Ozone, do you use it?

[mmakay]

Originally Posted by Birdlady

Great feedback! Thanks guys!


So, I am looking at the Redsea Aquazone deluxe, with probe, controller, drier, and corona discharge unit for my 58 gallon. Probably the 100mg one.

Is this decent? Or should I go with a Milwaukee probe/controller and seek a different ozone generator?

With a 100 mg unit, is it unlikely to OD on O3?

Red Sea is probably the top pick of the aquarium hobbiest brands. If you don't mind spending more, Ozotech and Clearwater Tech. make units for the aquaculture trade that are reported to be better made.

100mg/hr is not enough to "OD" your 58g tank, but it's way more than you need. I expect you could run it at 10% and reap all the same benefits. For the first couple of weeks you shouldn't run more than that anyway, so you don't shock your tank. Go slow until your ORP reading stabilize in the 350-400 range. You don't want to rase ORP by more than about 20 points a day.

If your tank is healthy, you may find that your ORP is already near that range. That doesn't mean that a slow dose of ozone won't help your system. Very low doses of ozone will clear the water without pushing up the ORP much at all (if any).

Whether you need the probe at all is a matter of some debate. Having one is certainly better than not, but doses of 0.1-0.2mg/hr per gallon are generally safe to use without monitoring ORP. (That's 10-20mg/hr in a 100g system for the math challanged! ) So if cost is an issue, don't feel obligated to buy more than a basic O3 generator. The trick, though, is to err on the side of caution and dose very small amounts.

Some believe (I agree) that a small dose 24/7 is better than using a large O3 generator and relying on a controller. Probes and electronics sometimes fail. It's just the way things are. A unit that can only produce as much ozone as you want in the tank is better than an oversized unit that will shock the system (or worse) if it decides to run 100% 24/7 because the controller glitched.

[Birdlady]

OK....thanks! I was planning on keeping it in that range 350-400,(with constant low dosage) yet wanted to buy a system that I could carry over to the 'bigger' tank when/if I do that.


As long as the 100mg is not a concern....I think I will still go with that size. I am home most days so, hopefully, I can catch any problems

Starting slow indeed...always do!

I will check into the brands you mentioned as well! Thanks for the info!

[NUHTTY]

Birdlady...if you do some in depth research on the effectiveness of ozone, you will find that for the ozone to be effective, the water would need to move at such a slow rate that you will either need several units on one tank or a very, very large unit on your 58g.

IMO, its not worth the extra money and hassle to have the ozone on there.

Just my opinion.

[Birdlady]

Do you have any links on that info? That is the first I have come across that. I have read that info for the UV sterilizers....prefilter the water, must flow slow, need to replace the bulb every 6 mos...etc....

But for the ozone, everything I have read and heard indicates that if you push it through the skimmer, it makes a pretty decent postive impact...

I would like to learn more about the flip side there.... Thanks!

[mmakay]

NUHTTY,

I think you may be confusing ozone with UV. Ozone has a life span of mere seconds in water, and travels with the flow of water. Why would it matter how fast the water was moving?

Recommending multiple or very large units goes against nearly all the published data. Can you point us to the source of your information?

And, out of curiosity, have you ever used ozone? (...or known anyone that has?)

[NUHTTY]

AHH!! My mistake...I was talking of UV...thanks for the clarification.

Ozone good, UV bad.

[mojoreef]

I suspect that your dissolved oxygen is already very high. In that case, the O2 will simply bubble out in your skimmer or reactor
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It runs pretty normal, but my skimmer does produce a very large amount of oxygen (5 cfm) so I would imagine that is doing the same thing.

If somebody uses enough ozone to reduce foam production, I think they are using WAY TOO MUCH! The nice thing about O3 is that a little goes a long way. I'm sure you would agree!
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Well not WAY to much but if you run it so that it stops the skimmer then yea it sure does defeat the purpose of having a skimmer. I do run alot of it though, my bioload is pretty high with larger fish. I use a 1/2 gram unit and keep it pretty cranked up. Carbon on the out put of the skimmer and ont the out put of the air take all residual ozone out though, my orp is always pegged at the same range.

Birdlady just make sure you use the carbon and you will be safe with out a probe. Also take it real slow lighting wise. I actually recommend folks treat starting with ozone as if they are upgrading their lighting. The percentage of extra light you will be putting into the tank will be quite a bit more then with normal reef tank water.


Mike

[Birdlady]

Great Mike! Thanks for all the info!


I appreciate everyone's time!!

[Birdlady]

So, if I buy a Milwaukee ORP probe and controller, the ozone dosage is regulated by the ORP reading?
In order to turn up the ozone dosage by , say, 20 mg each adjustment, then I would need a separate control on the ozone generator?

I wish the LFS's carried this stuff so I could look at it good!

I am looking at the Enaly (not adjustable)
Ozotech ( one adjustable)
Clearwater tech (not adjustable)

[mmakay]

The Milwaukee controller will turn the O3 generator on until the set ORP is reached, thn turn it off. The dose will be whatever the generator is capable of (or set to). If it is a big unit, the dose will be high but short. I prefer small and continual, but that's really just a personal thing.

Adjustable generators are nice, but not manditory as long as you use the Milwaukee. If you get a non-adjustable generator, you can set the desired ORP slightly over the current value and "manually" step it up (the ORP, as opposed to the dose) over a period of days to avoid shocking the tank. I can't rmember the exact value, but I think I remember the recommendation was no more than a a 30 point ORP change per day. Slower can't hurt!

FWIW: The Enaly doesn't put out anywhere near the rated amount, from what I've heard. It should be more than capable of supplying your tank's needs, but don't expect to get 300mg/hr from it. I've looked at them, and for the price I still think they are an OK deal. They sure screw you on the shipping, though! The small Red Sea with integrated controller wouldn't be much more than an Enaly / Milwaukee combo ... and you get a free air-dryer in the deal. Something to consider.