet. But I do have an Oxydator W on the way.

I'd been waffling on getting a generator or an Oxydator. I chose the Oxydator due to the less maintenance and expense. You also have the ability to dial them in like a generator by varying the strength of the H2O2 and/or how many catalysts you use.

 

[atoll]

Okay. But its my understanding that there is no peroxide entering the water right? Just o2 and water. Then theoretically o2 shouldnt clear the water of said coloring unless its through a different mechanism. Id buy one but i got a pile of equipment the wife doesnt like to see lol

Depending on the % of peroxide used and the number of catalysts it is possible a small amount of peroxide may escape but this will quickly react with organics etc in the water and be neutralised.

From Sochting.
Quote "Using a patented method, Söchting Oxydators produce normal and activated oxygen in the aquarium by means of Oxydator solution and special ceramic catalysts. The activated oxygen decomposes particularly putrid matters and toxicants and, thus essentially improves the well-being of fish and plants. Pure oxygen created by the Söchting Oxydator is mostly immediately dissolved in the water, so that there are hardly any bubbles produced. The oxygen supply is absolutely noiseless, expelling of CO2 and swirling of ground elements is avoided.
The Söchting Oxydator A is suitable for aquaria from 100 up to 800 l. The Oxydator solution is not included. An Oxydator functions with the Oxydator solution (hydrogen peroxide H2O2) as an oxygen carrier and the catalyst. Catalysts have a life cycle of many years and are only replaced if their function decreases significantly."

 

[Cory]

It's not O2 that's released. It's just one of the Oxygen atoms. So H2O & O.
I'm sure some of the atoms combine to create O2 molecules but I don't think there will be much, if any, O3.

The same thing happens, at a much more rapid pace, when you dose straight 3% H2O2 directly to the tank. It's believed that the Oxydator's constant steady release of the Oxygen is better than a quick dosing of hydrogen peroxide. Whether it's better than an O3 generator, I don't know, I don't have either yet. But I do have an Oxydator W on the way.

I'd been waffling on getting a generator or an Oxydator. I chose the Oxydator due to the less maintenance and expense. You also have the ability to dial them in like a generator by varying the strength of the H2O2 and/or how many catalysts you use.

So essentially its like dosing pure oxygen into the water? I wonder what sort of effects pure o2 would have om organics and other things.

 

[anit77]

So essentially its like dosing pure oxygen into the water? I wonder what sort of effects pure o2 would have om organics and other things.

I believe it increases the dissolved oxygen and oxidizes organics. They've been in use in aquaria for over 30 years, so that's longer than O3 generators, right?

 

[Cae]

Polly fill and carbon seems to work in my tank

 

[tastyfish]

AFAIK yellowing water in a marine tank is going to be down to high levels of organics. In which case something isn't working in your nutrient export and you should be either:

- Increasing your skimming capacity with a larger/more effective model
- Increasing frequency/volume of your water changes
- Looking to enhance/increase nutrient export (live rock, refugium etc)

In my view, Carbon or polyfilter should only be really used to remove contaminants and polish the water. If your water is yellow, you have more fundamental problems in my opinion.

 

[atoll]

I believe it increases the dissolved oxygen and oxidizes organics. They've been in use in aquaria for over 30 years, so that's longer than O3 generators, right?

Ozonizers for the aquarium have been going longer than 30 years. You just have to be old enough to remember them ;Facepalm

 

[Lasse]

To the left - 1 year old water with use of oxidator (no WC) - to the right new fresh saltwater

​

IMO the effect of this is caused by a small amount of H2O2 that will not be catalysed by the clay. When H2O2 is breaking down in the water column – oxygen radicals will be formed and the will oxidizing organic substances among other things. The yellowing substances is mostly humus – an organic residue from the bacterial and fungus breakdown process. The trick is to not get to much free H2O2 into the water. I know that my explanation is not in line with the website or atoll´s explanation but still its my opinion.

Sincerely Lasse