This was very useful. I am working with a customer with a new and failing iron removal system. I decided to check ORP and the water at the pressure tank is consistently -55mV , 7.6 pH, slight sulfur odor, 2ppm iron, 0.1ppm manganese. After filtration ORP rises to +150mV. My problem is the filtration media Is breaking down putting 0.3ppm Manganese into the water. I believe the negative orp is an indicator of my problem. Is it safe to say the sulfur odor (likely SRB) and -ORP are related?
Usually, the sulfur is going to be SRB, especially if you have a reducing/anaerobic environment, as indicated by the negative ORP. A way to check for sure would be using appropriate BART tests. They are relatively cheap and yield pretty reliable results.
Thanks for putting these videos out there! They are extremely helpful. I'm wondering if you could help me check my understanding on ORP as it relates to Fe and Mn. I've got two wells with positive ORP (50 to 200mV) and low Fe and Mn. Then downgradient from there, I've got several wells with negative ORP (0 to -100mV) and higher Fe and Mn. Given my understanding (and assuming the Fe and Mn are just coming from the unconsolidated sand and gravel in the shallow aquifer) I would expect to see higher Fe and Mn in samples from the wells with higher ORP because the Fe and Mn would be being reduced to the more soluble forms (Fe2 and Mn3). Am I thinking about that wrong?
It is possible that the ORP is being affected by a change in the redox chemistry of the ground water, but the Fe and Mn concentrations are being controlled by other factors. Or you could have Fe and Mn oxidizing/reducing bacteria present. ORP can be a bit tricky when considered by itself.
I just watched your video and really learned a lot about ORP. I’m currently in the process of cycling a new, sterile 180 gallon reef tank. So I’m working my way through the nitrogen cycle and I happen to have an orp monitor on my controller. Until now I had no idea what orp was and it’s not really all that well understood in the reefing community. I can see why, I think, if I put my probe into my skimmer, the orp reading should be much higher than if I were to put it on the bottom of a 6” sand bed. My question to you is two part. First, will getting my orp back up into the +300 range help speed up the Nitrogen cycle and second, can you give me a couple of examples of ways that might be safe for me to raise my orp if this is correct? IT’s recently drifted down to around 100+- and I’m not sure what this means. Could it mean that my beneficial bacteria are dying off? I know you never claimed to have any knowledge of aquariums but I believe there is great overlap in your knowledge and understanding into the reefing hobby. I also understand that it’s not so much a specific number but more so the observation of the trends. This whole topic came up when my controller sent me an alert that my orp fell below 200. Looking forward to any and all thoughts you might have on the topic.
wow - I'm no expert in aquariums, but your question does illustrate how ORP is used in many different situations. My guess is that if you are trending negative on ORP, you have something, either chemical or biological, that is reducing the dissolved oxygen in your system, which would cause the ORP to trend negative. That is where I would start looking anyway.
@@thegroundwaterguy since my initial question, my orp reading has been trending higher and higher. Even with my skimmer off. I’m assuming that over time, the natural algae, which I’m just now starting to see the first visible signs of a the bacteria are growing and using up the available co2 which in turn is raising the dissolved oxygen. It’s gone from around 100 to 250 over the coarse of the last two weeks. Looks like I’m heading in the right direction. Thanks again for your video
This was very useful. I am working with a customer with a new and failing iron removal system. I decided to check ORP and the water at the pressure tank is consistently -55mV , 7.6 pH, slight sulfur odor, 2ppm iron, 0.1ppm manganese. After filtration ORP rises to +150mV. My problem is the filtration media Is breaking down putting 0.3ppm Manganese into the water. I believe the negative orp is an indicator of my problem. Is it safe to say the sulfur odor (likely SRB) and -ORP are related?
Usually, the sulfur is going to be SRB, especially if you have a reducing/anaerobic environment, as indicated by the negative ORP. A way to check for sure would be using appropriate BART tests. They are relatively cheap and yield pretty reliable results.
Thanks for putting these videos out there! They are extremely helpful. I'm wondering if you could help me check my understanding on ORP as it relates to Fe and Mn. I've got two wells with positive ORP (50 to 200mV) and low Fe and Mn. Then downgradient from there, I've got several wells with negative ORP (0 to -100mV) and higher Fe and Mn. Given my understanding (and assuming the Fe and Mn are just coming from the unconsolidated sand and gravel in the shallow aquifer) I would expect to see higher Fe and Mn in samples from the wells with higher ORP because the Fe and Mn would be being reduced to the more soluble forms (Fe2 and Mn3). Am I thinking about that wrong?
It is possible that the ORP is being affected by a change in the redox chemistry of the ground water, but the Fe and Mn concentrations are being controlled by other factors. Or you could have Fe and Mn oxidizing/reducing bacteria present. ORP can be a bit tricky when considered by itself.
Very Helpful in one Parameters that is cleaning itself?
I agree, ORP is a key factor to consider when it comes to groundwater!
I just watched your video and really learned a lot about ORP. I’m currently in the process of cycling a new, sterile 180 gallon reef tank. So I’m working my way through the nitrogen cycle and I happen to have an orp monitor on my controller. Until now I had no idea what orp was and it’s not really all that well understood in the reefing community. I can see why, I think, if I put my probe into my skimmer, the orp reading should be much higher than if I were to put it on the bottom of a 6” sand bed. My question to you is two part. First, will getting my orp back up into the +300 range help speed up the Nitrogen cycle and second, can you give me a couple of examples of ways that might be safe for me to raise my orp if this is correct? IT’s recently drifted down to around 100+- and I’m not sure what this means. Could it mean that my beneficial bacteria are dying off? I know you never claimed to have any knowledge of aquariums but I believe there is great overlap in your knowledge and understanding into the reefing hobby. I also understand that it’s not so much a specific number but more so the observation of the trends. This whole topic came up when my controller sent me an alert that my orp fell below 200. Looking forward to any and all thoughts you might have on the topic.
wow - I'm no expert in aquariums, but your question does illustrate how ORP is used in many different situations. My guess is that if you are trending negative on ORP, you have something, either chemical or biological, that is reducing the dissolved oxygen in your system, which would cause the ORP to trend negative. That is where I would start looking anyway.
@@thegroundwaterguy since my initial question, my orp reading has been trending higher and higher. Even with my skimmer off. I’m assuming that over time, the natural algae, which I’m just now starting to see the first visible signs of a the bacteria are growing and using up the available co2 which in turn is raising the dissolved oxygen. It’s gone from around 100 to 250 over the coarse of the last two weeks. Looks like I’m heading in the right direction. Thanks again for your video
@@jasonkelsey3868 Good to hear that you have it under control.