Ozone

[BabySealClubber]

Injecting ozone into my 150g freshwater ARLC setup. Results are unbelievably clear water and very happy fish.

Anyone else here injecting ozone?

UPDATE: Changed the thread title from "Conspicuous Absence Of Ozone From This Forum" to just "Ozone." Hope nobody minds.

 

[crazyelece]

The reason topics like ozone aren't brought up much is due to the more begginer level member posting on this forum. Most of us are converted or converting from freshwater and the advanced topics are usually found in the more reef oriented forums. And no I personally am not running ozone.

 

[superman]

I'm injecting Ozone (into my reef tank that is) I LOVE IT! I highly recommend it for many reasons. One of the obvious ones is water clarity!

 

[MAM]

Since there are so many beginner level folks, and those of us who live vicariously through you marine and reef folks (that would be me), maybe you could tell us more about the use of ozone, what exactly that is and how it is beneficial. Would give people something to do further research on as they dive into the hobby. B)

 

[BabySealClubber]

Here are some good primers on ozone and redox potential:

http/www.koicarp.org.uk/koi_water_garden_ozoneuses.htm
http/www.reefs.org/library/talklog/e_edelman_080397.html
http/www.wetwebmedia.com/ozonefaqs.htm
http/www.wetwebmedia.com/ozonefaq2.htm
http/www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-12/...ature/index.php

 

[steelhealr]

Links are good, but so is a brief description. I won't go into the equipment aspect of it, but, in a nutshell, or not, ozone is O3, a triatomic form of oxygen (that we know as O2). It is most common in the upper atmosphere and helps screen out deadly UV rays. Our most common contact with it is after a rainstorm when the air has that funny odor to it.

Ozone can do several things in a marine aquarium:
1) destroy microbes
2) raise pH
3) boost dissolved oxygen
4) most confusing, it can boost the oxygen-reduction (redox) potential
5) maximizes protein skimmer function.

Oxidation-reduction is a toughy...goes back to college chem...is what occurs in oxidation-reduction equations, or one species gains electrons, the other loses them. The old acronym OILRIG helps...oxidation is losing, reduction is gaining. Getting into definitions, the redox of a marine aquarium is it's ability to conduct electricity. Another term is ORP, oxidation reduction potential. You can actually measure this with monitors with readouts given in millivolts.

Oxidation processes include:
-conversion of ammonia to nitrite to nitrate

Reduction processes include:
-eliminating nitrates and convert PO3 to PO4.

Ozone is a very complicated way to boost the redox potential of your tank's water. If your redox or ORP is low or falls, you can boost ORP by using ozone. Measuring redox and adding ozone are high tech ways to 'tighten' your control on water conditions and are tertiary techniques of excellent water husbandry.

Is measuring redox (ORP) a very expensive way to stay on top of your system and maximize the removal of toxic substances? Yes. Is it mandatory? No. Just some brief comments. SH

 

[MAM]

Very interesting actually. So would this be a technique that could be used on all sizes of tanks or is it something more highly recommended for certain types/sizes of set ups? Say would this be something Nano folks might want to look in to, or would it be something more likely to be used by those keeping larger set ups? Are there any types of setups where one might want to avoid such a technique, say if it might have any negetive effects on livestock or whatnot? Or is it always beneficial, but just not necessarily crucial? Curious minds like to know.

 

[Navarre]

I use ozone and thoroughly recomend it! Water clarity is superb and parasetic problems are quickly dealt with.

Dont get me wrong, its not a tool that a beginner should just go out and buy. Treat it with respect as its a very dangerous tool and can easily do perminant damage to your tank, its occupiants and even yourself if not used properly. The last thing you want to do is walk up to your sump and stick your head over it with a wrongly setup ozone unit.. At best you might get in instant rampaging migrane but its possible to fry your lungs on this stuff if you take a deep enough breath and the worse case scenario i just simply wont go into

Its not all doom and gloom however. Its a brilliant tool and very very effective if used correctly and treated with respect.

 

[steelhealr]

MAM....IMO, since I don't own one, the setup for ozone is very comlex. Requires a UV steririlizer..usually is setup up in a protein skimmer or ozone reactor...requires special tubing etc since ozone can break down plastics. The outflow must go thru carbon, etc. If not done carefully, you can potentially wipeout your entire livestock.

I think it is overkill and dangerous on a small system like a nano-reef UNLESS you are doing an extremely complex tank with SPS corals, clams, etc and are considered a very experienced aquarist if not expert. On large tanks it is a very expensive and complex setup but gets rave reviews by those who use it. SH

 

[Aquascaper]

I would just like to point out that there is a downside to having Ozone clean water......that is that you kill off a variety of beneficial microrganisms as well as the nasties.

I have compared Navarres tank to mine and the water clarity is unbeliveable but there was a distinct lack of little wigglies

I have an Ozone unit but I prefer to add it to the tank if and when needed.

 

[BabySealClubber]

MAM....IMO, since I don't own one, the setup for ozone is very comlex. Requires a UV steririlizer..usually is setup up in a protein skimmer or ozone reactor...requires special tubing etc since ozone can break down plastics. The outflow must go thru carbon, etc. If not done carefully, you can potentially wipeout your entire livestock.

I think it is overkill and dangerous on a small system like a nano-reef UNLESS you are doing an extremely complex tank with SPS corals, clams, etc and are considered a very experienced aquarist if not expert. On large tanks it is a very expensive and complex setup but gets rave reviews by those who use it. SH

Most everything you say about ozone injection is true, but in my opinion you overemphasize its possible dangers to livestock. Although ozone is indeed lethal if overdosed, the ozonizer units retailed to your average hobbyist, for example RedSea Aquazone ozonizers, are not capable of wiping a tank, unless the hobbyist is as dumb as one who, say, dumps a whole container of flake food into his tank. Like anything else in this hobby, too much of almost anything is lethal, really.

In my experience, ozone is best delivered at a very slow rate. Ozone injection is usually quantified as mg/hr. Only a very low rate (~0.2 mg/hr/gal) is required to produce water that looks like it's not there (fish appear to float in the air). At such dosage, an ozone overdose is highly unlikely, even in the absence of a redox controller.

Ok, now on to the some of the benefits of ozone injection (in addition to invisible water):

Decreased biological oxygen demand
Populations of waterborne bacteria and other microbes are decreased because every living organism that passes through the ozone reactor is zapped. It's known that ozone will readily oxidize nitrite to nitrate. It follows that the sum total of these interactions is a reduction in the total bacterial population in a given system, significantly reducing the consumption of dissolved oxygen necessary to sustain that bacterial population.

Destruction of waterborne algae and pathogens...
...by way of the mechanism above mentioned: any unicellular organism that enters an ozone reaction chamber is zapped. In this fashion it performs very much the same functions as a UV sterilizer.

Decreased dissolved organic carbon
The proteins, fats, and other "stuff" that comprises a film at the surface of your aquarium and yellows your water are not a Good Thing. It wouldn't be difficult to argue that a fish living in polluted water won't be as healthy as it could. Ozone decreases DOC in your aquarium.

"Enhancement" of biological filter activity
Here is what kills me. The EPA published a report dated April 1999, in which it describes in some detail the "enhancement" of activity in a "biologically active" filter when ozone is injected upstream from the filter. Pages 19-21: very interesting.​

It can sound intimidating, at first, but injecting ozone is very easy. All you need are:

1. ozone generator: generates ozone
2. redox controller and probe: monitors oxidation-reduction potential (in millivolts) in the water column
3. ozone reactor: delivers and mixes ozone with water; a cheap venturi protein skimmer will do
4. ozone-resistant tubing
5. activated carbon: to scrub residual ozone before it enters your aquarium

Following are photos of my ozone injection setup, for anyone interested. I've hooked up a RedSea Aquazone+ 200mg/hr ozonizer to a RedSea Prizm venturi skimmer. There is carbon sitting in the effluent water chamber of the skimmer, and also atop the collection chamber opening. The ozonizer has a built-in controller with a ORP setpoint of 370 mV; the ozonizer will only produce ozone if the monitored redox potential falls below the setpoint.

All in all, I agree with the above posters, but as I was reading the thread I felt the benefits of injecting ozone were being drowned out by "stay away" signs. Ozone is an excellent tool if it's used responsibly.

Ozone is not:

1. a substitute for regular, partial water changes
2. a substitute for proper animal husbandry
3. an effective treatment for a fish already infected with a pathogen

If anyone has questions about injecting ozone I would be happy to reply to PMs.

 

[steelhealr]

Most everything you say about ozone injection is true, but in my opinion you overemphasize its possible dangers to livestock.

....in a nano tank, see my quote below. I do NOT recommend it on a nano reef system UNLESS extremely experienced. SH

I think it is overkill and dangerous on a small system like a nano-reef

SH

 

[Navarre]

A very well constructed post regarding ozone. Im a firm believer in it however, i would prefer to give a very cautionary note to the use of ozone rather than give it a great thumbs up. If people read this and think that ozone needs respect then i feel they enter this side of the hobby with the best frame of mind. If they go in without seeing that there are very real dangers then disaster can follow. Whilst there are very good ozone units on the market designed for marine use. Many people will go for cheaper alternatives and use far higher rated units that are used for ponds etc. These are sometimes 3 or 4 times as powerful as a marine unit and are a mere fraction of the price. The very one i use is 100mg and i know of many people that use 200mg units in thier systems. Compare these with the ozone units designed for marine use and the levels that can be output are vastly different. )

 

[steelhealr]

Navarre...I think that is expert commentary and great insight. Commenting from the nano point of view, like many issues with this type of system, the problem is volume. The risk of creating a problem with a 10g or 20g tank is just too high since there is literally no room for error. Most water quality issues in a nano reef can be handled with water changes or, if you are a fan of it, protein skimming. SH

 

[Navarre]

If done carefully i wuld say it should be done with relative ease in a nano tank. I would put the ozone through an ozone compatable skimmer. As long as you can ensure not bubbles feed back into the main system then it should be as safe as a large tank. Running ozone on a nano though is quite a large step and i would have to ask myself if running ozone will be better than good husbandry and regular water changes as you have already mentioned.