Ozone Dosers, I have some questions for you.*Please Read*

[Reef264]

I have a few questions to those who run Ozone in your SPS reefs.

What ORP do you keep your Tank running at?

How did you set up your carbon?(Skimmers Exit Pipe)

What kind of Carbon do you run?(Will BRS Rox Carbon be good?)

What did it do to your alkalinity?

How did it affect your Ph, and at what level of ORP?

Did it affect any of your other levels?

How Quickly did you raise the ORP level in the tank, when you first hooked up your ozone?I may need to elaborate a bit, lets say your ORP was 200 with no ozone running, and you were shooting for 400 by running ozone.Over what amount of time did you change it from 200 to the destinated 400?The reason I ask, is I was told you shouldn't raise it too fast, kind of like how you should change anything rapidly in a reef.Especcialy an SPS reef.

I will be injecting it into my skimmer, and using the exit of the skimmer for the mandatory carbon.My Tank is 100% SPS, around 15 Colonies, Too many frags to count(25+).

 

[sirreal63]

Orp...I measure it but don't try to shoot for a specific number. It usually hovers between 300 and 350.

Ozone is drawn into skimmer, effluent runs over a bag of Rox.08

No effect on Alk that I have noticed, my CaRx keeps the Calcium and Alk consistent.

I don't measure PH more than a couple of times a year, it is usually about 8.0 to 8.2 in this house. PH is a mostly irrelevant stat for the majority of tanks.

No impact on tank other than crystal clear water.

I have a similar water volume and run a 25 mg/hr Sanders unit at half throttle. One of the mistakes, IMO, is people try to run too large of a dose. If your goal is to kill things in the water with Ozone, the dose would have to be very high and has the potential to harm desirable life in the tank, and around the tank. If your goal is over all improved water quality then the dose does not have to be very high. If your goal is hit a specific Orp number then you need to examine why that specific number is better than another. Shooting for an Orp number makes no sense to me, a tank at 450 is not any healthier than a tank at 250.

My tank is also SPS dominant. Before running Ozone, you must understand what your goal is and how best to achieve it. Do a search on Randy's posts about Ozone, if you have not, it may help you decide how you want to implement Ozone. I have been running it since about 2005 and I believe in it, but then my goal is only improved water clarity.

 

[Reef264]

Jack,

Thank you for the reply!

My reason for running ozone, is having the healthiest tank possible.(Clear Water, Cleaner Water, Healthier Inhabitants.)I wasn't sure what the number was to safely run it at, I didn't know it was a range of 2 numbers it stayed in between.

But, Once again!Thank you for the reply!

-Ray

 

[sirreal63]

Once I quit trying to get my Orp to a number I wanted things got easier. Ozone can of course be a dangerous thing to over do, and the low dose achieved my ultimate goal, which was water quality, which in turn makes lighting easier. The skimmer output has remained the same, though when I initially ran ozone it was greatly increased for a short period of time. I know there are people who run a high dose and have no issues with it, but I also learned it wasn't the only way, and since I was hoping to keep the water clear it has worked beautifully. Randy's articles and comments have helped me greatly over the years.

 

[Reef264]

My LFS owner and I were talking about it, he said lower numbers give better results.I do realize the safety issues here.Do you still run GFO, Bio Pellets, Zeo Vit System, or any other things like that?Would it make the tank too clean to run 1 of those on top of the ozone?

 

[sirreal63]

I still run GFO, until june or early July I dosed vinegar. And for a few years prior I ran bio pellets. No issues with the Ozone and carbon dosing, but the Ozone dose is small. I have never ran Zeo or any like products.

 

[Reef264]

Sounds good, how often do you replace parts in your ozone system?(Bulbs, Generators, Dryers, etc..)

Also, when do you change your carbon out?

 

[sirreal63]

The Sanders is a corona discharge, no parts to replace, just keep the plate clean. I change the carbon every mon or so.

 

[Reef264]

Jack,

Thanks for the answers!You have been such a big help!

 

[psykobowler]

I have been running ozone for many years and I will never setup a system without one. I just have it on a timer. The ozone is turned on for an hour each day from 1 to 2am. I will never run ozone on a controller. That is the worst way of running it. I want my ozone to turn on only when we are asleep away from the tank, not to maintain a certain orp.

 

[bretcummings]

I just purchased an Ozontech 250Ma and was also wondering the same questions. I do have an additional question though. Is it better to have a specific ozone reactor, or is it just as productive/safe to feed it into my skimmer?

 

[psykobowler]

Either one will work but the ozone reactor works better - more efficient and safer because most of the ozone goes through the carbon media reactor. I have done both. If you do not want to spend the money on the ozone reactor, the T on the skimmer will work just fine if you set it to run after hours.

 

[tdb320reef]

Did you ever end up setting up Ozone? What are your results?