19 replies to this topic

[Bombshocked]

So i noticed in my school of 20 or so pencil fish that one of them is blind, or at least both his eyes look damaged severely, cataract type look

 

as im not the type to just put things like this out of my mind so i began pondering it all day and this is my question

 

ive been dosing dino spit lately and i have been dosing directly into the tank, trying to put it in the filter flow, but sometimes i just drop it in anywhere, the fish get excited and swim up there while im still dripping it in, so i was wondering about the effects of gluteraldehyde on eyes and after a google search it wasn't good for human eyes,

 

im wondering if i possibly sent this fish blind by him swimming directly into a drop as it entered the tank anyone had anything like this happen? or any chemists out there

 

(im not knocking the product (i personally love it) in any way im just wondering if i should be diluting it with water before adding to the tank)

[Hood]

In my experience it is always best to mix whatever your dosing your tank with, in a solution of water before adding to your tank. Even if it's just for piece of mind.


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[Stormfyre]

I am unsure on the effects of gluteraldehyde on eyes of fish, but I dose Dinosaur Spit & Dinosaur Pee straight into my planted discus tank for 2 years and never had an issue. Its like a few drops every so often. Not a huge issue it seems.

[Rodders02]

Who invented these product names

[Bostave]

Steven Spielberg

[Delapool]

Lol - I dose directly into tank but do try to dilute it with liquid ferts in the same measuring cup. Also when filters are back on so it mixes quickly. I agree on the concern as it is the highest strength aquarium product I know of.

Fish do swim through it but no issues I can see (whereas pimafix I'm more wary on). Only once when I accidentally poured a lot in and lost a fish straight after that did swim through it have I seen a link. Nothing seen on body so if it was an issue it must of been in the gills.

I'm dosing 10ml at 10% daily, so assuming a 500 litre tank I get 2ppm. If I get a chance I'll post some links but 2ppm is the limit for me. Last time I worked this out this was about 3 or 4 times a normal dose of say API liquid carbon.

Just in case for me I don't dose the night before a water change.

[humbug]

I can’t say whether or not it’s the glutaraldehyde that’s caused your problems, but this, along with many of the other additives we use in our tanks, are toxic and corrosive chemicals which really need to be respected and used with care.  I think we all tend to get into this false sense of security – the stuff is safe for our fish, therefore it must be OK for us. 

 

An interesting article was brought to my attention the other day, which not only questions the benefits of using glutaraldehyde to promote plant growth, but also highlights the seriousness that we should be placing on using what is a potentially harmful product. 
 

https://www.jbl.de/e...the-reliability

 

I’ve taken a look at a number of the glut products which are readily available in Australia and sold for use in our hobby for both promoting plant growth and removing BBA.  The ones I’ve looked at range in concentration from 2% to 4% glutaraldehyde.  In my opinion, several have grossly inadequate warnings regarding their safety.  Packing of some possibly don’t meet the Australian safety requirements either (ie child proof caps on bottles etc).
 

Always worth doing some research into anything you are using in your tanks, not only so you aren’t wasting your hard-earned money, but also so you can understand any potential safety implications.  A good starting point is getting hold of the Material Safety Data Sheets for products you use regularly.  Some are available on the internet (ie all of the Seachem products), or whoever you buy the products from SHOULD have MSDS available for everything they sell. It’s a legal requirement for this information to be available for any of these kinds of products sold in Australia.

Edited by humbug, 04 December 2016 - 07:59 AM.

[Delapool]

Just coming back to this and for discussion I found the above post agreed with my thoughts on glut as a carbon source. Compared to CO2 injection I find it chalk and cheese.

However as a useful algaecide and also in a low light tank where any carbon addition is handy I can see the benefit.

With that in mind and considering glut has been used for a decade(?) now I'm yet to hear of any issues for fish or people fish-keeping. The only incidents I know of was in hospitals. Is anything known?

[Bostave]

I used it to fix invertebrates larvae for histology.

[Jules]

interesting, I have read seachem flourish excel can stuff up fish if they swim through/near it whilst dosing, I wonder if other ferts have a similar effect?

[Bombshocked]

thanks for all the posts,

 

regarding c02 injection, i have moved house and have no mains water only Rain water and Bore and my bore water has 200ppm nitrates so its unusable, im using rain water for the past 6 months,i have crushed shell grit giving me CA, im Dosing Mg, K, P and Macros with added iron

 

i have 6 planted tanks as of now and having a low GH/KH and decent stocking i cant add c02 unless i start buffing the water up with KH/GH, adding injected c02 to a tank with a low KH (below 4) will bring my ph down below where i want it, as at the moment is is at 6.0 - 6.5

 

GH = >5

KH = >3

 

i am well aware that injected c02 will give me 4 or 5 times the growth rate of spit, but i also find dino spit gives me 4 or 5 times faster growth then nothing

 

 

interesting, I have read seachem flourish excel can stuff up fish if they swim through/near it whilst dosing, I wonder if other ferts have a similar effect?

I believe that they are the same chemical in different concentration, At least the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for Excel list glutaraldehyde as the active ingredient. 

[Delapool]

interesting, I have read seachem flourish excel can stuff up fish if they swim through/near it whilst dosing, I wonder if other ferts have a similar effect?

I hadn't heard of this, interesting. My fish and others I had heard about mainly swim through with no issues except they don't get the meal they were expecting.

Dry dosing ferts no issues but I don't dry dose nitrates.

Root tabs are the ones to watch for spiking ammonia I've found.

[bigjohnnofish]

im pretty sure glutaraldehyde is the preservative used in prime water conditioner....  

[Delapool]

That's interesting, could well be - I add a little when making a liquid ferts solution of PMDDs in a bottle.

[Ageofaquariums]

im pretty sure glutaraldehyde is the preservative used in prime water conditioner....  

 

 

Not as far as I know, but seachem support would be able to clear that up.

http://www.seachem.c...S/Prime.doc.pdf

[bigjohnnofish]

seachem aust. has been in liquidation.... and generally no-one at seachem likes to give out any information as to whats in the product.... we know they use metabisulphites instead of the usual thiosulphates that most water conditioners use.... and they dont use formaldehyde anymore.....

if they dont use glutaraldehyde as the preservative maybe you can tell me what is used ????

p.s your link goes to a page that only half exists... using their search function cant find anything on any preservatives in prime

Edited by bigjohnnofish, 08 December 2016 - 01:15 AM.

[Ageofaquariums]

I have always found the seachem chemists most forthcoming in my emails with them. I do know there was epic drama that resulted in an Australian forum imploding relating to formaldehyde content of prime and super dechlorit or some such. Could likely find it all using the internet wayback machine and aiming for around these dates  http://www.seachem.c...sion/1708-prime

 

Only the most simple of dechlorinators are still based on hypo aka rice crystals aka sodium thiosulphate. This is because of the almost total conversion to chloramine by water treatment authorities, and the ammonia problems that brings for fish keepers.

 

There is of course something slowly rising up to compete against sulphur based products, which has the advantage of not impacting oxygen levels.

But we shall see if it manages to get any real market share, as 1 or 2 products does not a contender make

[Johan]

Hi guys, glut is a non oxidising biocide that we use in cooling towers to kill bacteria. It is also widely used in fish meds at very low concentrations with mesotin and BKC. BKC is used to kill macro organisms, mainly in see water pipes. At the dose rate for tanks I do not think it will harm fish however when they swim through a concentrated zone it can burn the gills. Dilute before usage.

[bigjohnnofish]

I have always found the seachem chemists most forthcoming in my emails with them. I do know there was epic drama that resulted in an Australian forum imploding relating to formaldehyde content of prime and super dechlorit or some such. Could likely find it all using the internet wayback machine and aiming for around these dates  http://www.seachem.c...sion/1708-prime

 

 

not much help there really... next time your emailing or talking with someone at seachem that knows what they are talking about ask them what preservative they use ???? be much appreciated... everytime i send a response i dont really get an answer - more rather a round about answer that goes in circles and doesnt really answer the direct question.... makes me wonder what they are using thats all...  when you ask a direct question that can be directly answered and you dont get that answer it makes me more suspicious of what they are actually using...

 

im not after the complete recipe just the preservative.... to research potential long term effects on fish.... 

[Ageofaquariums]

They have the worlds best selling dechlorinator, no reason for them to give out the complete recipe unless they decide they hate money

99% of the recipe is common knowledge, the 1% you seek is rightly going to be held close to their chests.

 

The only glut aquarium chemist I know of willing to talk recipes is G-K-Lloyd-Jones. Could always try hit him up on fb?