Aptus - System-Clean

A concentrated system cleaner based on stabilised hydrogen peroxide. It cleans by killing biological deposits, and that has consequences for whatever else goes in the reservoir.

This product cleans by killing, and it does not discriminate

The other cleaners on this shelf work mechanically or chemically: they hold salts in solution, or bind metal ions, or wash a layer loose. System-Clean works differently. Hydrogen peroxide is an oxidiser, and it breaks down whatever it meets.

Against a biofilm already sitting in your lines that is exactly what you want. The bacteria building the slime layer are broken down and the layer lets go. But the product cannot tell what is useful from what is not, and that is the side almost no page mentions.

Do not combine this with an enzyme product. Enzymes are proteins and an oxidiser destroys proteins. CANNA explicitly state that Cannazym must not be used together with hydrogen peroxide, and the same holds for the other enzyme preparations. Put them in the same reservoir and you pay for two products while neither works.

The same goes for bacterial preparations, mycorrhizae and any other living additive. If you run an organic line where your soil life does real work, this is not your cleaner.

When an oxidiser is exactly the right tool

There is one clear place where this is the best of the four: an inert system where no biology belongs. Rockwool, clay pebbles, run-to-waste or recirculating, mineral feed, no bacterial products.

In a system like that every living colony in your lines is unwanted, and killing it is faster and more thorough than loosening it. It handles bacterial colonies, algae and fungi in drip lines, hoses and tanks. Peroxide also decomposes into water and oxygen, so no residue is left behind to shift your EC or pH.

Dosing and order

For continuous maintenance Aptus give 1 in 4000, which is 2.5 ml per 10 litres of water. For an interim clean or flush you double that to 1 in 2000, which is 5 ml per 10 litres.

Add System-Clean absolutely last to the made-up reservoir, ideally just before the irrigation, and mix thoroughly. The less time it spends standing in the tank before it enters the system, the more active substance actually reaches the lines rather than having decomposed in the reservoir.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: oxidising system cleaner, liquid concentrate
• Manufacturer: Aptus
• Composition: stabilised and activated hydrogen peroxide compound with conditioning agents
• Action: oxidising, breaks down living biofilm, algae and fungi
• Maintenance dose: 1 in 4000, which is 2.5 ml per 10 litres of water
• Cleaning dose: 1 in 2000, which is 5 ml per 10 litres of water
• Adding: absolutely last into the reservoir, just before irrigating
• Do not combine with: enzyme preparations, bacterial preparations, mycorrhizae and other living additives
• Suitable for: inert substrates and automatic watering systems

Frequently asked questions

Can this go in with my enzyme product?
No. Enzymes are proteins and peroxide breaks them down. CANNA explicitly advise against the combination for Cannazym, and the same applies to the other enzyme preparations.

Can I use it on an organic line?
Better not. It does not distinguish between unwanted and beneficial micro-organisms, so you remove your own soil life along with the problem.

How does it differ from a soap or detergent cleaner?
Those loosen deposits or hold salts in solution. This kills the biology that creates the deposit. Against a living biofilm that is more thorough; against lime scale it does less.

Does anything stay behind in my reservoir?
Hydrogen peroxide decomposes into water and oxygen, so no residue is left to shift your EC or pH.

When do I add it?
Absolutely last, just before the reservoir feeds the system. The longer it stands, the less active substance reaches your lines.