[slief]

Originally Posted by Superpuma

Hi Slief

I intend running ozone on my 180 mini..... Is there a recommended max on these skimmers? Will ozone affect the performance?

Thanks. Mike

Ozone will impact the skimmers performance and likely darken the skim up a bit as it oxidizes the organics it comes in contact with. I will be honest and tell you that I am not a fan of running ozone through the skimmer. Ozone is an oxidizer and it will degrade many plastics that it comes in contact with. Not only that, it's also toxic to humans and pets. The skimmer itself is ozone safe but you need to insure that excess or residual ozone isn't escaping the skimmer. This means that the vents on the skimmer lid should be vented though carbon and the skimmers effluent should be routed through carbon as well. Some people will place a large conainer over the skimmer lids with holes in it and screen and fill it with carbon so that the skimmer lid can still breath and any ozone that is escaping in the bubbles can be filtered out. Insuring that no ozone escapes through the skimmer effluent line is a bit more tricky. Especially given that the effluent line is low down and ideally you want all the skimmer water to flow through the carbon. To do that properly, I'm of the mindset that you would ideally have some sort of a reactor connected to the effluent line on the skimmer so that all water is forced through the carbon without allowing residual ozone to escape into the air. The issue is that you don't want to restrict the effluent line of the skimmer because that will impact the water level in the skimmer and cause issues tuning the skimmer. Residual ozone that escapes can and will make some plastics and tubing brittle in a hurry. Not only that but as mentioned above, residual ozone can be toxic so it's very important that you remove all residual ozone from the air and water.

For the reasons above, I much prefer running ozone through a dedicated reactor with a 2nd reactor plumbed downstream that is filled with carbon. I've used ozone both ways an found the reactor to be much more effective, more controllable, safer and much easier to eliminate all the residual ozone.

Lastly, should you decide to use ozone, be sure to use lignite carbon. That is the most effective carbon for removing residual ozone.