Any DIY alternatives to PT Nuke?

[dpajur]

Hi folks,

Are there any PT Nuke substitutes that are obtainable in DIY stores or pet shops?

I live in Ireland and I can't get PT Nuke here, but I'm thinking there must be something like it available in local stores.

Thanks!

[NKrader]

a piece of 99.9 silver?

[ohms]

There are plenty of anti algae solutions that are used in fish tanks that you can potentially use in conjunction with a piece rod of 99.9 silver like NKrader recommended. You would just have to coil up the silver yourself.

[Petra]

A chunk/piece/coil/whatever of 99.9% pure silver would work, nearly any copper sulfate-based aquarium algaecide should be fine, alcohol-free iodine is also an option... take your pick

[Lunait]

I use iodine in my loop. Seems to work well so far, no sign of build-up in the reservoir at least.

[Levesque]

Just ask your pharmacist for Lugol's solution (iodine). I use 1 or 2 drops by liter of distilled water.

And I also buy pure silver wire .99% (really cheap on ebay) that I twist and put in my res. I usually use a 12'' wire for each res.

People in here often forgot that we don't all live in the USA... so those are good, cheap, and working alternatives to PT Nuke and Silver Killcoil.

[Splave]

I have a .999 silver coin in my res, looks good 6months+ now

[facboy]

you can get pt nuke pretty easily in the uk...expensive to ship to ireland?

[Devil_Dog]

I have a .999 silver coin in my res, looks good 6months+ now

[washu9]

I have a .999 silver coin in my res, looks good 6months+ now

How'd you manage to put it in?
I imagine it ain't gonna fit the fill/drain ports.

[NKrader]

How'd you manage to put it in?
I imagine it ain't gonna fit the fill/drain ports.

just push really hard. perhaps some lube?

they prob have open top res. like ek one.

[dpajur]

Just checked what the active ingredient is in PT Nuke - Copper Sulphate. Bought a bag of the stuff for 4 quid, it's equal to probably 1000 bottles of PT Nuke :P

I'll try mixing it myself, if it works this should last a lifetime.

EDIT: 10ml of PT Nuke with 4.1% of Copper Sulphate = $3. 500g of copper sulphate on ebay = 4 quid ($5??), mix it yourself and you get 1219 bottles of PT Nuke which would cost you $3658. What's wrong with that picture?

[dpajur]

Well, the bag with copper sulphate arrived and I've added 3g into my loop. That should be the right amount for 1.2l of water in the loop.

How often does this need to be topped up? Or would I be better off changing the water completely?

[rge]

Copper from your blocks will maintain copper concentration, your just giving the loop a head start with copper sulfate.

But if you do change your water, might want to add less copper: The goal is .5 to 2 ppm copper, I aim for .5 and never have issues.

To aim for 1ppm per pt nuke instructions=2 drops per liter of 4% solution.
~20 drops in 1 ml. So 1 drop = .05mls. 2 drops pt nuke per 1 liter = .1ml per liter=1/10000 dilution. And 1/10000 dilution of 4% copper sulfate = .0004% copper sulfate.

You are using 3g/1200ml or 0.25% copper sulfate or ~625x that.

had to type that fast, heading out the door, but think that is right.

[Petra]

dpajur, there are a few things I should note:

- You added way more CuSO4 to your loop than was necessary... keep in mind that it's naturally somewhat acidic.

- Straight CuSO4, as you have done, can be used as a biocide... but that's not all that's in Nuke -Cu.

- I don't use, nor do I really trust, chemicals purchased from eBay. The chemical supply place that I use charges about $66/kg (~£45.6/kg) plus shipping for the Copper sulfate pentahydrate used in Nuke -Cu.

That aside, I'm not really going to address your cost analysis because, while the raw chemical cost per bottle may not be particularly high, factoring in my time and, to a lesser extent, equipment costs would mean that we really didn't make much on this stuff (especially when sold to other resellers).

*edit* rge: I think your numbers look like they're probably right... I'm just to tired to double check.

[MegadetHCl]

I used sodium azide in my loop for several years without changing the water. We used this stuff to preserve antibodies diluted in 5% milk during my thesis work, the milk could stay "fresh" at 4C for more than half a year. In my new upcoming loop, I'm thinking of using something less toxic and mutagenic, as any tiny spill of water containing sodium azide was a biohazard risk =)

[NKrader]

I used sodium azide in my loop for several years without changing the water. We used this stuff to preserve antibodies diluted in 5% milk during my thesis work, the milk could stay "fresh" at 4C for more than half a year. In my new upcoming loop, I'm thinking of using something less toxic and mutagenic, as any tiny spill of water containing sodium azide was a biohazard risk =)

umm silver killcoil??

can belive people still run additives.. after all the horror stories.. even with just PT nuke inline..

[MegadetHCl]

umm silver killcoil??

can belive people still run additives.. after all the horror stories.. even with just PT nuke inline..

Dude, do you honestly consider sodium azide (NaN3), having a water solubility of 41.7 g/100 mL (Wiki), an additive? At this rate, adding colloidal silver nanoparticles to your loop is equivalent to dipping a highlighter marker core into your res! Sodium azide would be a perfect biocide if it weren't so toxic to the end user: sodium azide is acutely toxic; symptoms are often compared with those of cyanide (Wiki).

[NKrader]

Dude, do you honestly consider sodium azide (NaN3), having a water solubility of 41.7 g/100 mL (Wiki), an additive? At this rate, adding colloidal silver nanoparticles to your loop is equivalent to dipping a highlighter marker core into your res! Sodium azide would be a perfect biocide if it weren't so toxic to the end user: sodium azide is acutely toxic; symptoms are often compared with those of cyanide (Wiki).

i just dont like adding anything to the water that disolves..

cuz everything i have seen that people have added has caused some drama somewhere.. ptnuke/coolant.. etc.. i just dont want to risk it. why not just get silver coil if it does the same thing, and has no chance of causing any problems at all.. aside from getting sucked into the pump

im just going off of the idea that i have never seen any problems with silvercoil and ive seen problems with every other coolant/additive out there.. (on these forums..)

[BeepBeep2]

i just dont like adding anything to the water that disolves..

cuz everything i have seen that people have added has caused some drama somewhere.. ptnuke/coolant.. etc.. i just dont want to risk it. why not just get silver coil if it does the same thing, and has no chance of causing any problems at all.. aside from getting sucked into the pump

im just going off of the idea that i have never seen any problems with silvercoil and ive seen problems with every other coolant/additive out there.. (on these forums..)

Who puts a retail coolant w/ dye and PT Nuke together? That's just asking for disaster.

Coolant,
or
Distilled + PT Nuke

[NKrader]

Who puts a retail coolant w/ dye and PT Nuke together? That's just asking for disaster.

Coolant,
or
Distilled + PT Nuke

thats what i was saying. ive now seen somone that ran just distilled/PTNuke. and had issues.

[Alexandr0s]

thats what i was saying. ive now seen somone that ran just distilled/PTNuke. and had issues.

Somehow I feel that his problems are in no way related to the PTNuke. Otherwise we would've seen a lot of other problems already, especially since 9 out of 10 here seem to claim it as a standard to run in any loop.

[NKrader]

Somehow I feel that his problems are in no way related to the PTNuke. Otherwise we would've seen a lot of other problems already, especially since 9 out of 10 here seem to claim it as a standard to run in any loop.

yes but have you ever heard of any problems with silver coil???

nope.

wont happen.. i dont see why everyone doesnt run silver.. does the same thing lasts forever. and will never have any issues with anything. ever.

[rge]

I think the main issue is silver coils are less prone to user error since nothing to mix.

On many aquarium sites, it is warned about the narrow range of copper... "For non-biological systems a continuous reading of 1.0 ppm is enough to assure effective algae control; more is superfluous and may damage finishes and equipment".
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pondsubwebindex/cuusepds.htm

If you use distilled water and follow pt nuke instructions, you should be fine, and I aim for low side 0.5 ppm, and most use 0.3 to 0.5 in aquariums without issue. And if you put the correct concentration in, your simply mimicking what your loop is going to end up with in a month or so anyways from copper waterblocks.

But, I hear people using several drops per liter or more, which according to several aquarium sites (with decades of experience), risk issues with equipment.

I would be happy with either silver or copper, and would not expect problems with either, if both used correctly.

[NKrader]

If you use distilled water and follow pt nuke instructions, you should be fine, and I aim for low side 0.5 ppm, and most use 0.3 to 0.5 in aquariums without issue. And if you put the correct concentration in, your simply mimicking what your loop is going to end up with in a month or so anyways from copper waterblocks.

um what about the people who dont have a tds meter?