Reverse Respiration?

Mr.Shenanagins

Mr.Shenanagins

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Has anyone heard about this infantile technique for algae removal? I was looking into proper use of H2O2 when I stumbled on this interesting experiment conducted over at Aquarium Co-ops forum.

forum.aquariumcoop.com

Reverse Respiration

Website with an easy to digest format of the concept: https://reverserespiration.com/ Reverse Respiration; The Quick-Guide Reverse Respiration is a new, aquatic plant cleaning method designed by multiple COOP forum members to remove pests and algae off of aquatic plants without inflicting any pla...
forum.aquariumcoop.com forum.aquariumcoop.com
 
I’ve read about it before, but never tried it. It sounds like it could only be done in a plant-only tank.
 
Kwyet said:
I’ve read about it before, but never tried it. It sounds like it could only be done in a plant-only tank.
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If you were dosing it for the whole tank, I’d agree. But the method documented here suggests putting the plants in a dedicated container filled with seltzer/club soda for 12 hours to then be returned the to tank.
 
I have tried it on occasion.

I am not terribly enamored with it…

I have given up on trying to remove algae from plant leaves, and figure now if plant leaves are algae covered they are likely on their way out anyhow and are beyond recovery…. I now snip off the healthy growth and toss the old and grow me some healthy plants….

I have had plants go all to pieces (literally) from giving them an overnight seltzer soak.

Hornwort completely disintegrated…. And what the heck. Find an inch of algae free hornwort and toss it in your tank and it will take over the tank in a week….

Scarlet temple also obliterated from a seltzer soak…. And I forget the third plant that melted away after using it….

My experience with it was more hype than help. But some people swear by it. Some people also swear by bacteria in a bottle and using dechlorinator to bind up ammonia, nitrites and nitrates temporarily…. I always scratched my head on that. Why would I want to “bind it up for 24 hours when I could simply get rid of it via a water change?
 
@Pepere Thanks for the input, it’s been around for a couple years on their forum so I was curious why it hasn’t really gained traction across the forums.
 
I think it is most useful as a treatment of ordered plants to ensure no hitch hikers coming in to your tank as it asphyxiates fauna.

From an algae treatment perspective I think it falls flat. Maybe as a preventative of introducing an algae from another tank it is useful, but as a curative for algae infestation I think it is not terribly useful.
 
I've read some mentioning it worked well, and others mentioning it not working well. Hard to say really. In theory, it should work, but I'm too impatient to test it.
 
Unexpected said:
I wonder what the initial pH of seltzer water is. Could be a source of melt.
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It was mentioned that it would not work with Seltzer water, which apparently is becoming more the norm in stores. They recommended getting just “seltzer” or club soda.
 
My experience of trying to get rid of algae covering leaves has not been one that has given me any encouragement.

My opinion now is that the leaves that are covered with algae are “Dead Men Walking”. They look like healthy leaves that just happen to have algae that settled on them and if you hurry you can kill the algae and the leaf will recover…. But in reality they are leaves the plant has written off and has stopped defending and they are leaking organics that the Algae is happy to consume.

I gave up trying to recover those leaves, and now I pinch or cut them off removing a bunch of unsightly algae from the tank that could colonize elsewhere and freeup space and light for new leaves to grow…
 
I've noticed it seems to kill/weaken some algae. But getting the plant into a stable, healthy aquarium will also weaken algae, so I don't know about quantifying the results. It doesn't deserve the hype they give it IMO but it's pretty convenient, especially if (like me) you have a soda stream already for free seltzer water.
 
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