RedEyeReef
Active member
grim said:
Thanks for the look at the big picture and thank you for the good laugh from your last line.
Who uses ozone?
- Thread starter Tom Berry
- Start date
Thanks for the look at the big picture and thank you for the good laugh from your last line.
I've had my ozone running for 4 days now and I think the results are good. My water seems to have cleared up a bit so I think I'm sold! A couple questions/issues though:
1. Ozone is running for 3 hours each day though my skimmer. Oddly enough, during those 3 hours, my xenia close up tight. All the other livestock in the tank is fine and doesn't seem bothered..Just a strange observation since no ozone should be getting to the tank, I don't know what to attribute it to.
2. I bought some ORP calibration fluid (470 mv) to check my probes accuracy. Prior to the test, tank was reading 430, then I cleaned the probe with vinegar, it read 350 for a few days. Plopped it in the calibration fluid, it reads 435. Take it out of the fluid, rinse it off, put back in tank and now it's showing 305. WTF???
3. I might try and pick up one of those cheap ozone generators off Ebay that generate between 200-300 mg/hr, not adjustable. Is it even worth it to run at that high amount for a shorter period of time?
Thanks!
Mike
1. Ozone is running for 3 hours each day though my skimmer. Oddly enough, during those 3 hours, my xenia close up tight. All the other livestock in the tank is fine and doesn't seem bothered..Just a strange observation since no ozone should be getting to the tank, I don't know what to attribute it to.
2. I bought some ORP calibration fluid (470 mv) to check my probes accuracy. Prior to the test, tank was reading 430, then I cleaned the probe with vinegar, it read 350 for a few days. Plopped it in the calibration fluid, it reads 435. Take it out of the fluid, rinse it off, put back in tank and now it's showing 305. WTF???
3. I might try and pick up one of those cheap ozone generators off Ebay that generate between 200-300 mg/hr, not adjustable. Is it even worth it to run at that high amount for a shorter period of time?
Thanks!
Mike
Brad A.
Premium Member
Did you let the probe soak for 10-15 min?
I think everything is fine. My ORP probe has to be cleaned on a weekly basis. I've found that a 10-15 min vinegar soak then frsh h20 rinse is all that is necessary.
Once you check that the orp is working properly, there is no need to keep checking it with the reference solution. It will drive you crazy. Most of us are not using high quality probes! Rather cheapo probes compared to high lab grade and MAINTAINED probes.
Hope this helps, dont make the ORP reading more than it is..or rather, dont live and die by it...its just a useful guide.
Let me know if this helps or confuses things.
Brad
I think everything is fine. My ORP probe has to be cleaned on a weekly basis. I've found that a 10-15 min vinegar soak then frsh h20 rinse is all that is necessary.
Once you check that the orp is working properly, there is no need to keep checking it with the reference solution. It will drive you crazy. Most of us are not using high quality probes! Rather cheapo probes compared to high lab grade and MAINTAINED probes.
Hope this helps, dont make the ORP reading more than it is..or rather, dont live and die by it...its just a useful guide.
Let me know if this helps or confuses things.
Brad
mhurley said:
The ozone feed rate will be different for everyone's system. Keep in mind what you are trying to do and what you do not want to do.
1. You want to feed ozone to improve water quality but not degrade conditions for the coral by feeding too much and leaving a residual of ozone in the water.
2. The amount you feed will vary based upon the amount of organic material the ozone has available to react with.
3. The maximum amount of ozone feed will also depend upon the efficiency of it dispersion.
A highly efficient fine bubble long contact time skimmer will be able to have a higher ozone feed rate because it will give a higher efficiency gas dispersion contacting and it will leave less residual in the water discharged.
Keeping the above in mind, you have already answered one of your questions by the fact that your xenia close up. You already have too high a carry over of ozone into the tank that is causing this.
You are always better off feeding at low feed rates over 24 hours than trying to heavily dose ozone in a short span of time, for the above reasons.
The ideal dozing is no ozone smell around the tank and you xenia remaining open. They are telling you you are feeding too much. They are a better visual controller than your ORP meter. :
Feed at low rates over 24 hours and get a high quality skimmer to feed into to get the best results. I would not buy a spa ozonator to heavily dose with. You can kill everything in your tank.
Just because a little ozone is good does not mean a lot of ozone is better. Infact, it is just the opposite with ozone.....:eek1:
Brad A. said:
Yep....then rinsed in RO water.
I was just confused that the numbers are all over the place. I don't plan on checking this constantly, just wanted to get a reference point to start with.
And this is a lab grade ORP probe from Neptune...Hmm....I have a spare non-lab grade maybe I'll throw on and see what it says.
Thanks,
Mike
about ORP calibration of ORP probes
IT CAN DRIVE YOU CRAZY
The calibration fluid is just that to calibrate the probe to the monitor. But some controllers are calibrated using ph fluid to cal the ORP probes.
Once a probe is cleaned you should use the calibration fluid to set the monitor to the probe.
Neptune controlers use ph fluid to cal their ORP probes and you should use the directions that come with the monitor to cal it.
you can use the 470mv ( I use Hanna brand ) fluid as a referance but doing so the ph and the temp probe must also be in the same fluid to make all = to check the cal it then should be close to the 470mv. Also the fluid has a 470mv referance temp at 77 so any temp above or below the temp will show a cal slightly off.
With most monitors once the cal is set it shoud not loose cal unless there is a power outage to the monitor which may cause a loss of calibration. you then should again use the referance to see if cal was lost if so recal it
If a probe will no longer cal or hold cal replace it
You can also use a mixture of 1 part bleach to 5 parts water to soak the probe in. I have also used a soft tooth brush and liquid hand soap to remove scum off the probe without harm. Rinse the probe well in DI water before putting it back into the tank water.
Lab grade probes are quicker to react once placed in the water but are not as good in dirty water like fish tanks and ponds. low grade dubble junction probes are slow to settle down and can take a few hours before they give a good steady reading but are better in dirty water like fish tanks and ponds.
Koijoy
IT CAN DRIVE YOU CRAZY
The calibration fluid is just that to calibrate the probe to the monitor. But some controllers are calibrated using ph fluid to cal the ORP probes.
Once a probe is cleaned you should use the calibration fluid to set the monitor to the probe.
Neptune controlers use ph fluid to cal their ORP probes and you should use the directions that come with the monitor to cal it.
you can use the 470mv ( I use Hanna brand ) fluid as a referance but doing so the ph and the temp probe must also be in the same fluid to make all = to check the cal it then should be close to the 470mv. Also the fluid has a 470mv referance temp at 77 so any temp above or below the temp will show a cal slightly off.
With most monitors once the cal is set it shoud not loose cal unless there is a power outage to the monitor which may cause a loss of calibration. you then should again use the referance to see if cal was lost if so recal it
If a probe will no longer cal or hold cal replace it
You can also use a mixture of 1 part bleach to 5 parts water to soak the probe in. I have also used a soft tooth brush and liquid hand soap to remove scum off the probe without harm. Rinse the probe well in DI water before putting it back into the tank water.
Lab grade probes are quicker to react once placed in the water but are not as good in dirty water like fish tanks and ponds. low grade dubble junction probes are slow to settle down and can take a few hours before they give a good steady reading but are better in dirty water like fish tanks and ponds.
Koijoy
I'm not trying to calibrate it, as you said, I just want a reference point of accuracy.
Now....I'm curious about the ORP and pH probes being put in the 470 solution...I didn't do that, what is the purpose of that? Does this have to do with enabling the pH compensation on the ORP problem within the AquaController? (don't have that on, not sure what it does).
The neptune instructions do reference using the pH calibration fluid mixed with quinine (I think) to actually do a calibration.
The stuff I have is from Aquatic Ecosystems (not sure of the brand name, but it's labratory grade stuff), it is at room temperature so might be a few degrees cooler than 77.
Now....I'm curious about the ORP and pH probes being put in the 470 solution...I didn't do that, what is the purpose of that? Does this have to do with enabling the pH compensation on the ORP problem within the AquaController? (don't have that on, not sure what it does).
The neptune instructions do reference using the pH calibration fluid mixed with quinine (I think) to actually do a calibration.
The stuff I have is from Aquatic Ecosystems (not sure of the brand name, but it's labratory grade stuff), it is at room temperature so might be a few degrees cooler than 77.
ORP readings is subjest to PH and temp
on the neptune ph is temp comp
and ORP is ph comp
so if the temp changes the ph will change and also will reflect a change in ORP.
If the probe is clean then it should be very close to the 470mv if it was in proper cal. Using the ph fluid to cal the probe with the neptune controler.
I did a test to see which way will give the true reading
I have two ORP monitors the Neptune and a Oakton
On the neptune
with the comp off and the 475mv fluid the reading is 431
with comp on and the 475mv fluid the reading is 480 (close enough)
That is a 50 point dif
I also checked the reading with my Oakton ORP monitor to see if it showed the corect cal with the 475mv fluid and it did.
this tells me that in order to have the true ORP reading in your fish tank with the neptune controler then you should have the ORP comp turned on. This should give you a true reading.
My concern here is this
If you are adding ozone to the tank and the setpoint is 400 then you will be over shooting by 50 with the comp set to off. True reading would be 450
koijoy
ORP readings is subjest to PH and temp
on the neptune ph is temp comp
and ORP is ph comp
so if the temp changes the ph will change and also will reflect a change in ORP.
on the neptune ph is temp comp
and ORP is ph comp
so if the temp changes the ph will change and also will reflect a change in ORP.
If the probe is clean then it should be very close to the 470mv if it was in proper cal. Using the ph fluid to cal the probe with the neptune controler.
I did a test to see which way will give the true reading
I have two ORP monitors the Neptune and a Oakton
On the neptune
with the comp off and the 475mv fluid the reading is 431
with comp on and the 475mv fluid the reading is 480 (close enough)
That is a 50 point dif
I also checked the reading with my Oakton ORP monitor to see if it showed the corect cal with the 475mv fluid and it did.
this tells me that in order to have the true ORP reading in your fish tank with the neptune controler then you should have the ORP comp turned on. This should give you a true reading.
My concern here is this
If you are adding ozone to the tank and the setpoint is 400 then you will be over shooting by 50 with the comp set to off. True reading would be 450
koijoy
ORP readings is subjest to PH and temp
on the neptune ph is temp comp
and ORP is ph comp
so if the temp changes the ph will change and also will reflect a change in ORP.
Brad A.
Premium Member
koijoy,
I just followed your description of ORP reading (on ACII) with pH comp on and off. My ORP reading was dead on with pH comp off and with ORP "comp on" it was OFF by about 55 mv.
Weird, I dont doubt your results. I wonder if it has something to do with how the probe was originally calibrated??
Brad
I just followed your description of ORP reading (on ACII) with pH comp on and off. My ORP reading was dead on with pH comp off and with ORP "comp on" it was OFF by about 55 mv.
Weird, I dont doubt your results. I wonder if it has something to do with how the probe was originally calibrated??
Brad
When I first got the Neptune It drove me nuts because I knew the reading I was getting could not be right. ( it was reading high during tank cycle) the only way I knew for sure which setting on the Neptune was the right reading to go buy I used the OAKTON monitor to check it . When both probes were in the same fluid. The Oakton showed 475 and the Neptune was -50 off. I then changed it to ph comp and it was dead nuts with the Oakton meter. So that is the setting I use at this point.
Did you try to cal the probe with the ph fluid like the neptune book said to?
All probes need to be cal to the unit that is reading the probe. In other words if you have two probes each time you plug a different probe into the Neptune that probe will need cal. Every probe will be a little different. Once the monitor is cal to that probe it should keep the cal unless you turn off the power.
I can unhook to probe off the Neptune and plug it into the Oakton and it will reed diff.
Koijoy
Did you try to cal the probe with the ph fluid like the neptune book said to?
All probes need to be cal to the unit that is reading the probe. In other words if you have two probes each time you plug a different probe into the Neptune that probe will need cal. Every probe will be a little different. Once the monitor is cal to that probe it should keep the cal unless you turn off the power.
I can unhook to probe off the Neptune and plug it into the Oakton and it will reed diff.
Koijoy
1wireefer
New member
Ozone
Ozone
Okay so I am the next reefer to take to Ozone plunge. I just ordered the Red Sea Aquazone 100. Is there anything else I should order to operate this unit. I thought I read a post in this thread that mentioned an air pump? I have a 120 sps tank with a 75 gal sump and a 50 gal frag grow out tank all pumbed together.
Ozone
Okay so I am the next reefer to take to Ozone plunge. I just ordered the Red Sea Aquazone 100. Is there anything else I should order to operate this unit. I thought I read a post in this thread that mentioned an air pump? I have a 120 sps tank with a 75 gal sump and a 50 gal frag grow out tank all pumbed together.
yellowtruck75
New member
All this talk of ozone, anyone want to buy an ozone generator? Ozotech generator
Tom Berry
Premium Member
I just ran some ozone proof tubing from the output of the Aquazone to the venturi on my CS6-1. It works great.
You still need to clean the venturi periodically to keep your skimmer running efficiently. Once a week is good IMO. You can do it at the same time you empty the collection cup.
It's real easy; just heat a cup of water in the microwave for 1 minute. Unplug the ozonizer and leave the skimmer running. Remove the tubing from the ozonizer and place the end in the water. The venturi will suck in the hot water and it will clear it of salt buildup. Reconnect the tubing to the ozonizer and plug it in.
Tom Berry:fish2:
You still need to clean the venturi periodically to keep your skimmer running efficiently. Once a week is good IMO. You can do it at the same time you empty the collection cup.
It's real easy; just heat a cup of water in the microwave for 1 minute. Unplug the ozonizer and leave the skimmer running. Remove the tubing from the ozonizer and place the end in the water. The venturi will suck in the hot water and it will clear it of salt buildup. Reconnect the tubing to the ozonizer and plug it in.
Tom Berry:fish2:
