Who uses ozone?
- Thread starter Tom Berry
- Start date
I just started running my ozone 2 days ago. 80 mg/hr for 3 hours injecting into my skimmer ~450 gallons of system water). Luckily I have a fish room that has it's own ventilation system directly out of the house, however I stepped in there while the unit was running and did notice that ozone smell in there. Not terribly strong, but definitely knew what it was.
Is this bad? Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks,
Mike
Is this bad? Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks,
Mike
o2manyfish
o2manyfish
Ozone won't affect acrylic, it will affect rubber parts.
Things like the tubing for the venturi on your skimmer, the o-rings around your skimmer that come in contact. Those things will go bad. You have to use special ozone resistant tubing.
My tanks are 13 years old, and 9 years old and have ozone in them. My skimmer in my reef is about 16 years old and had the ozone pumped into it since day one with no ill effects.
But airline tubing, and power cord insulation around the skimmer do go bad in about 3-5 years.
Dave B
Things like the tubing for the venturi on your skimmer, the o-rings around your skimmer that come in contact. Those things will go bad. You have to use special ozone resistant tubing.
My tanks are 13 years old, and 9 years old and have ozone in them. My skimmer in my reef is about 16 years old and had the ozone pumped into it since day one with no ill effects.
But airline tubing, and power cord insulation around the skimmer do go bad in about 3-5 years.
Dave B
RedEyeReef
Active member
o2manyfish said:
So does that mean submersible pump cords deteriorate and the electrical wires can be exposed in the water? or is that the extreme case? And when you say around the skimmer, any rule of thumb about how far away from the skimmer meaning any power cords in the sump will be affected? Like my 3 heaters also?
o2manyfish
o2manyfish
RedEye,
Yes the cords will become brittle and split and expose the wiring, this usually leads to the heart jumping smell of smoldering in your tank room.
Fortunately flames only seem to appear when you try to pull on the cord from unplugging it.
Heater cords are just as at risk.
Dave B
Yes the cords will become brittle and split and expose the wiring, this usually leads to the heart jumping smell of smoldering in your tank room.
Fortunately flames only seem to appear when you try to pull on the cord from unplugging it.
Heater cords are just as at risk.
Dave B
Brad A. said:
Easy to do....Add a little carbon to the skimmer waste cup...
As to turning it down, would cutting it to 40 mg/hr and running for 6 hours accomplish the same thing? Logically it would, but will that lessen the smell potentially? I could do this much easier rather than fabricate a carbon chamber...
Also...What exactly is "Ozone safe tubing"? What is special about it and how do I recognize it from other tubing? Any suggestions on where to get some locally?
Thanks,
Mike
Leopardshark
New member
ozone safe tubing is made of neoprene.
It is a black kink of "rubber"
Marco
It is a black kink of "rubber"
Marco
RedEyeReef
Active member
o2manyfish said:
Well I was all ready to buy a Red Sea Ozone unit before I heard that. How did you set up your system to prevent cords from getting destroyed and a smoldering tank?
Is all the water in your system going to have O3 cord eating capabilities or just the water in close proximity to the skimmer being injected with O3? and if so, how far away do your cords need to safely be?
o2manyfish
o2manyfish
The Airline tubing that is ozone safe has a green tint and is silicone based I think. It is very very soft.
As for eating through the rubber cords, My turboflotor skimmer dumps its effluent onto the pump - So it eats through cords faster.
My Oceanic Plus, the effulent dumps opposite the eheim pump - So in the 14 years I used it I replaced the eheim pump twice.
The Turboflotor uses a RIO pump. In the 9 years I have been using that skimmer I have replaced the needle wheel twice - It gets the most ozone interaction. I have also gone through about 3 pumps due to the cords disintegrating.
There is a Mag pump that runs the fluidized bed on the same tank with the turboflotor. That pump has been replaced about 4 times.
On My Euro-Reef Skimmer which has been running a year with the 500mg/hr ozonizer I have replaced the needle wheel once already.
As for the electric cords just check them by squeezing them when you do your monthly maintenance (or quarterly maintenance if your like me). Everycouple of years they will crack and you can replace them.
Dave B
As for eating through the rubber cords, My turboflotor skimmer dumps its effluent onto the pump - So it eats through cords faster.
My Oceanic Plus, the effulent dumps opposite the eheim pump - So in the 14 years I used it I replaced the eheim pump twice.
The Turboflotor uses a RIO pump. In the 9 years I have been using that skimmer I have replaced the needle wheel twice - It gets the most ozone interaction. I have also gone through about 3 pumps due to the cords disintegrating.
There is a Mag pump that runs the fluidized bed on the same tank with the turboflotor. That pump has been replaced about 4 times.
On My Euro-Reef Skimmer which has been running a year with the 500mg/hr ozonizer I have replaced the needle wheel once already.
As for the electric cords just check them by squeezing them when you do your monthly maintenance (or quarterly maintenance if your like me). Everycouple of years they will crack and you can replace them.
Dave B
RedEyeReef
Active member
o2manyfish said:
Have you ever been shocked by cord detrioration? That Water and Electricity thing???
How far away do cords have to be before they are safe from O3? If I use O3 in my sump, would the cords of my Tunze Turbelle Streams located in my reef be at risk? With 3 Tunze pumps, they are a little pricey to replace because of cord detrioration.
dgasmd
New member
Well, I sat here for close to an hour reading every page and post. Very interesting and convincing.
I will give this a try. Although I am reluctant to pay for an aquarium unit when you can buy some of the hottub/jacuzzi units really cheap in ebay. I will pump it through my skimmer and see what happens. I don't have an ORP meter or controller, but since I am going to dose this in the low side of things, I may start without one for now. Given the bioload and feeding to my tank, I highly doubt I will get my ORP to 400 anytime soon.
I will give this a try. Although I am reluctant to pay for an aquarium unit when you can buy some of the hottub/jacuzzi units really cheap in ebay. I will pump it through my skimmer and see what happens. I don't have an ORP meter or controller, but since I am going to dose this in the low side of things, I may start without one for now. Given the bioload and feeding to my tank, I highly doubt I will get my ORP to 400 anytime soon.
o2manyfish
o2manyfish
Redeye,
The ozone only affects the rubber in the immediate vicinity. Ozone is super unstable, so by the time it gets to your tank it's gone.
On my 125 reef, the cords to the recirculating pumps in the stand next to the sump, split after about 10 years. But since they are not in contact with the water I just left them alone. And yet the powerstrips inside the stand are fine.
As for getting shocked.....Uh Ya, I have had aquariums for over 25 years, I have been shocked by most almost all means and contraptions related to aquariums. Heaters, Lights, Pumps, Ozonizers, UV, Air Pumps, Skimmers... If it plugs in, it has curled my hair at some point in time.
Dave B
The ozone only affects the rubber in the immediate vicinity. Ozone is super unstable, so by the time it gets to your tank it's gone.
On my 125 reef, the cords to the recirculating pumps in the stand next to the sump, split after about 10 years. But since they are not in contact with the water I just left them alone. And yet the powerstrips inside the stand are fine.
As for getting shocked.....Uh Ya, I have had aquariums for over 25 years, I have been shocked by most almost all means and contraptions related to aquariums. Heaters, Lights, Pumps, Ozonizers, UV, Air Pumps, Skimmers... If it plugs in, it has curled my hair at some point in time.
Dave B
o2manyfish
o2manyfish
I don't put much faith in GFI's
They will do a great job of shutting down some shorts.
But when you get smoldering electrical fires, the GFI has never tripped on me.
I recently had a pump smoldering and flaming.... It was plugged into a power strip with a circuit breaker, the power strip was plugged into a switched panel with a GFI, the switched panel was plugged into a GFI on the wall, and the wall was connected to a functioning circuit breaker.
All that and not a thing popped or shut of while the pump smoldered and flamed.
All the outlets for the tanks are GFI. All the custom panels I buillt are GFI. And I still get buzzed on a regular basis.
Dave B
Dave B
They will do a great job of shutting down some shorts.
But when you get smoldering electrical fires, the GFI has never tripped on me.
I recently had a pump smoldering and flaming.... It was plugged into a power strip with a circuit breaker, the power strip was plugged into a switched panel with a GFI, the switched panel was plugged into a GFI on the wall, and the wall was connected to a functioning circuit breaker.
All that and not a thing popped or shut of while the pump smoldered and flamed.
All the outlets for the tanks are GFI. All the custom panels I buillt are GFI. And I still get buzzed on a regular basis.
Dave B
Dave B
