glutaraldehyde instead of excel - Page 16 - South Western Ohio Aquatic Plant Enthusiasts (SWOAPE)

gdevil · 05-09-2009, 08:26 PM

Quote:

don't use the activator. I am cynical, but I would suspect that it is just an indicator for the test strips they sell also, so that the manufacturer puts the liability for replacing the solution on the user, and makes sure they sell a lot more. Doesn't aspirin cost $5.00 each in the hospital...? I used my Cidex Plus for three months, and it seemed to work better and better, no sign of degrading.

Are you sure of this? because in medicine studies have demostrate that glutaraldehyde lose his effects whit the pass of the time and also that in alcalyne ph is less strong this, so is more a stabilizator than an activator...

Any way i'm not use in it either...

overboard · 05-10-2009, 10:12 AM

You are probably right, it is a stabilizer.. I just guess that Cidex is an effective algeacide and carbon source even after it has degraded as a safe disinfectant. I just finished a quart I got four months ago, and started a new bottle, and noticed no difference in the 10 gallon that still has hair algae... alas.

ErioLover · 05-12-2009, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overboard

You are probably right, it is a stabilizer.. I just guess that Cidex is an effective algeacide and carbon source even after it has degraded as a safe disinfectant. I just finished a quart I got four months ago, and started a new bottle, and noticed no difference in the 10 gallon that still has hair algae... alas.

Im sorry but I don't quite follow. Are u saying that it is useless when adding the activator? Or are u saying that cidex has no effect on algae? I just bought a bottle but its too early to tell its effects. It doesn't seem like it does much on spirogyra but neither does excel.

Seattle_Aquarist · 05-13-2009, 08:06 AM

Hi overboard,

Just an FYI, Post #115 (page 12 of this thread) is where the Glut concentration in Excel is mentioned to be 1.5%. This was determined as a result of testing done in India. The assumption of a 2.5% concentration is almost 2X the actual.

ShayF · 08-03-2009, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seattle_Aquarist

Just an FYI, Post #115 (page 12 of this thread) is where the Glut concentration in Excel is mentioned to be 1.5%. This was determined as a result of testing done in India.

Do you have any reference to this Indian test?

overboard · 05-13-2009, 07:24 PM

Wow, so when I thought I was 50% over, I was more than 130% stronger than Excel. I haven't seen any harmful effects, though. Thanks for the info- that's a lot of reading to do.

ErioLover- Cidex works great without the activator. Like you said, the algae that I still have was resistant to Excel also. And we are saving a LOT of money. I didn't use the activator because I thought that anything that is added to make a test work would be too strong, like I would never put the chemicals in my water test kits in the tank. I honestly have no idea if that is logical, but I didn't want to add what I couldn't identify.

Seattle_Aquarist · 08-03-2009, 07:06 AM

Hi ShayF,

Sure, here is the link to the thread. The post is a little over 1/3 the way down the page, dated Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:09 PM. Don't even ask how long it took me to find this reference. I did a lot of digging for almost a month and found posts on countless different forums. I found guesses of anywhere between 1% to 3% concentration of Glutaraldehyde in Excel. This is the only thread I was able to find where testing provided the results.

ShayF · 08-03-2009, 07:15 AM

Seattle_Aquarist, thank you very much!