How to increase amount of dissolved oxygen?

[sweetrav18]

Just want to know what parameters affect the amount of dissolved oxygen in my tank. Is it high/low ph/alk/SG? PLease advise?

[clevername2000]

even little surface water movement can help alot. The best bet is a skimmer.

As far as what parameters help/hurt oxygen levels.....no idea

[funman1]

Skimmers don't help your o2 levels that much..
Yes I know it's hard to belive..

Get some surface agitation, and some air movement across the surface..

[Paintbug]

about the only parameter that i can think of effecting the O2 would be the temperature. the higher the temp, the less O2 in the water. a low pH reading is a sign of low O2. good gas exchange and surface agitation is one of the best ways to control the oxygen levels.

[DrBegalke]

photosynthesis is one of the biggest contributors, after that surface agitation/increased water-air contact, temperature to some degree (our tanks are usually fairly constant though)...

[DrBegalke]

Check out the video on oxygenation here:
http://reefvideos.com/

[m2434]

Originally posted by funman1
Skimmers don't help your o2 levels that much..
Yes I know it's hard to belive..

Get some surface agitation, and some air movement across the surface..

What kind of skimmer are you running? My needelwheel keeps my O2 levels supersaturated.

[funman1]

Originally posted by m2434
What kind of skimmer are you running? My needelwheel keeps my O2 levels supersaturated.

Actually it dosen't...
There have been many threads on this... I know it was hard for me to belive this too till I saw the data, and had a speaker at our local club bring it up..
Turn off your skimmer and measure your o2 levels.. They won't go down, you're getting your o2 levels from something else..

[m2434]

Originally posted by funman1
Actually it dosen't...
There have been many threads on this... I know it was hard for me to belive this too till I saw the data, and had a speaker at our local club bring it up..
Turn off your skimmer and measure your o2 levels.. They won't go down, you're getting your o2 levels from something else..

Be careful of generalizations...

Reefkeeping Mag.

[Percula9]

The maximum O2 that can be achieved in an aquarium is 9ppm. Water contains less than 1% oxygen as compared to the atmosphere which has 21% O2. There are ways to increase O2 levels in water, but they are employed in comercial aquaculture systems. These methods have no application for home aquaria. When you think about it, gills are amazingly efficient at oxygen extraction from the water.

[Playa-1]

Originally posted by m2434
Be careful of generalizations...

Reefkeeping Mag.

Agreed
Check out this article and i think i will give you more insight.

[funman1]

Yes, if you have a skimmer on a 10G tank it will make a difference..

If you have a normal tank (like a 75) It will have minimal impact on the o2 levels.

[capn_hylinur]

I humbly disagree--a protein skimmer is the best source of oxygenation in a tank.....inversely it can have a drammatic impact on co2 levels which affect pH.
Last summer I had a pH problem related to my sump and skimmer located in the basement with no windows. I also have a 30 gal refugium stocked full of chaeto.
Running a small air line from the skimmer to the outside of the house made a big difference in the air exhange and inversley the pH.

[GlobaLPimP]

I had a low PH problem due to a low oxygen level in my house from windows not being opend or whatever.... I ran an air line from my skimmer air-intake through a wall to outside and put a small piece of media filter floss to act as a filter on the outside end. My PH shot right up and the problem was solved

[capn_hylinur]

yes--its a cheap fix---stops you from dosing buffers--and throwing off your alkalinity levels with boran.

[funman1]

"Running a small air line from the skimmer to the outside of the house made a big difference in the air exhange and inversley the pH."

Woah!!
Yes, that will make a big difference.. Most people would never do this though... but in general a "normal" skimmer in a sump will have little effect, but getting outside air into the skimmer will have a much bigger effect. I agree with that totally!

[bertoni]

A lot of parameters affect oxygen saturation, including temperature, elevation, and salinity. If the oxygen level in a tank is low, more circulation might be appropriate. A skimmer can do very well, as well. Most tanks don't seem to have problems, though.

[demonsp]

Great cross flow is a good start. GL

[Drock169]

I added an airstone in my tank it has made all the difference for me in my condo

[InsaneClownFish]

All of these factors will effect O2 levels, however, as Paintbug eluded to, temperature is a far overlooked factor of oxigenation. I believe water hits 100% oxygenation at 76.5F.

Running your reef closer to 78, rather than say, 82, will help dramatically.

[demonsp]

Originally posted by Drock169
I added an airstone in my tank it has made all the difference for me in my condo

That type of air cant be used by the fish. They need good flow for proper O2 exchange.

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by demonsp
That type of air cant be used by the fish. They need good flow for proper O2 exchange.

I think I was advised that adding an airstone could be counter productive--possibly throwing off other water paramaters??

I think it was Bertoni---are you out there oh great mentor

[greenbean36191]

All of these factors will effect O2 levels, however, as Paintbug eluded to, temperature is a far overlooked factor of oxigenation. I believe water hits 100% oxygenation at 76.5F.

Running your reef closer to 78, rather than say, 82, will help dramatically.

Oxygen saturation can be at or above 100% at any temperature. Over the range seen in reef tanks the affects of temp on oxygenation are fairly minor. There is only 4% difference in the saturation levels at 78 and 82. Even up to 90 the saturation point is still twice of the minimum safe level, and as Eric's article linked above showed, most tanks are >70% saturated. There is increased metabolism with temp, but again it's not a huge difference over the normal range.

[Vinnie71975]

Originally posted by sweetrav18
Just want to know what parameters affect the amount of dissolved oxygen in my tank. Is it high/low ph/alk/SG? PLease advise?

If you Have a Sump you can Add a Power head with an Airerator attachment to your sump/fuge IF it is Baffled this will increase O2 in the water and the Baffles keep Micro bubbles out of the Display.

[bertoni]

Airstones will work for aeration, although the salt spray can be a mess.