I want to hear people's expierence with Ozone?

[reefgeek84]

Like the subject says...I would like to hear everyone's expierence with using Ozone.

What you noticed different?
Is it hard to figure out?
Is it worth the time/effort and money?
What you house in your tank?
What output of ORP are you using? How did you figure it out?
Etc.

Let me know and would this work ok for a ozone generator?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ENALY-OZX-300U-Ozone-Generator-plus-Air-Dryer-US-0-99_W0QQitemZ4467932483QQihZ001QQcategoryZ20729QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
With a Milwauke ORP monitor to shut down once the ORP is reached and turned back on if it drops.

[buzzee]

Its great for my spa pool!

[reefgeek84]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7531388#post7531388 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by buzzee
Its great for my spa pool!

Does that mean it will work for a tank?

[buzzee]

The way I look at it is this...

Ozone kills bacteria. It is not picky, it kills ALL bacteria.

I wont use it!

Other people may recommend it, and there are probably threads on here about it.

Tanks need bacteria IMO.

[reefgeek84]

I know tanks need bacteria... but people seem to have great success with it and have beautiful SPS tanks. I am think that I may dose Prodibo to make up for some of that bacteria that will be lost with Ozone.

[blufish]

I used to use ozone, but I don't anymore. It causes some minor, yet uncontrollable changes to water chemistry, and I am not sure the benefits outweigh the negatives. A lot of people today run ozone intermittently, maybe a couple of times a month, instead of continuously.

For me, I just use carbon once a month.

Ozone will kill everything in the water column that it contacts, including plankton, etc.

[buzzee]

Hey reefgeek, I run prodibio...Its awesome.

My colours are great and my growth is phenomenal.

I love prodibio.

[wrott]

I used it through my skimmer for 6 months, and it reduced the skimmate production too much--even turned way down.
If I hook it back up, I will use an ozone chamber for dispensing into sump.

[buzzee]

Thats strange. You would think it would up the skimmate production due to dead bacteria molecules.

[wrott]

Yea, you would think it would be the opposite, but I tried it w/ ozone on and off--and at different doses.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

well, i don't know if it hurts in any way, but i run it and it polishes my water, making light appear brighter which obviously is a good thing for my reef.....so i like it as far as i can understand it :confused:

[buzzee]

Yes, I have heard that it polishes the water column.

Thats got to be a good thing.

[blufish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7532255#post7532255 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by buzzee
Yes, I have heard that it polishes the water column.

Thats got to be a good thing.

Except if you want plankton and other critters in your water column for your corals to eat.

[buzzee]

No wonder my corals are doing great, They like my dirty water column!!

[bmrigs]

I bought an Enaly Ozone unit with air dryer, Milwaukee controller, hooked up to my protein skimmer and my ORP level is at 407 without the Ozone even running. Waste of money or a back up in case my water quality wants to get cute and then the controller kicks the ozone on if and when it ever drops down to 300. We shall see.......

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

your tanks natural orp is 407?
thats strange considering most salt mixes mix to between 230-280 orp reading, freshly mixed?

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7532368#post7532368 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by blufish
Except if you want plankton and other critters in your water column for your corals to eat.

....wouldn't the increased light intensity help allow the sps to create their own nutrition?

[bmrigs]

Eagles

I thought this is strange also. I cleaned the probe and its still giving me these readings. The tank is 5 weeks old and havent done any water changes but will be doing one tomorrow. I top off with ro\di water with 0 tds. Water testing 0 everything that should be 0. My tank cycled in less than a week. I have a full stock of fish. I do run a sulfur denitrator which may help. I have never had any detectable nitrates since I first started testing the water after the first week. I guess I got lucky with this set up so far.......

[blufish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7532451#post7532451 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by E-A-G-L-E-S
....wouldn't the increased light intensity help allow the sps to create their own nutrition?

You are assuming that corals only need light to grow. All corals (more or less) depend on food in the water column - whether that food is plankton, bacteria, or dissolved organics. After all, photosynthesis produces mainly sugar as food source. I would bet that other food items are needed for growth.

There are much easier and cheaper methods of removing the yellowing compounds from water. Running carbon a couple of days a month will clear up any yellowing that occurs.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

harem of anthias and the rest of the guys take care of the rest, no?

[O'Man]

When I used to use ozone, a water change always lowered ORP.
When I stopped with ozone, but still used my ORP meter/controller, I still got a drop in ORP right after a water change. If I went for a while without a water change the OPR would slowly climb. I no longer use ozone or check ORP. I stopped because a high ORP did not mean my tank would look good. I had some of my worst hair algae problems when my OPR was above 400.

For my tanks, ozone was a waste of time, money & effort.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

no extra clarity than with just carbon?

[clkwrk]

I have been using it for 2 years and had noticable difference in water quality and the quality of my skimate . I will continue to use my sanders unit. For me its cheaper than changing a pound of high quality carbon every week .Which I still also run carbon of course.

To each their own I suppose

[affan]

Well, according to some scientists our current ozone has a big gaping hole in it through which direct ultra violet rays of the sun are reaching earth and increasing the possibility of skin cancer. Personally, I have never flown that high up in the stratosphere, but I hear it's really nice.

HTHs

[Snarkys]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7531435#post7531435 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by buzzee
The way I look at it is this...

Ozone kills bacteria. It is not picky, it kills ALL bacteria.

I wont use it!

Other people may recommend it, and there are probably threads on here about it.

Tanks need bacteria IMO.

there is not very much free floating bacteria, its all on your rocks, glass , sand ... ozone is only going to kill things that enter the skimmer or reactor.

while there are reasons not to use ozone this is not one of them.

[Snarkys]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7532153#post7532153 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wrott
I used it through my skimmer for 6 months, and it reduced the skimmate production too much--even turned way down.
If I hook it back up, I will use an ozone chamber for dispensing into sump.

I'm no expert at this but if you have too much ozone for the amount of flow through the skimmer you will break down the waste molecules too far and the skimmer wont be able to get rid of them.

also if you don't use a Tee and an air pump you are probable strangling your skimmer and its not getting enough air.


most people think ozone is just plug and play but it acutely takes a bit more thought than that.

[mnmnm1951]

Ozone oxidizes organic molecules into CO2 and Water, although most hobbyist Ozone units do not complete this chemical reaction and leave some organics around. This explains why skimmate production declines; there is not as much organic material to skim out. It also explains why pH can drop.

Ozone will definitely clear the water. Most public aquariums use it for its cheap cost compared to Carbon although both work about equally at clearing the water column of any discoloration. With Ozone you get crystal clear water.

Ozone will not damage your "good bacteria" is dosed properly. Your Nitrogen cycle bacteria are not in the water column to any reat extent.

I think the Jury is still out on its effectiveness in small aquaria. It is one of those "optional good or neat to haves".

[xtrstangx]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7531435#post7531435 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by buzzee
The way I look at it is this...

Ozone kills bacteria. It is not picky, it kills ALL bacteria.

I wont use it!

Other people may recommend it, and there are probably threads on here about it.

Tanks need bacteria IMO.

Ozone breaks down very rapidly, especially when you use it in a protein skimmer or ozone reactor.

Very very very little of our tank's beneficial bacteria is free floating in the water, the overwhelming majority of it is on the sand, rocks, glass, or other "hard" surfaces.

[wrott]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7534843#post7534843 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Snarkys
I'm no expert at this but if you have too much ozone for the amount of flow through the skimmer you will break down the waste molecules too far and the skimmer wont be able to get rid of them.

also if you don't use a Tee and an air pump you are probable strangling your skimmer and its not getting enough air.


most people think ozone is just plug and play but it acutely takes a bit more thought than that.

I used an air pump and T-ed the air intake to eliminate air restriction.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

my skimmate is basically the same pre and post ozone

[Snarkys]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7535247#post7535247 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wrott
I used an air pump and T-ed the air intake to eliminate air restriction.

possible you had to much ozone for the amount of flow through the skimmer and you were breaking down the waste too far. people often tell you how much ozone to use based off the size of your tank when in fact it should be based off the size of your skimmer and how much flow you have through it. well unless you have an ozone reactor. Raising your orp to the desired levels and increasing your skimmer output doesn't necessarily take the same amount of ozone. The amount of ozone you use to get your ORP that high can easily be to much for a skimmer with low flow.



quoted from the reef aquarium V.3

small organic and inorganic particles often have a similar electrostatic charge since like charges repel , these particles remain in the water and are not removed my skimming . However, by using small amounts of ozone , the charges of some of these particles can be changed causing them to clump together with unlike charged particles a process known as microflocculation. These larger particles are then more susceptible to removal by protein skimming, however , if too much ozone is added then all the particles are altered and, no unlike charges remain and microflocculation does not occur. At higher levels, the ozone will also begin to break apart the carbon bonds of the long-chain polar molecules attached to the air bubbles within the skimmer, causing them to break apart and go back into solution. this is why the protein skimmer stops producing foam when too much ozone is added. for these reasons, if ozone is used in a protein skimmer the applied ozone dose should be between 0.01 and 0.03 mg o3/L of of flow through a protein skimmer per minute.

I wonder if that means that high levels of ozone is more effective becket type skimmers than needlewheels

[buzzee]

So, basically its a flocculant...

very interesting.

I am also qualified as a pool keeper.

chemical flocculants are great, but obviously no good for aquaria.

No wonder the column is so clear with ozone.

My do some more homework on this one!

[xtrstangx]

buzzee: When you inject O3 into the water in the skimmer, it breaks down into O2... In most cases, no O3 will leave the skimmer, it will all break down into O2 before exiting it.

Whats the O2 going to harm in the water? Nothing. It is simply helping the skimmer take out hard to remove organic compounds, not killing your fish and coral.

[reefgeek84]

Well from what I have heard is that if I run a UV there is really no point to have ozone....So I guess I will not e getting it. But thank you for all comments.

[Snarkys]

UV and ozone are separate things .


UV will mutate the DNA of algae and and parasites like ICK so they are unable to reproduce. It is much safer and easier to use. basically plug and play. don't buy a small one or you are just wasting your money . ID get a emperor aquatics or a aqua UV but check out this link. http://www.emperoraquatics.com/uvdetective-empvsaqua.php

Ozone will strait up kill these things. It will also polish your water crystal clear. If used properly ozone will have the benefit of helping your skimmer remove extra waste. It will also Ozone oxidize organic molecules into CO2 and Water.

For me . UV is for controlling fish parasites and algae outbreaks and zone is for maintaining pristine water. if you go the UV wrought and want to effectively control parasites like ICK pay attention to the guidelines that emperor aquatics gives or you are just wasting your time . if you only are concerned with algae you can buy a much smaller one.

[xtrstangx]

UV, when used with the rate flow rate, will help to break down complex organic compounds.

[Snarkys]

only if you use ozone emitting bulbs . i don't emperor aquatics uses that type.

[Dom_P]

Explain somehting to me. Why do I need a pump if I'm injecting ozone into a skimmer? Doesnt the air intake of the skimmer pull enough air from the ozone unit? I understand the need for the tee, but dont get why a pump is needed.