Observations on the use of ozone

reefkeeper2 · #1 08/25/2007, 07:28 PM

I thought I would post some observations I have made of my tank since I started using ozone about 4 weeks ago.
I have a 427 gal mixed reef with about 75 gal in the sump so my total volume is about 500gal. It's a mixed reef, with many softies of various kinds, 3 anemones (one which is a huge s. gigantea) and many sps.
I had used ozone many years ago when I first started keeping a reef but stopped after about 2 years when I didn't see any difference in the tank when I discontinued it use. I have to say at this point though that I was not keeping anything close to the diversity of animals I have today and had very few if any sps.
It is because of the variety of animals I have in the tank now that I decided to give ozone another try. I run carbon 24/7 and I thought that perhaps ozone could reduce or remove organics that the carbon might miss. I thought the sps corals might also benifit, since there are so many softies in the tank.
I got a good deal on a used Ozotech Posiedon 200mg/hr unit and a red sea air dryer. I connected it to an old euroreef skimmer(never throw away or sell your old stuff unless you have to) and made a DIY carbon chamber for the outflow. I used the old euroreef because I didn't want to take chances with my BK skimmer. Lastly I bought a pinpoint orp controller.
Now remember this is not a scientific study and it's only my observations so take it for what it's worth. After 24 hrs and an increase in the orp from 280 to 340 I could see a clear difference in the appearance of many of the animals. Most notable was a surprising and dramatic increase in the polyp extension of the sps. Also observed was an increase in the expansion of the already gigantic, s. gigantea. After a week, the orp would fall during the day to around 330 and then climb to 385 when the lights went out at night. The fluctuation does not seem to effect anything in the tank, and I assume it's due to the metabolism of all the animals when they are active during the day. There have been no complications or negative effects that I have noticed.
It's been almost a month now and the appearance of the animals in the tank presently look the best I have seen. The only exception to this would be a blueberry gorgonian that does not open it's polyps as often as it did before.
So it seems that in my case, the addition of ozone has been a definate plus. I suppose the improvement could be attributed to some other unknown factor, but as time passes I think that more and more unlikely. If you're on the fence like I was about using ozone, and your setup is similar to mine, I would say it is definately worth trying.

ariel47 · #2 08/25/2007, 10:08 PM

I just purchased the ozotech poseidon, and plan to run it thru a berlin classic skimmer. My orp without ozone 240 to 260. Will starting ozone Monday. Hope my results are good.

reefkeeper2 · #3 08/25/2007, 10:25 PM

The one piece of advice I read here over and over is to go slow. Don't bring the orp up to fast. Take at least a week to get it where you want it.

ariel47 · #4 08/26/2007, 10:52 AM

I plan to start the ozonizer at 50mg the first week and gradually increase it from there. I hope thats not to fast. my tank is a 250 with 50 gal sump.

old95er · #5 08/31/2007, 10:22 AM

I have the poseidon through an ev180, clean the probe every two days and the orp is at 300-320 mv during the day. I am running the air through the ozotech dryer, and the crystals have to be changed once a week.

I feel like the air flow may not be enough.what air pump are you guys using?

Lutefisk · #6 08/31/2007, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by old95er
...
I feel like the air flow may not be enough.what air pump are you guys using?

I'm using the Corallife Luft Pump and it works great. I purchased it used here on Reef Central. Rather than running ozone through the skimmer air input I'm using a MTC pressurized ozone reactor that requires an air pump that is capable of producing 5 PSI or greater. The Luft Pump does a great job and has an adjustable output control.

I've been using ozone for about four weeks as well and I'm very pleased with the results.

Paul

ariel47 · #7 08/31/2007, 06:20 PM

I'm using a berlin classic skimmer. Starting out very slow, just increased the dial on ozatech to #2.

KyleO · #8 08/31/2007, 07:25 PM

I can't tell you all how glad I am to see this thread! I made the decision to "pony up" the money and just purchased the MTC Ozone reactor, ca-12 and SR7. I did purchase the Coralife Luft air pump and the RedSea 200mg Ozone generator after some advice from a friend and seeing the article by Randy.

I am setting it up this weekend but have been entertaining doubts about the money I spent.

Now I am very excited and can't wait to see the response to raised ORP.

old95er · #9 08/31/2007, 07:42 PM

KyleO - don't have regrets. . .ozone made an immediate improvement in the visible water quality and appearance of the coral animals.

I guess my air pump is way too weak, it is small Rena Air 50. . .oops! I will get the Coralife immediately! Thanks guys!

I have been running th eoxotech at full blast using a controller it is on all the time and barely keeps up with 309mv. . .perhaps the low air flow is to blame. . .

reefkeeper2 · #10 08/31/2007, 09:17 PM

I use the Coralife Luft as well. For an update, I have to say the results have exceeded my expectations. I moved the orp meter however, as it was too close to the output of the skimmer. The ozotech is on it's highest level and it can get the orp to 380 only at night. This does not bother me. I don't think there is any problem with the unit. It would probably work much more efficiently with an ozone reactor instead of with an old skimmer. I'm going to leave it as is because I think it's sufficient and I'm very pleased. I have a question though if anyone can answer it. Over time I assume I need to clean the cells in the ozone unit. Has anyone ever done this with an Ozotech unit? I bought mine second hand and the seller no longer had the user manual.

Ooulophilia · #11 08/31/2007, 09:37 PM

I recently put ozone on my SPS system, and have noticed a visible increase in water clarity and polyp extension. I cannot say definitively if this is linked, but the system was having a problem with red bugs, and about a week after installing the ozonizer, no more red bugs - I am curious if anyone can collaborate this?
The one downside to the ozone that I have observed is when I hooked it up to my soft coral system all of my xenia, anthellia and cespitularia closed up in a matter of minutes - I am assuming because they are so vascular.
Anyway, I will continue using it for SPS, but will not for softies and LPS.

ariel47 · #12 09/01/2007, 08:34 AM

Kyleo did you buy your ozotech and MTC reactor equip from Reefer14? He had that same setup with ozotech electronic air dryer and sold it recently. I'm ging to purchase the electronic air dryer when I save more money.

ariel47 · #13 09/01/2007, 08:36 AM

correction it was Reefer714.

KyleO · #14 09/01/2007, 11:24 AM

No,

I saw that Reefer714 had that set up but had sold it. I had to go straight to the company in NJ.

hahnmeister · #15 09/02/2007, 01:45 PM

I have been considering adding ozone to my skimmer as well. The problem is that my skimmer is DIY, so there are regular white-PVC parts in it... something tells me that they may not be ozone safe. But when I get th next skimmer for this tank that goes in the sump (I dont think I want to do the tall skimmer that stands next to the tank anymore), I was going to give it a boost in performance (since it will only be about 26-28" tall if its going in the stand) by adding ozone. I plumb my skimmer collection cup venting so the extra would just go outside, so I have no worries there.

Are there any suggestions though on how much ozone I should use on a certain size tank? I was thinking a 50mg unit would be enough... but how do I know?

fish02 · #16 09/02/2007, 05:29 PM

This is from this article, http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-04/rhf/index.php, about Ozone:

most guidelines suggest on the order of 0.3 to 0.5 mg O3/hr/gallon of aquarium water.

So just multiply your total system volume by .3 and .5 to get the minimum and maximum suggested milligrams of ozone that you need.

hahnmeister · #17 09/03/2007, 12:17 AM

Okay... so 50mg is right on for my system. 200 is quite overkill.

Fishbulb2 · #18 09/03/2007, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by hahnmeister
Okay... so 50mg is right on for my system. 200 is quite overkill.

On the other hand Hahn,
Most people in this thread and other threads seem to suggest that their ozonizers have a hard time keeping their ORP high unless the unit runs constantly. Also, you will need to keep on top of your dryer more if you use a smaller ozonizer. For most manufactures, it doesn't cost much more to get a bigger unit and almost all of them have an adjustable output. So I would just get a larger unit and turn down the output a bit. Then if you don't have time to recharge the air dryer for a day or so, you can just turn up the output. Also if you have trouble raising your orp enough or upgrade tank size, you still have the extra power available for a marginal increase in expense. I plan on getting a 100mg/h unit for my 40g so that when I upgrade in the future I don't have to purchase a new unit later.
FB

old95er · #19 09/03/2007, 11:36 AM

The output specifications on each unit are in a controlled engineering lab, not a persons DIY tank set up. . .get the 200mg unit. The one from Ozotech, the Poseidon has a rheotstat to vary the output. Because of variations in environment like humidity and your method of injection, the output will vary significantly from user to user. Also the Ozotech is easier to maintain than the Redsea, as you can open it up anc change or clean parts if you need to.

hahnmeister · #20 09/03/2007, 12:31 PM

Any links on where to buy?

fish02 · #21 09/03/2007, 12:35 PM

Here's one:

http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/cat...p?cPath=33_210

mnestroy · #22 09/06/2007, 10:45 AM

I to have problems keeping my ORP up.

I have a 40breeder/20sump with a Redsea 200mg, If I have redsea turned to 100% my unit runs 24/7 just to maintain an ORP in the Mid 300's

Even after charging air drier (what a pain) I don't see much improvement.

I currently am feeding it into my skimmer, I wonder if I use an ozone reactor if I would have longer contact time and get better results?

Also what type of air pumps are people using? I was told that Ozone is only reactive for a few seconds, I wonder if using to slow of air pump would limit the amount of actual ozone being delivered to the skimmer?

old95er · #23 09/06/2007, 11:33 AM

mnestroy, as you can read above, I have had a challenge keeping orp levels much higher than 300mv at 100% using an ozotech unit.

I have a coralife luft pump on order, which provides 7psi of pressure, and is marketed as an air pump specifically for this application. My current pump only provides 2psi, and I suspect that this is limiting my ozone injection.

Perhaps you should get one of the luft pumps also. . .

Peace.

BTW, Stewie is my hero

Lutefisk · #24 09/06/2007, 01:29 PM

mnestroy,

The mid-300's is just fine for your ORP, particularly if you're keeping softies.

As you well know ORP depends on a variety of factors and ozone is not a cure-all. Some other things you can keep an eye on is skimmer effectiveness and sizing, reducing the waste load, adding a refugium, etc.

I'm using a large MTC ozone reactor which is working well for me and it would be hard to imagine anything working much better.

If you are feeding the ozone into your skimmer venturi input the amount of pressure generated by a pump doesn't come into play because there is already a suction. Without knowing the airflow you are currently running through your ozone generator and what skimmer you are running it is impossible for us to give you much feedback.

It sounds to me like you are doing fine.

What kind of ORP readings were you getting without ozone?

BTW - calibration can always be an issue too.

Paul

RichConley · #25 09/06/2007, 02:24 PM

I'm really thinking that the Red Sea units are junk.

I run a sanders 50mg unit, on 100g of water, I run it at about 10-20% strength, and it runs roughly 20% of the time, to keep my ORP in the 380 range. I run it through my skimmer (which has some white PVC).