salami trigger
Member
Just wondering..anyone here using ozone...it was all the rage 10 yeras ago.
Ozone
- Thread starter salami trigger
- Start date
scsinet
Active Member
I run it.
Your skimmer needs to be rated to handle it, many cheap skimmers are not. If they are not rated as such, the ozone will degrade the plastics.
IMO ozone is feared out of ignorance. Any chemical or additive overdosed can crash you tank. People dose kalk all the time without fear but one mistake with that and you lose your tank. The chances of overdosing ozone is very low, especially if you have an ORP controller hooked up to it.
In exchange for this risk you get much better disease control (unlike a UV unit) and water so clear you can look through your tank "the long way" and think the tank is empty.
The chances of increasing the ozone levels in a room to toxic levels are so remote it's not even worth mentioning... well almost not worth it I guess. Ozone is a highly unstable compound - so much so that it cannot be bottled or stored, it must be generated as needed. Therefore it breaks down readily in the air. A small aquarium unit cannot produce enough ozone fast enough to allow toxic concentrations to build up in a room. Ionizers and electrostatic air cleaners produce far more ozone.
Your skimmer needs to be rated to handle it, many cheap skimmers are not. If they are not rated as such, the ozone will degrade the plastics.
IMO ozone is feared out of ignorance. Any chemical or additive overdosed can crash you tank. People dose kalk all the time without fear but one mistake with that and you lose your tank. The chances of overdosing ozone is very low, especially if you have an ORP controller hooked up to it.
In exchange for this risk you get much better disease control (unlike a UV unit) and water so clear you can look through your tank "the long way" and think the tank is empty.
The chances of increasing the ozone levels in a room to toxic levels are so remote it's not even worth mentioning... well almost not worth it I guess. Ozone is a highly unstable compound - so much so that it cannot be bottled or stored, it must be generated as needed. Therefore it breaks down readily in the air. A small aquarium unit cannot produce enough ozone fast enough to allow toxic concentrations to build up in a room. Ionizers and electrostatic air cleaners produce far more ozone.
aquaknight
Active Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/3158173
I run it.
Your skimmer needs to be rated to handle it, many cheap skimmers are not. If they are not rated as such, the ozone will degrade the plastics.
IMO ozone is feared out of ignorance. Any chemical or additive overdosed can crash you tank. People dose kalk all the time without fear but one mistake with that and you lose your tank. The chances of overdosing ozone is very low, especially if you have an ORP controller hooked up to it.
In exchange for this risk you get much better disease control (unlike a UV unit) and water so clear you can look through your tank "the long way" and think the tank is empty.
The chances of increasing the ozone levels in a room to toxic levels are so remote it's not even worth mentioning... well almost not worth it I guess. Ozone is a highly unstable compound - so much so that it cannot be bottled or stored, it must be generated as needed. Therefore it breaks down readily in the air. A small aquarium unit cannot produce enough ozone fast enough to allow toxic concentrations to build up in a room. Ionizers and electrostatic air cleaners produce far more ozone.
What would you the average costs of running of an ozone setup? Initial purchase, and monthly/yearly maintenance?
Also, can you give some type of 'scale' to an ozone setup?
I think that's where some of the fear, me at least, it perhaps it's similar to UV. A good idea for a smaller tank, but am I really going to be forking over big $ for something 'adequate' for my larger tank (240g)?
http:///forum/post/3158173
I run it.
Your skimmer needs to be rated to handle it, many cheap skimmers are not. If they are not rated as such, the ozone will degrade the plastics.
IMO ozone is feared out of ignorance. Any chemical or additive overdosed can crash you tank. People dose kalk all the time without fear but one mistake with that and you lose your tank. The chances of overdosing ozone is very low, especially if you have an ORP controller hooked up to it.
In exchange for this risk you get much better disease control (unlike a UV unit) and water so clear you can look through your tank "the long way" and think the tank is empty.
The chances of increasing the ozone levels in a room to toxic levels are so remote it's not even worth mentioning... well almost not worth it I guess. Ozone is a highly unstable compound - so much so that it cannot be bottled or stored, it must be generated as needed. Therefore it breaks down readily in the air. A small aquarium unit cannot produce enough ozone fast enough to allow toxic concentrations to build up in a room. Ionizers and electrostatic air cleaners produce far more ozone.
What would you the average costs of running of an ozone setup? Initial purchase, and monthly/yearly maintenance?
Also, can you give some type of 'scale' to an ozone setup?
I think that's where some of the fear, me at least, it perhaps it's similar to UV. A good idea for a smaller tank, but am I really going to be forking over big $ for something 'adequate' for my larger tank (240g)?
scsinet
Active Member
The nice thing about ozone is that there is very little as far as consumables to worry about. Let me describe my setup, that should give you some idea...
A typical ozone setup will have these items:
- An ozone generator
- An ORP controller (optional, and sometimes integrated into the ozone generator)
- An ozone safe protein skimmer
- Ozone safe tubing
- A dessicant pack (also optional)
- A luft pump to drive the system
The luft pump, like any air pump, may need a periodic diaphram replacement, but luft pumps are incredibly good pumps... I've never had to replace one since I started using it. Dessicant packs are used to dry the air before it is pushed into the generator, making ozone production more efficient. This dessicant may need to be replaced, or some types can be rejuvinated in a warm oven. Beyond that, there is nothing to replace.
You'll hook up the system like this:
Air Pump > Dessicant > Ozone Generator > Skimmer
I don't know what a good rule of thumb is for amount of ozone, as I use ORP levels to determine how much I add. Basically I set the ORP controller to 350-375, and it adds ozone as necessary to maintain that level. I really do set it and forget it... I mean... aside from occasionally glancing at the display on the controller and verifying that everything is good, I never even think about the system being in place.
In my situation, I use a Red Sea 100mg/hr ozonizer/ORP controller, a Coralife Luft Pump, a few feet of ozone tubing, and a Deltec AP851 skimmer. The whole system (not including the skimmer) cost me about $150 because I bought the ozonizer used. New, this equipment would cost about $425. This system feeds a 180g reef tank.
A typical ozone setup will have these items:
- An ozone generator
- An ORP controller (optional, and sometimes integrated into the ozone generator)
- An ozone safe protein skimmer
- Ozone safe tubing
- A dessicant pack (also optional)
- A luft pump to drive the system
The luft pump, like any air pump, may need a periodic diaphram replacement, but luft pumps are incredibly good pumps... I've never had to replace one since I started using it. Dessicant packs are used to dry the air before it is pushed into the generator, making ozone production more efficient. This dessicant may need to be replaced, or some types can be rejuvinated in a warm oven. Beyond that, there is nothing to replace.
You'll hook up the system like this:
Air Pump > Dessicant > Ozone Generator > Skimmer
I don't know what a good rule of thumb is for amount of ozone, as I use ORP levels to determine how much I add. Basically I set the ORP controller to 350-375, and it adds ozone as necessary to maintain that level. I really do set it and forget it... I mean... aside from occasionally glancing at the display on the controller and verifying that everything is good, I never even think about the system being in place.
In my situation, I use a Red Sea 100mg/hr ozonizer/ORP controller, a Coralife Luft Pump, a few feet of ozone tubing, and a Deltec AP851 skimmer. The whole system (not including the skimmer) cost me about $150 because I bought the ozonizer used. New, this equipment would cost about $425. This system feeds a 180g reef tank.
aquaknight
Active Member
Yea, it was the drier packs I thought would be need changed often. Obviously didn't research as much as I should have
.
One more for you, is there really any designations for mg/hr ratio to tank size? Would a 100mg/hr be appropiate for a tank half your size? Or would you run a 200mg/hr on your tank?
Or is that not really how they work? More like once ORP drops down past 350, the ozone kicks on for a bit, till ORP is back up past 350. The difference between a 50mg/hr, and a 200mg/hr is just that the 50mg/hr takes longer?
One more for you, is there really any designations for mg/hr ratio to tank size? Would a 100mg/hr be appropiate for a tank half your size? Or would you run a 200mg/hr on your tank?
Or is that not really how they work? More like once ORP drops down past 350, the ozone kicks on for a bit, till ORP is back up past 350. The difference between a 50mg/hr, and a 200mg/hr is just that the 50mg/hr takes longer?
scsinet
Active Member
I've read that the rule of thumb is somwhere along the lines of 15mg/hr per 25 gallons, so a 100g tank could probably be served by a stretched 50mg/hr unit.
Most units are adjustable, you can dial back a larger unit so as not to produce too much.
As stated above, ozone is unstable. It breaks down to oxygen very quickly in the aquarium, depending on how much "work" it has to do. So no, it's not like an undersized unit will take longer; instead, it won't be able to keep up with the demand of the tank. The result is that you won't be able to maintain as high of a redox as you might with a larger unit. Depending on how overwhelmed it is, this may or may not be an issue.
Most units are adjustable, you can dial back a larger unit so as not to produce too much.
As stated above, ozone is unstable. It breaks down to oxygen very quickly in the aquarium, depending on how much "work" it has to do. So no, it's not like an undersized unit will take longer; instead, it won't be able to keep up with the demand of the tank. The result is that you won't be able to maintain as high of a redox as you might with a larger unit. Depending on how overwhelmed it is, this may or may not be an issue.
oshkosh
New Member
I've been using ozone for a few years now and agree with SCSInet however my hookup is slightly different. I use an ozone reactor instead of my skimmer. The reactor is simply an Aqua Medic 1000 reactor that’s ozone safe. It works well and has a vent on top which I hook up to bag of carbon as well. The primary reason I use it is to help re-oxygenate the water since I dose Vodka
scsinet
Active Member
Originally Posted by Oshkosh
http:///forum/post/3159597
I've been using ozone for a few years now and agree with SCSInet however my hookup is slightly different. I use an ozone reactor instead of my skimmer. The reactor is simply an Aqua Medic 1000 reactor that’s ozone safe. It works well and has a vent on top which I hook up to bag of carbon as well. The primary reason I use it is to help re-oxygenate the water since I dose Vodka
Is this the same reactor they sell for Co2? I have an aquamedic co2 reactor that I seem to remember a 1000 being part of the model.
http:///forum/post/3159597
I've been using ozone for a few years now and agree with SCSInet however my hookup is slightly different. I use an ozone reactor instead of my skimmer. The reactor is simply an Aqua Medic 1000 reactor that’s ozone safe. It works well and has a vent on top which I hook up to bag of carbon as well. The primary reason I use it is to help re-oxygenate the water since I dose Vodka
Is this the same reactor they sell for Co2? I have an aquamedic co2 reactor that I seem to remember a 1000 being part of the model.