Ozone use

The only accurate way of establishing safe & effective ozone levels is through colorimetric DPD measurement. The meter can be calibrated to measure bromate which will give you a true reading of residual ozone.
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Well, I disagree with that, at least as a reef aquarist uses ozone, and many years of folks using ozone safely and effectively by using ORP control only would seem to suggest that your statement is misleading. You probably cannot find more than a handful of RC members who have ever measured bromate as you suggest for a home aquarium. Are you claiming that every one of the remaining 99% of RC ozone users is unable to use it safely and effectively?

If you have adequate GAC in the ozone effluent, you shouldn't be detecting much if any bromate anyway.
 
Well, I disagree with that, at least as a reef aquarist uses ozone, and many years of folks using ozone safely and effectively by using ORP control only would seem to suggest that your statement is misleading. You probably cannot find more than a handful of RC members who have ever measured bromate as you suggest for a home aquarium. Are you claiming that every one of the remaining 99% of RC ozone users is unable to use it safely and effectively?

If you have adequate GAC in the ozone effluent, you shouldn't be detecting much if any bromate anyway.

I simply stated that colorimetric DPD measurement is the only accurate way of monitoring zone use and its byproducts, namely bromate. I didn't mean to infer that it is cost effective, convenient, or even necessary for a home aquarium. We all agree ORP measurement is inaccurate, I suggested a method that I believe to be accurate.

Your article seemed to dissuade aquarists from the use of ozone, claiming contact time and ozone levels were inadequate in hobby conditions. Maybe I took it wrong as you appear to be a proponent now.

Saying that people have been doing it for years doesn't necessarily make it safe, or effective for that matter. I use ozone, and I use ORP to regulate it, like most hobbyists. I calibrate the ORP probe every few months, but rarely believe the numbers I see (too low or too high). Historically, ORP measurement has been unreliable for me and I've used numerous meters (Preis, Sander, GHL, Hanna, American Scientific Pinpoint, Neptune, Red Sea, Milwaukee). In some cases it may be electrical interference while in others water quality may just be a lot worse than I perceive it to be.

I am in the 99% and admit I cannot guarantee that I am using it safely or effectively. I use carbon on the effluent but there is some bypass and I have no effective way of monitoring the carbon's capacity or when it is exhausted. I can smell residual ozone with smaller protein skimmers (using Askoll 1500 pump), but not with large ones (RK2 RK 25PE).

In addition to ORP, I sometimes use a timer so ozone is only on at night when people aren't around. I have also used ozonizers that have built-in timers that limit the number of minutes per hour the unit will run. This is particularly useful with 5 or 10 gram commercial ozonizers in public facilities.

Some public aquariums use salt with less bromide due to extensive use of ozone. Measuring bromate is a useful tool if you are running the higher concentrations you recommend in your article. Certainly a tool that measures total and free chlorine is useful in achieving the percentages one is targeting.
 
Your article seemed to dissuade aquarists from the use of ozone, claiming contact time and ozone levels were inadequate in hobby conditions. Maybe I took it wrong as you appear to be a proponent now.

Proponent or not is a complex question.

When I wrote the ORP article in 2003 (which I presume is what you are referring to), I had not been using ozone and had no intention of doing so.

The ozone article series from 2006 did show substantial benefits in terms of water clarity and I used it for several years after that.

In about 2010 I stopped ozone out of concern for HLLE in a yellow tang and hippo tang that I thought might be related to the ozone or GAC that went along with it. I since changed GAC type and do not use ozone and do not see any issues with my current yellow tang.

So ozone is beneficial with respect to yellowing (and little else, IMO), but I do not presently choose to use it on my system despite having the apparatus handy.
 
odd question but can you run ozone through a dual reactor with GFO and carbon or would that disrupt the gfo?

The ozone is unlikely to mess with the GFO, but the GAC present may not bind much organic matter if there is enough ozone to keep stripping the organics back off.
 
I have read that running the output of an ozone reactor through a UV sterilizer will remove the residual ozone from the water.

Does anyone know if this is actually true or if it is just web mis-information?

Don
 
A UV unit will "destruct" ozone...though oddly enough ozone can also be generated by UV.
 
Industrial water systems used to purify pharmaceutical grade water use ozone to reduce bioburden then UV lights prior to use points to breakdown the ozone. I do however think the UV wavelength is different than the typical UV unit sold for aquarium use.

By the way I have used ozone in my reef tanks for 15 years, the water clarity when ozone is used is amazing.

Joe
 
How thoroughly can a UV unit destruct ozone? Is it feasible on a hobbyist basis like ours?

Has anyone done it this way?

While UV at 254 nm can break down ozone in fresh water disinfection applications, ozone quickly turns into other highly oxidizing species in seawater (like hypobromite) and I've not seen any data suggesting that such a wavelength would break down these other species.

It is primarily these other species that one wants GAC to eliminate from the effluent of an ozone reactor. :)
 
Update on my system and a question.

The Mutiny reactor has been running great with almost no maintenance. I've pulled the media out once to try and clean a browning that I saw but the media itself, HDPE ribbon that is getting the brown tint. I'm not concerned with it but it is noteworthy. The system runs a very constant internal pressure that I can regulate by restricting the output flow. I dose less than .3mg/hr per gallon and the water is always clear, even with 4 week water changes. I've also found ways to increase my reactor internal pressure in my setup. Once I overcome the luft pump limitation, the higher pressure should enable me to lower the amount of ozone I use per gallon. I use 2 cups Rox GAC post filter changed monthly and see no carbon dust in skimmate or at the effluent output. My kole tang shows no sign of HLLE.

Onto my question; what options are for higher pressure air pump?

I currently use a luft pump, but I can increase reactor chamber pressure past the point the luft can supply air. I found Randy's post for his pumps;
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8444467&postcount=18 I can't find a pressure rating for either of these pumps. Nor can I find anything on the market that exceeds the luft's 7psi rating without going to an industrial DC motor unit. Boomer had mentioned system he was using with 15-20psi, but I've read he no longer participates in the forum.

Does anyone run a reactor at a high enough pressure to exceed their luft? Or use any deepwater air pump with a <7psi rating?
 
I don't wish to argue with all your raw data and extensive studies, but in my opinion the dangers of active ozone/byproducts exiting a skimmer/reactor are not as bad as your articles/posts make them out to be.

I used to use an ORP controller but after the high expense of replacing probes I did away with it, and also got rid of carbon.

I have been dosing for years, just enough where the smell is only detectable up close. I dose into my skimmer that empties into a my fuge that houses thriving Macro with countless healthy pods.

I feel that one can use ozone to improve clarity without trying to obtain a specific ORP level and without the need for carbon/controllers.
 
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