ORP what does it tell you?

just got a RKE controller and it has a ORP probe. I understand what ORP measurement is, but is there any purpose to knowing the number if i don't have a ozonizer? I am thinking it might be linked in some way to nitrates/nitrites, but i am not sure.

 

Not really, it is said that try to control your ORP will cause more trouble than it is worth. It is supposed to be a sign of how clean your water is.

 

For most setups, it is just used as an indicator of tank health. You monitor the ORP. It should stay fairly stable from day to day. If you start to see a major change, it is time to break out the test kit.

 

ORP- oxidative reduction potential

The ability for your tank to reduce organic waste into its simplest form. A number is assigned based on how quickly "electron rich" oxygen atoms transfer their electrons to "electron poor" atoms. The process is called oxidation and is the basis of degradation for all molecules in our tanks. Typical levels are between 300 and 500.

 

i get a headache when i think about ORP and all the material i've read on it (good articles tho... ouch headache ). i think if you have a big enough tank (ill randomly pick 250g) with all sorts of media and bio/mechanical filters that support a whole host of corals and animals there can be enough added variables by all this stuff that MAY create an unbalanced system. in this case knowing ORP is a good thing. in most simple aquarium setups where you are not breeding or killing targeted micro organisms i would not/ dont worry about it. rant rant rant... sry im done.