ozone use and refugium impact...

[bergzy]

anthony,

i have a question as i have been noticing with my system...

i finally decided to start using ozone in my 180g at a rate of 60mg 24/7. this has increased my water clarity to transparency and i have noticed that my nuisance algae growth in my main display has basically been vanishing slowly.

unfortunately, i have also noticed that my once thriving refugium with chaeto growing exclusively in there happily rolling around...has been melting away at an alarming rate.

it is lit 18 hours a day with 65w 6500k pc with 1500gph in an alternating turbulent flow.

so...

my guess is that there is no more doc's left due to ozone oxidation for the chaeto to absorb. regardless of how much light i put on it...so...i notice no growth.

what are your suggestions?

[Anthony Calfo]

Hmmm... what is your RedOX reading? Do you really need 60 mg of ozone? Seems perhaps a bit high unless you have a very heavy bioload.

[bergzy]

hmmm,

y'know...that is a good question!!! ;)

my orp controller comes this week! yay and finally!!! :D:D:D

i only have a moderate bioload...i guess i can dial it back a bit! :)

so, do you think that the ozone nuking everything is responsible for my chaeto's demise?

[Anthony Calfo]

yikes! very scary my friend... unmetered ozone can kill more than Chaeto. This is the reason ozone gets a bad name. Its the equivalent of agreeing that calcium hydroxide or iodine, etc is good... and just dumping it in a tank in random or persistent amounts without actually testing to see what you calcium levels are, etc.

No kidding... you run the risk of killing everything.

Please ease up on that ozone until you get your controller... or at least a meter to watch it. Forget about what the hardcore folks say... a modest RedOx of 375 - 400mv would be fine roughly.

[bergzy]

hi anthony,

thanks!

i dialed it back way down until my controller comes in. it's been on perpetual backorder and is very 'frustrating', if that is a good word.