How Long To Run An Ozone Unit?

[zeo]

Hi guys,

I've got an ozone unit, I'm planning on running it thru my MCE600 at the lowest setting of 10mg.
I've read quite a few guides and FAQ's on ozone, but couldnt find the answer I was looking for. Hopefully one of you guys can help.
How long should I run my ozone unit for? At this low setting would it be ok to run the unit for 24/7?

Or am I supposed to only run it specified intervals?

Its for a 260lt tank if it makes any difference.

 

[SkiFletch]

Well to give you some frame of reference, in my moderately stocked 65g tank with a similarly sized skimmer I run my Ozone at prolly about 35mg/hr if my dial is in fact accurate. Above that and I get a faint hint of ozone in the air and some corals start lookin a little droopy. Each system is different though. I'd say run it at 10mg/hr for a week and monitor things. If you don't smell Ozone and the corals look happy, you can try upping it 5-10mg for the next week. Etc Etc...

The ideal method would be to have a RELIABLE ORP (oxidative reduction potential) probe that you can use as a controller to turn the ozone on and off. However since I've yet to find an ORP probe that was reliable past a few months (their calibration drifts) and did NOT cost me my first born son for one that didnt drift, I decided my own eyes and nose were just as good

Edit: the last time Ozone was brought up, I think only myself and another person used it, I'm curious if anyone else has a differing oppinion as Ozone's application in our hobby really isn't fully understood yet

 

[zeo]

but your happy to leave it running constantly for 24hours?

also need to hook it up to my skimmer. Silicon air tubing is ozone resistant right?

 

[SkiFletch]

Tbh, I forget which materials are Ozone resistant... My unit came with some Ozone safe tubing. I've yet to determine if it's had an adverse effect on my skimmer or pump, but to date (1.5 years later) there has been no visible discoloration of the acrylic or the pump so I'd imagine those are Ozone safe.

And yes, I'm happy leaving mine on 24/7 at the lower dose.

 

[zeo]

Cool thanks for that Ski. I'll be doing the same.

 

[superman]

Well to give you some frame of reference, in my moderately stocked 65g tank with a similarly sized skimmer I run my Ozone at prolly about 35mg/hr if my dial is in fact accurate. Above that and I get a faint hint of ozone in the air and some corals start lookin a little droopy. Each system is different though. I'd say run it at 10mg/hr for a week and monitor things. If you don't smell Ozone and the corals look happy, you can try upping it 5-10mg for the next week. Etc Etc...

The ideal method would be to have a RELIABLE ORP (oxidative reduction potential) probe that you can use as a controller to turn the ozone on and off. However since I've yet to find an ORP probe that was reliable past a few months (their calibration drifts) and did NOT cost me my first born son for one that didnt drift, I decided my own eyes and nose were just as good

Edit: the last time Ozone was brought up, I think only myself and another person used it, I'm curious if anyone else has a differing oppinion as Ozone's application in our hobby really isn't fully understood yet

I thought i was the only one that felt this way about dosing ozone. I have a moderately large aquarium, around 300 gallons total system volume. I do honestly feel that there are a lot of factors that are involved in running ozone 24/7 at low dosages. My water travels about 25 feet after the protein skimmer before it reaches the aquarium inhabitants. So high levels of ozone never reach fish or corals. I run a red sea aquazone unit that is 200mg constantly (no controller) with no air dryer through a modded ASM G4X skimmer, I don't smell any ozone in the air. I side effect that MAY or MAY NOT be related is that I can't keep macroalgae alive, only can grow mangroves.

 

[SkiFletch]

Interesting side effect superman. I actually have no trouble keeping macro alive, namely chaetomorpha...

 

[zeo]

What does an airdryer do?
I saw one of these bundled with an ozone a couple of weeks back but didnt go for it.

 

[SkiFletch]

Does exactly what it sounds, drys out the air, removes it from all its humidity. This is a necessary step when making Ozone because the process used by most ozonizers to create ozone needs to have dry air. if there is humidity in the air it can create acid inside the reaction chamber and slowly wear it out...

 

[summat fishy]

not meaning to sound like a noob, but what the hell is ozone?!?!?

 

[superman]

it's O3, has intense oxidation effects, water clarity is incredible.

 

[SkiFletch]

Yup, when used in a controlled manner (most often injected into a skimmer) Ozone helps break down organic molecules into forms that a skimmer can remove that would have otherwise remained in the water column. As Superman says, it tends to remove organic molecules that "stain" the water giving it a slightly yellow appearance. Often the aquarist doesn't even know his/her water is dirty until you start using Ozone and see its effects. Furthermore, Ozone breaks down organic molecules that could otherwise be used by bacteria to create nitrates and phosphates, ultimately leading to algae blooms.

Do take care though, Ozone dosed haphazardly can be exceptionally dangerous to both your fish and YOU, so if anyone does decide to use it, take care in doing so.

 

[superman]

I am going to try and experiment with my ozone. I just dropped my ozonizer down from 200 mg to 100 mg. We'll see if this enables my macroalgae to grow.