QUOTE=mr.wilson Running two skimmers is always a fun exercise. May the best skimmer win, but having two gives you a back-up plan. If one is a little off, the other should pick up the slack. I also feel two small skimmers are more efficient than one big one. It's a bubble stability thing.
You should have no problem drawing air through the ozonizer with the skimmer air intake, but the added friction may diminish the total air draw somewhat. Ozone also decreases the stability of skimmer bubbles, but you make up for it with the high oxidization rate of o3 (ozone). This is why you are yielding a more yellow and less viscous (thick) skimmate. Having one skimmer with ozone and one without will be a distinct benefit for you. Each skimmer has its specialty.
Yes ORP is a magic number that isn't always consistent with success or lack there of. Technically it is the waters ability to oxidize organics. It's kind of like our bodies cardiovascular fitness. A high ORP 350-400 will help biological filtration and speed the rate of assimilation of "bad stuff" (organic waste).
I would certainly try an air pump and air drier. Buy an oversized drier or two of them to aid in maintenance. There are reports of nitric acid forming in ozonizers that process damp air, but I don't fully comprehend the repercussions myself.
As ozone kills microorganisms and breaks down organic matter it is easily picked up in the skimmer bubbles as these molecules are strongly hydrophobic (attracted to air & repelled by water).
I've been reading this forum for a few years and this build from the beginning and thought that I would add my 2 cents worth(that's being generous). I agree with Mr W. about ozone. My reef has been up and running for 21 years and I've been using ozone since day one. I've never had a disease outbreak in it. Naturally I've lost fish and corals over the years but never had anything spread. It's not a "fix all" "cure all" thing, normal upkeep and maintenance must be done. I have a pair of Perc clowns that are 17+ years old and still doing well has to say something. They stopped spawning several years ago(suppose I could get a vet prescribe some little blue pills for them?).
As far as drying the air goes I've found that is very important. I've used several brands of ozonizers and without dry air they do get corroded and such, being in a humid environment. Years ago I saw a chart on percent of O3 lost due to moist air and it was high. I stopped using the blue indicating silica gel due to Cobalt Chloride concerns. Not sure how valid the problem is but I opted for the orange indicating ones that don't contain Cobalt Chloride. Since my tank is only 100 gallons(Peter's sump is bigger) my maintenance is not that great so I end up drying the desiccant about once a week(sometimes a little more when the humidity is up). If I were Peter I would look into a powered dryer. Ozotech makes an IQ 40 model that has 2 beds of resin so while one is drying the other is in use. I'm sure there are others out there.
I presently run 3 skimmers(be nice, I'm old). I use an old Red Sea Berlin skimmer for my ozone. In years past I have used a DIY chamber(never worked like I wanted) and air driven Sanders skimmers for ozone(it does "eat" limewood air stones). I have a remote refugium and a separate remote DSB and have a old Tunze 230 skimmer in there(bought it new about 15 years ago). It doesn't do a lot but I figured it can't hurt. The main skimmer is a Tunze 9410 and that's the "real" skimmer for the system. The whole mess is controlled by an old, old Sandpoint dual channel controller. Redox runs 375.
I wanted to add one more company that I have been using for years to buy equipment from. They have all sorts of laboratory and scientific gear. They seem to have no problem with small orders. Their catalog is 2600+ pages. It's
http://www.coleparmer.com/ (hope that doesn't break any rules).
I must say even after 40+ years of fish keeping I have learned a few things just following this build. Mr W. and others, I do thank you.
BTW Mr W. you forgot the bug catcher on top of the BB blown rat motor.
Greg[/QUOTE]
If nothing else, this thread has flushed out some first time poster newbies and some first time poster seasoned pros. Thanks for the cobalt chloride tip. I didn't know that.
Calcium hydroxide, calcium chloride, and calcium oxide are all desiccants (air driers) that can be recycled as calcium buffer after they are spent.
Thanks for sharing your experience. All the scientific theory in the world can't compare to a long practical experience with a stable tank.
