Anyone used potassium permanganate?

[chimera]

I read this by Albert Thiel on a web site...

Other than a good skimmer and reduced feeding, what else should be done to combat a constant problem with red cyano/nitrates?

a good way to reduce DOC is to add controlled dosages of potassium permanganate diluted in water to the aquarium. Use a 5 % solution and be very careful with the amounts added as KMnO4 increases the redox potential rapidly and that can shock the corals and fish so you need to add a little of the liquid frequently so that DOC slowly gets oxidized and that cyanos do not have enough nutrients to grow. Siphon all cyanos out when you see them. Do not let them get out of hand and do not stop the addition of the KmnO4 too soon or you will not have achieved what you are trying to accomplish. It can take 5 to 7 days before you see a large difference but the diluted pot permang will do the trick for sure

Ozone is another way to go but that poses a problem in reef tanks as the corals will react negatively for pre-treating or for injecting in the skimmer at low dosages though, it is another method that can be used. I have excellent success treating tanks that have such problems when I do consulting work that I use the potassium permanaganate most of the time

Anyone tried it?

[lduncan]

VERY risky, permangenate is a relatively strong oxidizer. It may help rid the tank of cyano, but it will more than likely be at the cost of other important parameters. It will upset bacteria and algae directly. Not something I would want to do in my tank.

Think of it like chlorine.

Layton

[KM]

I have used KMNO4 before, but only in fresh water tanks. It is used to strip parasites from tropical fish.

You have to be very careful about how strong the solution is, because it will strip the skin right off the fish if you aren't careful!

I imagine it could cos some big probs in a reef tank if you didn't get the solution right! It may fix one problem, only with the result of causing another.