Ozone/orp Meter, Yes Or No.........

[michaelwgroves]

I'm currently running a Tropical tank, but I'm buying equipment that I will be able to utilise at a later date when I migrate to Marine.

I'm looking at buying a CO2 kit, and I also want an automatic PH meter. I was gonna buy the Milwaukee SMS122, but then I found the SMS125 dual PH/ORP meter.
Obviously not interested in ORP for Tropical, but when I upgrade to Marine I might need it.

I've read mixed reports on monitoring ORP, what's the general consensus here, do you guys monitor ORP or not.

Just in case it's relevant, I will keep Tangs, and my tank is 900 litres + 240 litre sump.

 

[Musho3210]

why do you want CO2? Calcium reactor?

 

[SkiFletch]

I think I'm the only one on these forums that uses Ozone, although others may. I MIGHT trust a Milwaukee probe, but there's no way I'd ever trust other more affordable brands. Just like pH probes, ORP probes decay over time and need to be calibrated frequently to be reliable. IMO, ORP probes are too prone to failure, thus possibly forcing your Ozone add open or closed, either of which would be bad. Therefore I only use a manual control on my Ozone. I use the Redsea Ozonizer with 50mg capacity. I started at the lowest setting and gradually dialed it up over a course of days observing the tank and looking for changes and/or problems. I find that at around 25mg I get a big boost in skimmate and no residual ozone smell, nor any adverse reactions by my livestock. At around 35mg I get a slight hint of Ozone in the air, yet no problems with my livestock. So to be on the safe side, I keep mine at 25mg.

I have once borrowed an ORP controller from a local reefkeepr and it read a very low ORP which makes sense due to the increased skimmate production and ozone addition. I forget the exact value now, but it would have been low enough for the ORP probe to shut down the ozonizer despite me having it run constantly.

 

[superman]

I use ozone as well. I don't trust my red seas ORP controller, so I just have mine running constantly at about 175 MG of ozone and have great results on water clarity and skimmate production. For reference my total system volume is 300+ gallons.

 

[robbhp]

one day i think i will run ozone on my big tank, and pos try it in the little nano, as my local fish shop have a small pico running ozone and the water is so clear it is unreal.

rob

 

[SkiFletch]

Thanks for that reminder Superman. My total system volume is around 80 gallons and I inject mine directly into the skimmer.

 

[michaelwgroves]

why do you want CO2? Calcium reactor?

I want CO2 for my plants and to lower ph.


So the consensus is; its worth monitoring, but dont trust the results explicitly?

SkiFletch
Being from the USA, whats the general consensus on the JBJ Regulator & Solinoid, and the Milwaukee SMS125 ?
We can't get them in the UK, but my findings are they are good quality?
However, I have found a company who will ship to the UK.

 

[SkiFletch]

Those are good quality meters for sure. Not cheap, but some of the few I'd trust.

 

[michaelwgroves]

Those are good quality meters for sure. Not cheap, but some of the few I'd trust.

Cheers Mate, that was the answer I was looking for, I'm gonna order them tomorrow.

 

[Musho3210]

why do you want CO2? Calcium reactor?

I want CO2 for my plants and to lower ph.


So the consensus is; its worth monitoring, but dont trust the results explicitly?

SkiFletch
Being from the USA, whats the general consensus on the JBJ Regulator & Solinoid, and the Milwaukee SMS125 ?
We can't get them in the UK, but my findings are they are good quality?
However, I have found a company who will ship to the UK.

ooohhh i thought you wanted CO2 for your saltwater tank lol (i was confuzzled....)

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I wouldn't bother with a PH probe either (for the FW tank). Unless you get a very expensive one it is still going to be fooled by PH buffer effects in the water (ferts, soil, etc) which will give false CO2 readings. Its actually just easier to use a drop checker and 4dhk solution and manually adjust your CO2 and use a Soliniod to shut it off at night (though some people do actually leave the CO2 on 24/7).

I use the JBL CO2 regulator and it is doing fine (been using it for about 3 months now). Can be a bit touchy to adjust the amount of CO2 but once you have it right you dont really have to make many changes to it.

 

[beechey]

is that your fish tank built in to the wall? if so have you got any more pics?

 

[michaelwgroves]

is that your fish tank built in to the wall? if so have you got any more pics?

Always happy to provide pics, although they are several months old now. The RO unit is now connected and I have added some shelves. I'll take some more over the weekend, but you should get the idea.....
Any questions, please ask

http/www.three-trees.net/mg/


I think I'm gonna go with the monitor and use this to turn on/off, but will also carry out manual tests during regular maintenance.
I'm in IT, so I have got to get some technology into my setup!

 

[SkiFletch]

If you're gonna go with the meter, do yourself a favor and set the Ozone add rate at a low level, so that even if the meter sticks ON, your livestock might be OK.

 

[AK77]

Hi guys,

I got myself a 2nd hand Hailiea HLO-800 (100mg although the unit only goes up to 50 on the dial??). I've got it set at 10 (20??)at the moment and have hooked it up to the inlet valve of my Red Sea Prism skimmer. Do you run an airpump with yours Ski when you inject it into the skimmer or do you just rely on the venturi action of the skimmer to pull air in?

Am I ok to leave it running continuously on say 25mg/h without it nuking everything in my tank? I don't have an ORP meter so am unable to measure the levels in the water. I have a 180 Litre tank with 90L sump.