ozone questions

[Briney Dave]

I realize that ozone is one of those swear by or swear at sorts of things. I know some guys would not run a reef tank without them while others think them a waste. All that aside I am putting back together my 240 after moving to a new classroom and upgrading nearly everything from currculation to lighting.
I have the chance to add a small ozone system and want plumb it in the correct way. Worst case I turn it off and never use it again but if I can get a boost from it so much the better.

my question is then...

While using ozone reactors, is it better to inject that output into the skimmer or link the output to the input of a maxi (or similar) to spray into the sump

If the skimmer is the way to go how/where in the skimmer??
I have seen illustrations (too broad to figure out the important delails) of the ozone being dumped into the central reaction chamber of the skimmer. That seems to make some sense to me (reacting without experience with ozone from the past)
how is it ported in [uniseal?] and is just the end of the tube used to drop the ozone in or is there a propper spray end . I would guess that I should use some sort of inert air diffuser but not sure how to determine if it would be ozone safe or not

I have done enough research to know to use ozone safe tubing and I am going to use use a timer to limit the amount in the tank over a 24 hr period to far under what the manufactor claims to be ok and slowly bum it up but will likely continue to under dose

anything else?

 

[itZme]

Dave, i don't want to be a stick in the mud but i think you should consider the potential risk of exposure to the students especially in our lawsuit happy society. My 2 cents.

 

[Burgman]

Hi,

Any thought of going with a UV sterilizer instead of Ozone?

Dave

 

[srtn8]

I used ozone on my old reef tank and I had it feed the venturi to my skimmer. It worked really good for me. As far as lawsuits go I dont think he has anything to worry about really. These units create very small amounts of ozone. Also, if you have any type of air purification system (unless its just a pure HEPA filter) more than likely that produces ozone as well. Ozonizers create ozone by using an electric spark to bond Oxygen molecules (3 ozone molecules creates ozone). This spark creates a high energy light like welding does. The high energy spark is what creates this bonding. Whenever there is a lightning storm and there is that really fresh smell in the air it is because ozone was created when lightning strikes and that is what you smell. What the ozone will mainly do is make is it so that there are more oxygen molecules for dissolved organic compounds to bond to in addition to killing weaker single celled organisms. I think it works good and that you should give it a shot. Also, when not using ozone resistant tubing it just wears out regular tubing and makes it brittle so you have to replace it more often.

 

[itZme]

srtn8, I understand that they are relatively safe and not spewing out toxins but we are talking about a classroom here. Roughly 30 kids per class and 6-7 classes per day means ~200 kids will be exposed DAILY to the ozone generated. I don't THINK it would hurt anyone but I just heard about a school district not allowing kids to play TAG anymore or any games where you chase each other. Too many kids were being hurt during these ROUGH games.

What ever happened to eating mudpies and beating the crap out of each other just because we were bored ?

I sound so old when I say stuff like that but it's so true. If one kid comes down with an illness and it is discovered that this teacher was running an ozone generator daily while the poor children were nearby it would likely cause the teacher/school/district a bunch of grief.

The way I look at it is that there have been MANY successful reef tanks without ozone. Lots of the reefcentral tanks of the month aren't running it but they are the best out of the thousands of reefers here. If you have a choice to avoid the potential harm then why not play it on the safe side?

I honestly would not like my kids to be in the same room as the ozone generator after reading stories like THESE

This is just one source but it is enough to make me have doubts.
This is one pertinent line "For cleaning up the air, eliminating mold, dust, pollen, etc. these types of systems are great, but no person should be around these when they are running! This is especially true for babies (or children) whose lungs are still developing!"

 

[srtn8]

I see your point however I would be willing to assume that the amount of ozone children are exposed to in LA is more than the 100mg/hour that a typical ozonizer would put into the atmosphere of a classroom after it has been run through the tank system

 

[sohal1025]

Will a UV sterilizer do just as good?

 

[Briney Dave]

I can always run the ozone cycle at night and have it off way before the kids are in. The air is turned over a bunch in my room; an oddity in my building.

The generator I have selected is pretty small, the room is big. I don't think there could ever be an issue with health. Anyone know of a way to monitor ozone in the air?? I certainly don't want to create a health issue for my kids.

I have a big uv tower but don't think it contributes to water clarity which is what I am hoping to improve. Not that the water looked cloudy or something but not a crystal as I have seen with the guys who run ozone. Plus the extra heat is something I can live without. I have AC in my new room; another unusual thing in my building. But still its a warm room. 75 with the AC on kill on those 100 + days

 

[Briney Dave]

also if I am going to spray the ozone into the central chamber of the skimmer which I am guessing is the best way to go. What is the best way to pass into the skimmer? do they make uniseals (or what ever those little rubber doughnuts are called) the size of that tubbing.
And is the acrylic of the skimmer ozone safe??

 

[Bowman]

Dave the way I have seen it set up is to connect a tee fitting to the end of the airline that feeds the venturi or air inlet of the skimmer. Connect the ozone line to the tee end and the third leg of the tee fitting remains open to the atmospheric air. This way as the skimmer pulls in air it also pulls in the ozone and mixes it with the water. It is also recommended to run carbon on the output water and output air to absorb any leftover ozone. HTH

 

[Briney Dave]

That sounds like a much easier method of pushing the ozone in than creating a hole in my new skimmer. I had intended on using a carbon reactor but this makes more sense here. I would not have thought about a carbon filter on the vent (thanks)
How often or how will I know when to change the air filter??

Number one is always the safety of the kids, so I will make sure that I vent the tube through a filtering sock of some sort full of carbon

I am grateful for everyone's time and information.