Dose of Potassium Permanganate

Hi all,

I have been using Potassium Permanganate from a product called Flukes Control by Aquatronics. This is what the directions say. Dose 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons of water. Wait 3 hours then do a water change and siphon from the bottom of the tank.

I usually do about a 50% water change at this point. The water is usually still purple. Even after I do the water change and add more water. But as soon as I add the water conditioner.... the color instantly changes from purple to brown. Does this sound like I am doing it right? From what I hear you are supposed to just wait for Potassium Permanganate to turn from purple to brown to clear. But I am not sure. I just did what the box said. The water I use is aged 24 hours. But not sure if I should just wait for it to change color by itself to get 100% of the effect of the Potassium Permanganate. Please let me know your opinion. Thanks!

Todd

Hi Todd, don't know this specific product so can't comment in too much specific detail.

A dechlor agent will neutralise any active PP turning brown. I normally use hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to do this, as it leaves the water crystal clear. Add the H2O2 very slowly, a few drops at a time and give each dose a few mins to work.

And again when I do PP bath I do a minimum of 4 hours and I dose at 2ppm, and never do I (deliberately) go above 4ppm.

So basically I dose the PP, wait the 4+ hours, neutralise then do a water change. hth.

I never do a PP treatment for less than 4hrs unless the fish are reacting badly. Some people just let it run it's course for 24hrs without any WC or deactivater, but I've never done it that way. The way I do it is to add about 1tsp of hydrogen peroxide p/25gal after 4 to 6 hours to deactivate the PP and clear up the water. If the water turns brown/orange before that time then the PP is used up and no longer useful so I'll add the HP then and retreat in a day or two. Doing a big WC and cleaning or removing the filter media will help keep the pp active for the whole 4 to 6hrs. Dechlorinater will deactivate the PP also and thats why the water turns brown when it's added.
HTH's

Kacey