9015 use with ozone

[rgulrich]

Roger,

I'm planning on using ozone with one of my 9015's. To be on the safe side, I'm going to use a small packet of carbon over the exhaust vents on the collection cup. While I realize an immediate solution for the effluent is to custom build a drain box to fit over the outlet tube (it's an in-sump configuration) to hold some carbon, does Tunze offer any solutions to carbon-filter the effluent or the air exhaust from the skimmer cup? And how many years of use should I expect out of the 9015 with hobbyist level use of ozone before it would need to be replaced?

Thanks for your time!
Cheers,
Ray

 

[rvitko]

If you use a low dose of ozone no carbon should be needed and the skimmer life will not be impacted. 1mg/hr per 10-25gals is more than sufficient to oxidize colorants and keep the water clear and this dose is so low it will not pose any real risk to yourself or the equipment and it tends to not interfere as much with skimmer performance. High doses oxidize proteins and the skimmer can no longer extract them. If you are using an air dryer I would just use 1mg/hr per 25gals and not make any changes. If you are using no air dryer the efficiency of the ozonizer is far lower so I would use 1mg/hr per 10gals figuring the real dose will be much less.

 

[rgulrich]

Good deal, Roger. Thanks for your time and quick response!
I'll keep the dose low, then.

Cheers,
Ray

 

[rgulrich]

Well, its been up a week or two now, and here are some preliminary results:
The water level in the sump is at the blue wave line on the 9015's, and they both are next to each other for a good basis of comparison.
I'm keeping the dose at 25mg/hr (180 gallon aquarium, 65 gallon sump/refugium) for now, and it seems to be doing fine.
When I use the manual's suggested 50 litre an hour pump (Rena Air 50) to push air through the dryer, ozone generator, and then to the 9015, the foam doesn't really travel up the collection up at all, but charges up the column when I remove the ozone air line.
If I use a Luft pump set at its highest setting, it pushes the foam up to a good level, but the air dryer is depleted in only a day or two (due to the volume of air moving through it).
Both of these are with the control screw turned out to the last few remaining threads.
So, I decided to remove the air control screw, and with the Rena the foam travels up into the cup at the desired level and rate (a slightly wet foam).
The second 9015 is operating normally.

Is there any harm in running the 9015/ozone combination with the control screw removed?

Thanks, Roger!

Cheers,
Ray (who's actually enjoying a day off of work!)

 

[rgulrich]

My bad; I had the airline in the wrong inlet. As I opened the instructions again, I wondered why the intake was on the opposite corner from what was illustrated. As I looked down at the back of my second 9015, I finally figured out that I was the one that was backwards. Hooked it up to the air inlet on the back of the skimmer as per the illustration (not in front where the control screw is), and all works wonderfully now.
-sigh-
Perhaps I need a better tri-focal prescription.

Cheers,
Ray