testing for O2 in your reef

[kevensquint]

I have read a coral expert recommending testing for O2. My question is, if I test for O2 and it is low, then what? I'm not going to hook on an oxygen tank to my skimmer pump. Why would we bother testing for this?

[JRFowler]

baaaaad things happen when 02 is low, if ure not having any problems in your tank u can be rest assured ur 02 levels are ok..

[kevensquint]

Yes, I would assume so. Baaad things would happen to me too if I was in a low O2 environment :). But, I guess thats why I'm asking, because I don't have any idea how I would react to a test telling me my O2 was not fine. So what do we do? In the thread that I read by the coral expert, he just mentioned that O2 was something you should measure. Fine...then what?

[bertoni]

A skimmer might help, if you don't have one. More circulation can also work. Running a lighted refugium might have some effect, as well, although I don't really know how much oxygen that might produce.

Reducing the amount of respiration in the tank (reducing the fish load, for example) would be another approach.

[Biggie]

How about an aerator in the sump?

[bertoni]

I'm not sure what you mean by an aerator in this case, but the sump can definitely increase aeration.

[jgreen1025]

Eric Borneman recently wrote a couple of articles on oxygen in Reefkeeping Magazine. As I recall, he said that skimmers and air stones are really only effective in small tanks, and minimal in larger tanks, and that surface agitation seems to do more to lower O2 than raise it. I think he said the greatest benefits came from photosynthesis and algae. I'm going from memory here, though...

John

[bertoni]

In the article, he only states (in part 3) that the effect of skimmers and airstones "appears to be less" in larger tanks. Whether this result applies to all tank and skimmer combinations isn't clear to me, but I thought an appropriately sized skimmer should be capable of a lot of aeration. Hopefully, Boomer or other experts will have something to say.

[Boomer]

For most people O2 is rarely an issue or even a concern.

[kevensquint]

I'll continue to not be concerned and save $20 by not getting the O2 testkit.:)

[bertoni]

I ran O2 tests on a number of my tanks and it read saturated day or night in the water column.