Innovative Marine Hydrofill Electrolysis

[Speeddemon7]

Hey guys,
I was wondering if any hydrofill owners or anyone that may know could comment on the hydrofill conductive floats. It is to my knowledge that when you have current going through water it will cause electrolysis to take place. In the case of saltwater chlorine is formed along with hydrogen, oxygen and even nitrogen, which can have very ill affects on a marine ecosystem. So my question is does innovative marine allow this to happen because the amounts of these products are so little or are the sensors more sophisticated then just sending current through the water? Any ideas are welcome!
Thanks,
-Kevin

 

[dkeller_nc]

Actually, if you put electrodes in saltwater and run a current through it, you produce sodium ions and chloride ions (as well as oxygen and hydrogen gas), not sodium and elemental chlorine. In order to get those last two, you have to run electrolysis in a bath of molten sodium chloride (at a temperature of around 1600 degrees Fahrenheit).

I would imagine that innovative marine has set the unit up so that very little current is actually passed through the electrodes, and while electrolysis will take place whenever any electricity is run through a conductive electrolyte (saltwater), the production of electrolytic by-products is directly proportional to the current run through the electrolyte. So if the current is very low, then the addition of electrolytic by products being added to the tank is negligible.

 

[Bilk]

I have this system. I don't use the pump that pairs with it because of logistics that cause a siphoning issue.

I'm still on the fence with this system. The controller is pretty neat as it displays the fill level of the sump at various stages. It also makes an audible sound when the fill is complete. That part has worked well so far. I have it powered from an EB8 that switches it off when the water change pump is in operation.

The conductive floats are what I wanted this for. My perspective is, they're a good concept, but not yet fully developed. I'm using these on a 200. Not that it should make a difference as water is water, but they really look and feel like they're made for a nano. The parts are very lightweight and could be a bit beefier. I also don't like the magnets and suction cups that affix them to the sump. Again, they are not very robust. The last thing is, they are not infallible. They need to be placed in the last chamber of the sump where the return is as there is a baffle that controls the sump level. The water passes quickly thru this section. The electrodes do accumulate junk and need to be cleaned from time to time or they fail to open and cause the controller to switch on the pump. I'm going to make some modifications to them when I have some time, to help with this issue. I think I'm going to mount them inside some PVC where they are protected from detritus and other organics rushing past them. I think this might help with them getting gunked up and failing.

 

[Speeddemon7]

Thanks guys. The reason I am looking into these systems is I think the technology is very applicable, more reliable, and more accurate then others on the market. I dont have a system to currently look at or I could reverse engineer the thing. My guess/hope is that along with low current which is a given, they must pulse these sensors as well to reduce the amount of time the current is flowing through the water. The pulse could be long enough that you would notice a delay in the reaction of the system.

Bilk have you ever taken one of the sensors out of the water and seen long it takes the system to react? Also you mentioned build up is it just debris or could it be build up related to electrolysis?

"One important use of electrolysis is to produce hydrogen. The reaction that occurs is
2H2O(aq)→2H2(g)+ O2(g).This has been suggested as a way of shifting society towards usinghydrogen as an energy carrier for powering electric motors and internal combustion engines.Electrolysis of water can be achieved in a simple hands-on project, where electricity from a battery is passed through a cup of water (in practice a saltwater solution or other electrolyte will need to be used otherwise no result will be observed). Electrolysis of an aqueous solution of table salt (NaCl, or sodium
chloride) produces aqueous sodium hydroxide and chlorine, although usually only in minute amounts. NaCl(aq) can be reliably electrolysed to produce hydrogen. Hydrogen gas will be seen to bubble up at the cathode, and chlorine gas will bubble at the anode."

Im not a chemist so Im not sure if this is right but I found this here http://aquarius.nasa.gov/pdfs/electrolysis.pdf

 

[Bilk]

Yeah it reacts instantly afaik, but that doesn't mean it's not a pulsed signal as you suggest. As I said, it can use some improvements, especially for use on a larger system, but I'm working with it and it has been doing the job pretty well.

The buildup generally happens if/when I pull out filter socks and don't put them back for a while - say a day or so. I guess it's an organic film and it bridges the two electrodes, so the circuit never breaks when the water level drops. Something I worry about if I were to be away for an extended time. That's why I'm looking at modifying the installation by inserting them in clear tubes or some other form of shielding from direct flow in the sump. I'm pushing a lot of water thru the sump, so when it gets low near the electrodes, it's really moving. They're placed in the last chamber where the return pump draws from.

Just snapped a few pics. Those suction cups never hold :angryfire: