How do you dose Potassium Permanganate (PP)?

[AADiscus]

Andrew and I use PP as a maintenance on our tanks and for new pairs getting put in breeder tanks. We keep a close eye on all the tanks when we are doing a treatment. The first sign of one of them having issues we back them off. We will never let a tank go longer than 4 hrs. After a treatment all the tanks get scrubbed really good then about an 80% wc each. Our fish are always so happy and look like they are feeling really good after a treatment. I do agree with it can be fatal. Make sure you have someone walk you thru the process to start the treatment out (mixing) during treatment and backing it off. Make sure you know what signs to look for early on if a fish is having issues during treatment.

[Elite Aquaria]

Does PP kill your biological load on your tank?

Dan

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Does PP kill your biological load on your tank?

Dan

That depends a lot on your source water. There are papers out there stating it wont hurt the bio at all until you approach 6ppm concentrations, while others say that at a 2ppm concentration it can affect it. The total alkalinity, total hardness, pH, and a few other parameters all play a role on how it affects your bio. What the correct parameter levels are to where it wont affect your bio I have no idea....experiment and see I guess. For me, I can go up to 4ppm before I see any major effect on my bio, where as a friend of mine can only go to 2ppm. Just depends on your water.

-Ryan

[Graham]

Running 4ppm through a filter is looking for trouble, especially in an aquarium filter. The more established a bio is the more likely it could handle a PP dose but a measured 4ppm dose, in decent water, I doubt it. 6ppm is a dip even in high organic water

PP has been shown to have a severe affect on nitrifying bacteria, killing the majority of it at high dose levels..(Levine and Meade 1976).

The level of DOC within you system can have a major impact on toxicity levels of PP. This would be why your getting away with $ppm and your friend can only get away with 2ppm.

My TT bio's are about 8 years old and I would be lucky to get more than 2ppm to go through them without some damage. Generally 1.5ppm could go through an established bio with out affecting it.

Please list the paper/papers that state 6ppm will not affect nitrifying bacteria..........At that dose level it's oxidizing anything and everything and the cleaner the system the more damage it's doing to bacteria and fish

There is also no peer reviewed published material concerning PP and pH, temps, hardness/alkalinity that I've seen and this topic has been beat to death in the koi hobby, with PhD's and research people fully supporting it use. It is safe when used properly at any pH, GH, KH and temp level even using salt, from anything that I've ever seen published and I'm not talking about web site posters.

From what I've seen of the aquarium hobby lately, no one is weighing out anything,,,they are just guessing at dose levels. Most hobbyist can't read/see a colour chart for pH or nitrite levels and they using PP by colour.

Anyone using PP without using a gram scale, or a pre-determined liquid dose and knowing the exact volume of their water is asking for trouble