Thumbs up for Ozone!

[drtango]

Amen JBNY. I'd like to hear a first-hand account of a "tank-frying" episode related to ozone. There's no shortage of legends in reefkeeping, the dangers of ozone may be one of them.

FWIW, I run ozone 50mg/hr via a limewood airstone in a filter sock attached to a return 24/7, when I clean out the sock I always harvest the happy little pods in there who have been bathed in ozone bubbles. I love the smell of ozone reacting with Golden Pearls or cyclopseeze, smells like the seashore after a storm.

John

 

[joelsaxton]

"I love the smell of ozone reacting with Golden Pearls or cyclopseeze, smells like the seashore after a storm."

lol

 

[playful1]

There are two types of people on Reef Central:

1.Those who use Ozone
2.Those who Don't

Those who Don't wonder how we get our tanks to look so good, those who do know....Then those who don't try ozone and then they never go back....It's hard to argue against something you haven't tried...it's called contempt prior to investigation, and I have yet to hear 1 peresonwho used to use O3 and quit...

 

[joelsaxton]

Although I mostly agree with your statement, I have been hearing that Zeovit tanks have ozone-like water clarity.

 

[playful1]

Garrett..isn't Lysine a buildingblock for LSD?

 

[fish100]

Scary if he really meant it eh joelsaxton? mwuhahaha.

Well said JBNY, I think. What you said makes me want to hook up my 03 right now, but, I still have issues with 03.

Airdryer, pain in the butt. More electricity, and yet another plug. Monitoring. Sure there is ORP, but, that doesn't really tell anybody how much ozone is in the water (or anywhere ozone could get, although with any hobbyist unit that probably isn't a factor. I smell more ozone coming through the ductwork, or a "dust-collector").

The last, maybe big thing is the "unexplained reef deaths". Sometimes animals just stop responding, and there is nothing apparently wrong. Maybe this is where our "experts" have their nose ahead of us. The chemistry of the water is so minutely intricate that the "mystery deaths" in a minireef could be almost anything. Could they be accountable to ozone alone? Probably not conclusively. Ozone is but another link in the chain of things that might contribute negatively, or positively to a minireef imo. Is it worth the gamble? Maybe. If you have a use for it, that is great imo. I think you make good use of ozone. I'm all for positive things that I can control 100 percent. The more failproof the better. For me 03 is not registering there, yet.

JBNY, can you notice a difference in water clarity with 03 even when running activated carbon, and say a FEO binder like ROWAPhos?

 

[foxstop]

I have yet to every read a post of someone nuking their tank with ozone. But have read many threads about people destroying their tank when using kalkwasser, so what's more dangerous?

Personally I think ozone use for water clarity is a great help in keeping an SPS tank and highly recommend it.

Well said. Any thoughts on starting ozone from scratch in a tank that has not run ozone? Start slowly I imagine and monitor orp.
What's the maximum you want your ORP at?
I was thinking of getting the Red Sea 50mg ozone generator with the built in orp controller.

Brian

 

[joelsaxton]

It depends on how dirty your water is I guess. I would run it 24/7 at 25-50% of capacity and see how things begin to look in a couple days. I run mine thru a red sea berlin turbo. My O3 shuts down when ORP exceeds 365 mV.

 

[vmichael]

Very little will be alive : below 100 millivolt
Very Bad : below 140 millivolt
Bad : 140 to 180 millivolt
Poor : 180 to 200 millivolt
Too Low : 200 to 220 millivolt
New salt water : 220 to 240 millivolt
Low : 220 to 270 millivolt
Medium : 270 to 310 millivolt
Good : 310 to 340 millivolt
Better : 340 to 360 millivolt
Best : 360 to 390 millivolt
High : 390 to 450 millivolt
Too high : over 450 millivolt
Dangerous : over 525 millivolt
Very dangerous : over 575 millivolt

 

[JB NY]

Well said. Any thoughts on starting ozone from scratch in a tank that has not run ozone? Start slowly I imagine and monitor orp.
What's the maximum you want your ORP at?
I was thinking of getting the Red Sea 50mg ozone generator with the built in orp controller.

Brian

I would start with a little and work your way up. Don't want to bleach anything.

I would start to worry if the ozone if pushing the ORP over 450. But at low levels it really should not change the ORP value too much.

 

[JB NY]

JBNY, can you notice a difference in water clarity with 03 even when running activated carbon, and say a FEO binder like ROWAPhos?

Very much so.

 

[justgettinstarted]

Very much so.

JBNY, i am curious about this... You have an ORP meter correct? And you run your ozonizer for 4 hours a day...

I would like to see if you monitored your ORP 20 min before the ozonizer came on, after it had been on for 1,2,3,and 4 hours. and then after it had been off for 30min.

The reason for this experiment would be to see how precise these meters are. It is well known that the half life of 03 in pure deionized H2O is only 20-30min. So I would like to see how your ORP fluctuates based on this.... if ya know what i am getting at, and this should tell us something about:
a.)how accurate these meters are
b.)how the ozone is actually effecting the ORP of the water


Just a though


Dustin, you are thinking Lysergic Acid... LSD... Lysine is an amino acid that is in fish food... its used in muscle building if i remember correctly

 

[fish100]

Wow, because I could swear my tank has been "clearer" with just carbon, some chemi-pure, and FEO in a deltec then when I was running UV and ozone with carbon and chemi-pure. Could also have to do with my skimmer that I'm using being rated for a tank 5 times bigger then mine now as opposed to the skimmer I had before. Hmm.


I don't think it will hurt to give it a whirl (on second thought, I'm acclimating some new corals atm, so I'm going to wait until the coast looks clear). How long after I start the ozone should I be able to see something?

Just a FWIW, but right now with just the carbon and FEO reactor, and huge skimmer, my ORP is about 335 +/- 20 at a pH of about 8.2.

My ORP use to be higher when I ran UV, and it was no problem to get my ORP 400+ with ozone before, fwiw.

 

[easttn]

My 200 Red sea arrived today. ORP is at 46mV! Set the controller at 330, set addition at 104 - appox 300 gal total. The 46 freaked me out! Never measured in 4 years! What would be the SPS issues if this reading were correct?

 

[playful1]

I've heard that it takes up to 2 weeks for the probes to give an accurate reading. I don't have one so I can't tell you from personal experience but that's what I hear...

 

[vmichael]

My 200 Red sea arrived today. ORP is at 46mV! Set the controller at 330, set addition at 104 - appox 300 gal total. The 46 freaked me out! Never measured in 4 years! What would be the SPS issues if this reading were correct?

technically with that reading; everything should be dead. Obviously the reading from ORP meter is incorrect.

 

[easttn]

Thanks VMI,
No Kidding! Reading is now up to 61mV (3 hrs). Factory calibration is hosed or I'm a genius. Anyone else ever see such a hoser reading at initial install?

 

[vmichael]

I purchased an Enaly 200mg. and ORP meter from Millwakee.
The initial REDOX reading in my tank was 283 mv yesterday morning at 10 with no Ozone generator.

I ran the Enaly OG unit for 14 hours yesterday and I'll be taking REDOX readings at 7, 10, ,15 and 22 hours for the next few days.

What I'll be looking for is stability (no stress to the inhabitants)

I've had a slow steady rise in mv since I started the unit yesterday morning

REDOX 7:00 10:00 15:00 19:00 22:00
Day1 N/A 283 286 287 292
Day2 304 307
Day3
Day4
Day5

 

[shred5]

I have been in the reef hobby now for around 15 years and several years after I got in the hobby ozone use was common... I ran ozone for several years..

As far as air dryer goes.. Most people would just buy a larger unit and not run an air dyer. Not having one just cuts down on efficiency..

Also I would recommend running lesser amounts 24/7 than larger amount intermittently.
Why have fluctuations in water quality.. Stability is the key..

Another thing is start off slow because it does have a dramatic affect on water quality and the coral need time to adjust.. Just like the problem with rowaphosââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ People overused and put to much inââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦


The problem with using ozone in a skimmer that is not designed for it, it will reduce the life of the skimmerââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ Some plastics will get brittle.. Tunze states in there skimmer manual not use over 3 mg/hr or may lead to health damage as well as being damage of the electric and plastic parts (=material embrittlement). If you donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t know if your skimmer can run it I recommend a reactorââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ Reactor is more efficient anyway.. But you do loose the fact that it increases the performance of your skimmerââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦

The fact that people donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t use carbon after there skimmer or reactor amazes me.. Carbon is cheap and is beneficial. Some people have thousands of dollars in livestock. By the time you realize ozone is getting in your tank it is too lateââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ but it is your choice J . I do know some people have no choice like the in tank tunze skimmers. Then I would less dosage..

I never ran a controller but I would recommend it for those people with smaller tanks or use really big ozone generatorsââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ If you are new and unsure use one..

Ozone can be very dangerous and is something that should not be taken lightly.. But it can be very benificial to our tanks..

Dave

 

[easttn]

Dave,

Great advice, thank you. For all following this thread, Ozone is something that you can only experience if you do it yourself. My ORP this morning is just above 300, so I guess the probe needed some time. I set the controller again before going to bed lower than 330. I am setting my lights 1.5 hours shorter prior "glass box dawn" due to the clarity. I have never seen water so clear as what's in my 180 this morning.

JB_NY, I read your article (many times) about water quality and have strived to achieve what you wrote. Problem was I read it from what my perception of what high quality H2O is based on my knowledge, not yours. Stated differently, its similar to telling someone how great a Tunze is but their knowledge is based on a MJ1200 (no slam on MJ btw), there is no frame of reference. The words are heard and understood, only on a different level.

Sorry for the ramble. I have never seen water in my tank as clear as it is this morning, and the lights aren't on yet. Save your money girls, this is unreal.