Ozone Safety Warning!!!

[hllywd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6856738#post6856738 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by marinelife
This is very interesting!

It is.... I swear whenever I go to BW3 I smell ozone. I assume it's from their Smoke Eaters....

 

[jkapit]

Thanks for the info.

I recently bought an Acqua Medic ozonizer, but could not get it to work with out smelling ozone so I just decided to stop using it, to me the risk is not worth it.

The only other thing I would add is that those who do run ozone, they do make ozone test kits at about $7 a pop. That could help ease anyone's fears that they may get sick from their ozone setup.

 

[trippyl]

So interesting. I didn't buy an O generator and went with UV instead specifically because I was worried that my tank, which sits in the living room, would not have a good way to export any leftover O.

Of course, this is assuming that the NY Times reporting is factual, given their tendency towards the hysterical, this is a serious question.

 

[21Reefman]

Mr. Pink Floyd, You are a smart kid, I applaud your enthusiasm.
I think you will find that, what we are taught as facts should still be taken with a grain of salt. Knowledge is relative and even those text books, were still written by a human. Life is not so black and white. Be careful when you pontificate on things, when your relative experience leaves you with little to pontificate from. I'm not trying to insult you, I just doubt you are going to teach Randy Holmes-Farley any new tricks
Sorry but, it just seemed like your facts were from a narrow spectrum of a much broader scoped issue, and you sounded like you have a PhD, when you still have much to learn. And I mean that in a nice way. Keep up the good discussion

 

[Old Yeller Tang]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6945333#post6945333 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 21Reefman
Mr. Pink Floyd, You are a smart kid, I applaud your enthusiasm.
Keep up the good discussion

I don't think he'll be able to.

 

[Sparkss]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6909121#post6909121 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
you talk about filtering the exit air from the skimmer.. i have carbon on my Collection cup.. but wouldnt you get some that escapes through the water exit?

That can be a significant complication of using a skimmer (at least some skimmer designs), IMO. I choose to use something different (an ozone reactor), where I can easily pass all of the water and air over GAC.

Randy,

Which reactor do you use ? If it is DIY, are there any links to plans for it ? Thanks in advance

 

[dhoch]

I'm wondering if anyone has gone out and purchased or had the free disks (see link earlier) sent to them and tested their tank/area?

Dave

 

[hllywd]

if i smelled ozone that strongly i would have turned off all pumps and anythign electrical, even a thermostat, eve na small spark can set it off, very flammible

Not true. They are oxidizers and will not burn on their own. That episode of Emergency was bogus.... They will however facilitate rapid oxidation or "burning" of flamable substances. Certainly if you think you have a flammable atmosphere you should immediately exit the building and call 911 from the neighbor's house, the last thing you should do is activate any kind of switch, pull a plug, etc.... Switches sometimes cause a small internal arc that could set off an explosion.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Which reactor do you use ? If it is DIY, are there any links to plans for it ? Thanks in advance

I used the Coralife Ozone Reactor, but didn't care for it and stopped. I now use a home made reactor using a 100 foot coil of HDPE tubing, that I describe in detail in the next ozone article (coming out April 5).

 

[dhoch]

Just as an FYI,

I ordered a set of detector patches and placed them in 3 spots:

1) Inside my stand (where my skimmer is that I am running ozone)
2) by my tank
3) opposite side of room from my tank

Now I run a 100mg Ozonator into my skimmer, I do not run carbon over the air exit on my skimmer (i.e. around the collection cup), but I do run carbon on the outtake of my skimmer...

I was concerned after reading this (I have a really bad sense of smell) thread.

My findings... all 3 detectors meausred lighter than the color of 40 parts per billion! (i.e. I'm in the safe zone).

So bottom line I'm still going to continue to run ozone the way I have.

Dave

 

[Sparkss]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6960357#post6960357 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley

I used the Coralife Ozone Reactor, but didn't care for it and stopped. I now use a home made reactor using a 100 foot coil of HDPE tubing, that I describe in detail in the next ozone article (coming out April 5).

So you really prefer not to run the ozone through your skimmer ? (I am leaning heavily this way myself lately)

I can't wait for that next article to come out . Thanks again for all of your efforts.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

So you really prefer not to run the ozone through your skimmer ? (

When I did, the ORP was no higher than with the reactors, and the whole basement stank of ozone.

I discuss the pros and cons of skimmers for ozone in the article. It often isn't an optimal use, IMO, since it is not typically optimized for the things one would want when using ozone, but I recognize that most aquarists use it that way, and may not care if it is optimized or not.

The blow off of ozone gas is the biggest drawback, IMO, and you need to work out a solution (some of which are shown in the article; skimmate collectors with carbon on the air outlet, or commercial air/carbon filters, for example).

 

[Sparkss]

Thanks.. I will reserve any further questions until after the article is published.

Thanks again.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You're welcome.

 

[alten78]

well i was all gung ho to get an ozone reactor or run it through my skimmer, but after reading this thread (tank is in family room, no basement) im not so sure...hurry up april 5th!

 

[dhoch]

alten,

You probably missed my post about 5-10 up... go check it out... it might make you re-think... I think caution is a good thing, but I don't know how much this is really an issue.

Dave

 

[mr pink floyd]

I apologize for the way I sounded in my posts earlier, I was not trying to teach, or tell Mr. Randy Holmes-Farley anything, I was merely trying to see what i had learned from school. It was liek studying for a test, what I said was just to test my knowledge, and I'm sorry to anyone who took offense to it!

BTW I got a 98 on the test!

hehe

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

No problem.

Here's another test for you:


Reef Chemistry Quiz 2006
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-01/rhf/index.php

 

[Slickdonkey]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6961541#post6961541 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by alten78
well i was all gung ho to get an ozone reactor or run it through my skimmer, but after reading this thread (tank is in family room, no basement) im not so sure...hurry up april 5th!

What happens April 5th? Sorry for being ignorant, but I'm also lazy and don't want to read through 4 pages.

I'm considering an ozone unit as well, I'm curious to see what comes of this.

 

[bandedangel]

thanks for the info