Reverse Respiration

[Cinnebuns]

On 8/24/2023 at 9:11 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

I think they are cute, hehe

They really are. I was talking to @nabokovfan87 about the possibility of keeping them and he pointed out how much I like to breed mystery snails in that tank and that doesn't mix well with pest snails. So idk. If I did keep some idk what tank they could even go in. I'd actually love them in my 29 but its not snail safe right now. 

Edited August 25, 2023 by Cinnebuns

[Cinnebuns]

Fun update:

I had called the grocery store and ordered 5 cases (40 bottles) of seltzer to do this. I wasn't feel well today so my parents went to pick it up for me. Apparently someone at the store thought the order was a mistake and took it off so it wasn't there. They reordered it and it will be here on Tuesday or Thursday. My mom thought it was maybe something I needed now so she grabbed every bottle they had and brought me 12. So I now have 12 bottles with 40 more on the way. I'm going to have 52 bottles in my small apartment when I only really need 36 to fill the tank. 

[Cinnebuns]

It's been slow to get this going because of health issues. I've had 58 bottles of seltzer sitting in my apt for a few weeks haha. 

I will have more detailed information to come. I have been taking notes of what I have been doing along with pictures. Last night I drained the tank and dried it as best I could. I have the plants staying wet with paper towels. I have been letting the gravel dry for about 12 hours now. Do you think I should let it get as dry as possible?  Might take a few days. 

@Guppysnail

[Guppysnail]

On 9/14/2023 at 12:12 PM, Cinnebuns said:

It's been slow to get this going because of health issues. I've had 58 bottles of seltzer sitting in my apt for a few weeks haha. 

I will have more detailed information to come. I have been taking notes of what I have been doing along with pictures. Last night I drained the tank and dried it as best I could. I have the plants staying wet with paper towels. I have been letting the gravel dry for about 12 hours now. Do you think I should let it get as dry as possible?  Might take a few days. 

@Guppysnail

As long as the water is drained to the bottom it should be fine. Pouring bottles of seltzer in has been discussed but not tried. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

before and after 12 hr RR of anubias.

Before:

12 hr later, same day:

Next day:

 

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Cinnebuns]

On 9/14/2023 at 11:15 AM, Guppysnail said:

As long as the water is drained to the bottom it should be fine. Pouring bottles of seltzer in has been discussed but not tried. 

One last question, then I'm basically done and will submit the stuff I've done so far. After the treatment is done, do I need to remove the seltzer water and refill the tank? Or will the seltzer unfiz itself (for lack of a better term haha) and become normal water?

[Guppysnail]

On 9/19/2023 at 11:10 PM, Cinnebuns said:

One last question, then I'm basically done and will submit the stuff I've done so far. After the treatment is done, do I need to remove the seltzer water and refill the tank? Or will the seltzer unfiz itself (for lack of a better term haha) and become normal water?

You do not want to leave that in there. It kills all microorganisms. Best case scenario you have a mega algae outbreak from so much dead organic matter. 
Worst case scenarios some bacteria release toxins on death. 

[Odd Duck]

Yes, for sure remove the seltzer as @Guppysnail says.  It’s not only about the CO2 but also pH, dead and dying organisms, etc. Siphon out all the water you can, but you don’t need to rinse unless you have very low pH water.  The low pH seltzer would worsen that.  Anything above 7.0 pH and you should be fine with any small amount of seltzer residue that remains since it will be massively diluted.  If you’re super concerned, or already have low pH water, you could always do a double water change.  Fill at least halfway or more spraying down the sides, hardscape, plants, etc, then siphon down again, then refill.  That should dilute any remaining seltzer far beyond any concern level.

[HelplessNewbie]

@Cinnebuns good luck!

[Galabar]

Just a note that Diet Coke and/or Fresca will work in a pinch... 🙂

[HelplessNewbie]

Any specific instructions for Taiwan Lily and Pearlweed? Should I treat them as delicate, so therefore, short soak time?

[Guppysnail]

On 10/2/2023 at 3:55 PM, HelplessNewbie said:

Any specific instructions for Taiwan Lily and Pearlweed? Should I treat them as delicate, so therefore, short soak time?

Every plant no matter what plant pests 3 hours algae 9. 

[Galabar]

Is there any harm to using a sealed container?  I assume that this will keep more CO2 in the liquid.  Would that be detrimental to the plants?

 

[Guppysnail]

On 10/2/2023 at 7:33 PM, Galabar said:

Is there any harm to using a sealed container?  I assume that this will keep more CO2 in the liquid.  Would that be detrimental to the plants?

 

This has been discussed several times. The pressure is too much when sealed. It crushes the leaves. Some folks have done ok sealing moss. 
There is simply no need to seal it and risk your plants. 

[Cinnebuns]

So, I want to let you know why I haven't posted about my full tank RR experiment. Long story short, I did do it, but then I had a health crash and wasn't able to keep up with setting the tank back up. Since it's been sitting dry for this long, that just negates the entire thing. Also, the plants have been sitting in a bucket so all but the moss is dead now. I'm sorry. I tried. I should have known I wouldn't be able to complete it correctly. My health has just been too bad lately. 

For fun though, here's a pic of all the empty seltzer bottles after I filled it. 

Edited October 15, 2023 by Cinnebuns

[Guppysnail]

On 10/15/2023 at 3:42 AM, Cinnebuns said:

So, I want to let you know why I haven't posted about my full tank RR experiment. Long story short, I did do it, but then I had a health crash and wasn't able to keep up with setting the tank back up. Since it's been sitting dry for this long, that just negates the entire thing. Also, the plants have been sitting in a bucket so all but the moss is dead now. I'm sorry. I tried. I should have known I wouldn't be able to complete it correctly. My health has just been too bad lately. 

For fun though, here's a pic of all the empty seltzer bottles after I filled it. 

I hope you feel better soon. 

[Odd Duck]

Feel better soon!  And don’t feel bad about not being able to complete it.  We can’t prevent all health problems.  Sometimes you have to just focus on taking care of yourself.  YOU are more important than any aquarium project!  Plants are replaceable, you are irreplaceable.  First and foremost, take care of YOU!

[Rube_Goldfish]

I was at an aquascaping demonstration hosted at my LFS and someone was asking about hydrogen peroxide dips for plants, in their specific case for killing off blackbeard algae. The hydrogen peroxide was killing the BBA but also killing their plants.

I mentioned reverse respiration, and had a lot of interest and follow up questions, including from the store's owner, who asked me to email the link to him.

I'm out here spreading the good word!

[Guppysnail]

On 12/1/2023 at 4:56 PM, Rube_Goldfish said:

I was at an aquascaping demonstration hosted at my LFS and someone was asking about hydrogen peroxide dips for plants, in their specific case for killing off blackbeard algae. The hydrogen peroxide was killing the BBA but also killing their plants.

I mentioned reverse respiration, and had a lot of interest and follow up questions, including from the store's owner, who asked me to email the link to him.

I'm out here spreading the good word!

Wow thank you so much 🤗 it’s good to hear it’s reaching far to help other aquarists. 😃

[nabokovfan87]

Note to self....

Every single time you do it, you're gonna forget and realize it immediately and quickly, but the seltzer bottle is literally like opening a volcano and will get everywhere.

[Guppysnail]

On 12/16/2023 at 1:03 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Note to self....

Every single time you do it, you're gonna forget and realize it immediately and quickly, but the seltzer bottle is literally like opening a volcano and will get everywhere.

It’s a challenge. Every time I try to open it carefully so I don’t get spraying in the face. FAIL 🤣

[Matthew J]

Hello all!

 

Just hearing about this and super excited to try it.

 

Is it effective against pretty much every unwanted 'thing' when purchasing an aquatic plant? Not just snails, but parasites/bacteria/any other unwanted nasties that can come with a plant and harm your fish?

[Guppysnail]

On 1/11/2024 at 10:57 PM, Matthew J said:

Hello all!

 

Just hearing about this and super excited to try it.

 

Is it effective against pretty much every unwanted 'thing' when purchasing an aquatic plant? Not just snails, but parasites/bacteria/any other unwanted nasties that can come with a plant and harm your fish?

Yes. Make sure it is freshly opened seltzer and kept in the dark.  No organisms that require oxygen can survive. 

[Matthew J]

On 1/11/2024 at 8:58 PM, Guppysnail said:

Yes. Make sure it is freshly opened seltzer and kept in the dark.  No organisms that require oxygen can survive. 

Perfect! And another question. When it says 'rinse' after the 12 hours, does this mean to rinse under running tap water? And for the 30 minutes in regular water, is tap water fine? Should it be dechlorinated?

[Odd Duck]

On 1/11/2024 at 11:31 PM, Matthew J said:

Perfect! And another question. When it says 'rinse' after the 12 hours, does this mean to rinse under running tap water? And for the 30 minutes in regular water, is tap water fine? Should it be dechlorinated?

Tap water is fine, but a quick rinse in dechlorinated water after that would never be wrong.  Especially if you had a lot of plants going into a very small tank and excessive levels of chlorine in your tap water.  It shouldn’t cause an issue, but if your tap absolutely reeks of chlorine, then better safe than sorry.