ORP and ozone

Rafty · 03/26/2019, 06:17 PM

Hi all

I presently run ozone through my protein slimmer targeting and ORP of 400. Tank looks healthy and it is very stable at this range with Apex set to cycle on and off at a target ORP of 400. I recently read about overly tight temp control causing power board to fail after 2 years and looking at my log the ozone cycles on and off 50 times per day. Any suggestions on a better range. Should I rather run the ozone on a time base program (ie 8 hrs per day) or have a lower range say on at 350 off at 400.

Thanks

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Kevin Guthrie · 03/27/2019, 06:46 AM

Wow, blast from the past! I haven't heard of anyone using ozone and chasing ORP since the 90s, when it was promoted in books by Albert Thiel, who also happened to sell the hardware.

IMO protein skimmers do the job well enough on their own, plus they won't give you cancer.

Rafty · 03/27/2019, 07:02 AM

I am new to this hobby and my setup was put together by a very experienced company. They were the ones who setup the ozone. I would be interested in other people’s view on this topic.

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Genetics · 03/27/2019, 08:02 AM

I love ozone. Clears the water to a crystal polish.

You say overly tight temp control ruining the board? What model do you use? I’ve run ozone for years without failure on an ORP controller. Having it click on 50 times per day does seem excessive though. Mine would turn on maybe four times a day, usually shortly after feeding.

Is the ORP probe located downstream of the ozone intake? Or do you have an ozonizer that makes a lot of ozone in short order? How do you integrate your ozone into the system? I mean does it run through a skimmer or ozone setup?

Rafty · 03/27/2019, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Genetics

I love ozone. Clears the water to a crystal polish.

You say overly tight temp control ruining the board? What model do you use? I’ve run ozone for years without failure on an ORP controller. Having it click on 50 times per day does seem excessive though. Mine would turn on maybe four times a day, usually shortly after feeding.

Is the ORP probe located downstream of the ozone intake? Or do you have an ozonizer that makes a lot of ozone in short order? How do you integrate your ozone into the system? I mean does it run through a skimmer or ozone setup?

I have the apex 2016 but the issue of board failure was from another user. I have not had issues.

Regarding ozone I have it running through my protein skimmer with charcoal at the effluent end. The orp probe is sittings downstream of the ozone intake.

With your ozone what are your on off orp settings in your controller? I am targeting 400.

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Genetics · 03/27/2019, 09:37 AM

ORP of 400 is a good target. I tried a wide range of 370 to 450 and settled on 410. I don’t know how much your ozonizer produces but even on some of the smallest units they will spike ORP in the effluent and with the sensor being downstream will result in ORP cycling on/off constantly.

Two ideas. One would be to lower the amount of ozone that enters your skimmer when it is running.

The other would be to move the ORP probe further away to allow more mixing with other water to help stabilize ORP readings so it’s not constantly turning on and off.

capecodder · 03/29/2019, 07:54 AM

I haven't run ozone in forever. This biggest difference for me has been proper water movement... Absolutely no dead spots... I have some good movement across the bottom and nice wave motion in the middle to top.

The rest is simply keeping my protein skimmer relatively clean and regular water changes (50gals every week for a 240g + 100g sump). I don't keep sps, but my fish and lps are all very happy and I don't skimp on their feeding.

lrhorer · 08/19/2019, 05:01 AM

Ozone is not considered a carcinogen. A number of studies have been done on the effects of Ozone on kung tissue, and none of them suggest any increase in cancerous lesions with exposure to Ozone. There are a number of medical uses for Ozone, but as with any gas except H2 and He, exposure at high enough concentrations can produce toxic effects. Certainly is it more toxic than Oxygen, which is not generally considered toxic at concentrations lower than 2 atm. Because both are very toxic to most bacteria, both Ozone and hyperbaric Oxygen are used to treat serious infections in humans.

lrhorer · 08/19/2019, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Genetics

Two ideas. One would be to lower the amount of ozone that enters your skimmer when it is running.

The other would be to move the ORP probe further away to allow more mixing with other water to help stabilize ORP readings so it’s not constantly turning on and off.

A number of people here have also advised strictly against the use of Ozone in a simple skimmer for a number of reasons:

1. Most skimmers are not designed for Ozone reaction. Many can be degraded by the presence of Ozone.

2. Most skimmers do not allow enough contact with the Ozone, both in time and surface area. At best this means the Ozine is being wasted, putting an unnecessary strain on the Ozone generator.

3. No Ozone should be allowed into the aquarium water column. The flow rate of the water needs to be much slower than that of a typical skimmer to allow time for the Ozone to either react or exit solution. At the very least, with any high flow, low surface area reactor, the fluvial stream should be passed through an ozone absorbent such as activated charcoal. The same is definitely true for the exhaust air.

I am using an Ozone reactor from the United Kingdom for Ozone treatment. It's water outflow discharges into my sump, giving it extra time before being introduced into the main tank. My skimmer discharges directly into the tank. Is this overkill? Maybe, but not according to other members of this forum. I, for one, am unwilling to save a couple of hundred bucks at the risk of damaging several thousand dollars worth of fish and corals.

YMMV.

origreefer · 08/27/2019, 08:00 PM

I've been using ozone since 1989. back then we injected into a skimmer, had a carbon filter on top of skimmer and carbon in sump to remove any residual going back into the tank. Now I run ozone into a reactor, and from there it flows thru a carbon reactor. 380mv is the perfect orp. I run off at 380 and on at 350mv. Natural sea water is around 240. Anything above that is gravy.

Rafty · 08/27/2019, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by origreefer

I've been using ozone since 1989. back then we injected into a skimmer, had a carbon filter on top of skimmer and carbon in sump to remove any residual going back into the tank. Now I run ozone into a reactor, and from there it flows thru a carbon reactor. 380mv is the perfect orp. I run off at 380 and on at 350mv. Natural sea water is around 240. Anything above that is gravy.

Useful info. Would you mind telling me which brand of ozone and carbon reactor you are using.

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origreefer · 08/27/2019, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rafty

Useful info. Would you mind telling me which brand of ozone and carbon reactor you are using.

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I currently use a red sea ozonizer (not many choices out there now) and both my ozone reactor and carbon reactor are kits from Avast Marine that I assembled.

03/26/2019, 06:17 PM	#1
Rafty Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2019 Posts: 141	ORP and ozone Hi all I presently run ozone through my protein slimmer targeting and ORP of 400. Tank looks healthy and it is very stable at this range with Apex set to cycle on and off at a target ORP of 400. I recently read about overly tight temp control causing power board to fail after 2 years and looking at my log the ozone cycles on and off 50 times per day. Any suggestions on a better range. Should I rather run the ozone on a time base program (ie 8 hrs per day) or have a lower range say on at 350 off at 400. Thanks Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

03/27/2019, 08:02 AM	#4
Genetics Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Ontario, Ohio Posts: 4,937	I love ozone. Clears the water to a crystal polish. You say overly tight temp control ruining the board? What model do you use? I’ve run ozone for years without failure on an ORP controller. Having it click on 50 times per day does seem excessive though. Mine would turn on maybe four times a day, usually shortly after feeding. Is the ORP probe located downstream of the ozone intake? Or do you have an ozonizer that makes a lot of ozone in short order? How do you integrate your ozone into the system? I mean does it run through a skimmer or ozone setup? __________________ Nate Current Tank Info: 15g Waterbox cube

03/27/2019, 09:37 AM	#6
Genetics Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Ontario, Ohio Posts: 4,937	ORP of 400 is a good target. I tried a wide range of 370 to 450 and settled on 410. I don’t know how much your ozonizer produces but even on some of the smallest units they will spike ORP in the effluent and with the sensor being downstream will result in ORP cycling on/off constantly. Two ideas. One would be to lower the amount of ozone that enters your skimmer when it is running. The other would be to move the ORP probe further away to allow more mixing with other water to help stabilize ORP readings so it’s not constantly turning on and off. __________________ Nate Current Tank Info: 15g Waterbox cube

08/27/2019, 08:00 PM	#10
origreefer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 264	I've been using ozone since 1989. back then we injected into a skimmer, had a carbon filter on top of skimmer and carbon in sump to remove any residual going back into the tank. Now I run ozone into a reactor, and from there it flows thru a carbon reactor. 380mv is the perfect orp. I run off at 380 and on at 350mv. Natural sea water is around 240. Anything above that is gravy. __________________ Founder, DFWMAS, 1992

03/27/2019, 06:46 AM	#2
Kevin Guthrie Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 506	Wow, blast from the past! I haven't heard of anyone using ozone and chasing ORP since the 90s, when it was promoted in books by Albert Thiel, who also happened to sell the hardware. IMO protein skimmers do the job well enough on their own, plus they won't give you cancer.

03/27/2019, 07:02 AM	#3
Rafty Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2019 Posts: 141	I am new to this hobby and my setup was put together by a very experienced company. They were the ones who setup the ozone. I would be interested in other people’s view on this topic. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

03/29/2019, 07:54 AM	#7
capecodder Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Newton, MA Posts: 32	I haven't run ozone in forever. This biggest difference for me has been proper water movement... Absolutely no dead spots... I have some good movement across the bottom and nice wave motion in the middle to top. The rest is simply keeping my protein skimmer relatively clean and regular water changes (50gals every week for a 240g + 100g sump). I don't keep sps, but my fish and lps are all very happy and I don't skimp on their feeding.

08/19/2019, 05:01 AM	#8
lrhorer Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Posts: 42	Ozone is not considered a carcinogen. A number of studies have been done on the effects of Ozone on kung tissue, and none of them suggest any increase in cancerous lesions with exposure to Ozone. There are a number of medical uses for Ozone, but as with any gas except H2 and He, exposure at high enough concentrations can produce toxic effects. Certainly is it more toxic than Oxygen, which is not generally considered toxic at concentrations lower than 2 atm. Because both are very toxic to most bacteria, both Ozone and hyperbaric Oxygen are used to treat serious infections in humans.