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| General Reef Discussion In this forum we discuss issues related to keeping marine and reef aquariums in a friendly flame-free environment. |
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03-06-2006, 09:00 AM
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#1
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Lexington
Posts: 156
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Dissolved Organic Compound
I did a search and it came up with no matches. What is a dissolved organic compound. Is it basically fish urine and coral waste?
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John
"This too shall pass"
"Tomorrow is promised to noone."
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03-06-2006, 09:04 AM
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#2
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Shark
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: maryland
Posts: 1,019
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DOC's are the breakdown products of any organic item in the tank. Fish poop, food, detritus, algae.
Skimmers are great at removing them. DOC's are part of the import/export equation. You want to minimize the amount of stuff that goes in (food, bioload) and maximize your export (skimmer, water changes.)
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03-06-2006, 09:04 AM
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#3
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senior member
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Walnut Grove, SC, USA
Posts: 15,581
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mostly, but will include the decompositional materials from left over food, coral mucus, fish mucus, daily cycling of algal biomass, etc. It is any material with a decent length chain or carbon or ring compounds that are dissolved in the water. As such, they will have some dipole moment and usually will have a polar end and a lipophyllic end. This makes them concentrate at the water/air interface allowing skimming to remove them as such.
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Tom <"))))>(
(TDWyatt)
Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. -Plato
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03-06-2006, 09:05 AM
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#4
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senior member
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Walnut Grove, SC, USA
Posts: 15,581
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g'morning Jack, had some coffee yet?
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Tom <"))))>(
(TDWyatt)
Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. -Plato
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03-06-2006, 09:06 AM
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#5
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Ghost of reefers past
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: Southern Oregon, Way West of Dimples ;)
Posts: 25,741
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Thats pretty much it, larger organic molecules that will attach to airbubbles, thats why skimmers do what they do, they dont remove dissolved elements directly, tho wet skimming will remove some salt with the skimate, but the nasty stuff in the collection cup is DOC
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Cowboy is a verb, not a noun
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03-06-2006, 09:08 AM
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#6
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Ghost of reefers past
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: Southern Oregon, Way West of Dimples ;)
Posts: 25,741
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I guess I was slow on the draw
So who's posting under Toms name? 
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Cowboy is a verb, not a noun
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03-06-2006, 09:08 AM
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#7
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Lexington
Posts: 156
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They concentrate at the air water interface. This may not be answerable but I will ask anyways. How fast do DOC's accumulate. I know it will depend on the system but if you have a heavily stocked system with fish and coral do these compounds accumulate very rapidly (like in hours) or does it take a few days for the air water interface to become saturated?
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John
"This too shall pass"
"Tomorrow is promised to noone."
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03-06-2006, 09:09 AM
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#8
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Lexington
Posts: 156
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So who's posting under Toms name?
I was surprised at the brevity as well!!
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John
"This too shall pass"
"Tomorrow is promised to noone."
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03-06-2006, 09:45 AM
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#9
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Shark
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: maryland
Posts: 1,019
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by tdwyatt
g'morning Jack, had some coffee yet?
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Morning Tom.
No coffee yet. Can you send some?
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03-06-2006, 09:46 AM
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#10
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Shark
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: maryland
Posts: 1,019
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by grantman
So who's posting under Toms name?
I was surprised at the brevity as well!!
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Maybe he hasnt had coffee yet.
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03-06-2006, 09:51 AM
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#11
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Ghost of reefers past
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: Southern Oregon, Way West of Dimples ;)
Posts: 25,741
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by drsyme
Maybe he hasnt had coffee yet.
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__________________
Cowboy is a verb, not a noun
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03-06-2006, 10:10 AM
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#12
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Lexington
Posts: 156
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Trying to get back on track. How fast does the surface accumulate DOC's assuming that no protien skimmer exists and it is a heavily stocked tank?
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John
"This too shall pass"
"Tomorrow is promised to noone."
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03-06-2006, 03:07 PM
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#13
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senior member
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Walnut Grove, SC, USA
Posts: 15,581
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a lot depends on how big (MW) the molecule is and how much of the chain is aoiphatic and how much is hydrophyllic (fat loving vs wawter loving in terms of olubility) as well as how uickly it is formed in the tank (how hevily you feed, how heavy your pops are, etc). There will not be a standard pat answer for this question, it will be much like asking "How many individual hairs do you have on your head?" ...and will vary from individual to individual. Expect there to be some accumulation every day, to the point that you will notice a film after 2 or 3 days. There is some biological removal as well due to decomposition of the DOC's by bacteria and due to absorption by organisms in the water column.
why would you not want to run a skimmer?
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Tom <"))))>(
(TDWyatt)
Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. -Plato
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03-07-2006, 06:42 AM
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#14
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Lexington
Posts: 156
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I will run a skimmer. I am wondering the most efficient way to skim the top layer of water. Geoff has a coast to coast on his tank. I can see how it will only take water from the surface, but will the entire surface be drawn through the ctc? Does aiming a powerhead or a return at the surface cause the DOC to accumulate elsewhere? I have a prizm deluxe with the surface skimming attachment but I am sure that it doesn't draw water from the entire length of my tank.
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John
"This too shall pass"
"Tomorrow is promised to noone."
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