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Foamy water using iodine?

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Excelsior

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Joined
Apr 19, 2003
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KITTENS!!! KITTENS!!! KITTENS!!! KITTENS!!!
anyone else have this issue? I put in a bit of algae killer in my new setup, ran the pump, things went fine. Then I put a few mL of provodone iodine and it instantly started almost effervescing. There are tons of tiny bubbles that go to the surface of my res when it's off that never disappear. When I turn on the pup the entire loop gets bombarded with tiny bubbles and the water turns cloudy.

Anyone have similar experiences and a remedy? I kind of got caught up in the additive hype, I guess. With my t-line loop I used a bit of rubbing alcohol and things remained good for years, so not sure why I went loco this time (except that the microres says not to use rubbing alcohol, hence why I ditched it this time around).

Kinda just want to get everything up and running but I can't get rid of these damn bubbles. If I can't get rid of them I may have to drain the loop and refill it, not using iodine this time. Anyone got any suggestions? Since I ran out of tygon antimicrobial silver tubing (stuff is expensive, man) I used some thin walled hardware store vinyl tubing in two places where it's a straightaway and it seems to be holding up.

-ex
 
If I had to make a guess, I would say the iodine had a bad reaction to whatever algae killer you used. You would not get that reaction with iodine and regualr distilled water. At least I never have.


I would flush it out clean everything and not use the algae killer again. Use distilled water and either purple ice or hydorx additive.. Thats all you need.


CGR... aka Bromsin ;)
 
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I've had that reaction before, from what I can't remember. BUT, I do believe all I did was run the loop (offline) for a day or two and the foam disappeared.
 
i like the foamy stuff.


let me guess what you did.

1) filled loop
2) turn loop on
3) added iodine and it frothed up.


if so just wait and the froth will clear a lot quicker than normal air bubbles, i think the froth bleeds quicker, in my case it bled in 5 hours when most people's loops bleed in 2-3 days. (im using a t-line)
 
Otter said:
What's in the algaecide you're using?

Polyoxyethelenedimethylliminioethylene, 4.5%

darkcow said:
i like the foamy stuff.


let me guess what you did.

1) filled loop
2) turn loop on
3) added iodine and it frothed up.


if so just wait and the froth will clear a lot quicker than normal air bubbles, i think the froth bleeds quicker, in my case it bled in 5 hours when most people's loops bleed in 2-3 days. (im using a t-line)

meionm said:
New setup, how long did you run it?

Nope, I let it bleed for 4-5 hours + overnight and it showed no signs of improvement. I finally just drained the system and flushed it and filled it again.

No bubbles and everything's running smoothly. I figure I'll just let it be until a problem arises this time; I suppose this way I'll see how useful tygon antimicrobial is.
 
Although I have used both povidone-iodine and fish tank algaecide for a couple of years without a foam issue, I simply wouldn't run with no additive. I would add a drop of the algaecide and just leave the povidone-iodine out if that is the issue as algae is going to be the #1 issue to cause problems.

Personally, I wouldn't be that worried about a bit of foam unless it didn't dissolve in like 3-4 days. Microbubbles aren't going to kill your loop and should work their way out.
 
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