Ozone, a must a help or dont bother?

hi i read in a book about injecting ozone into a protein skimmer (with a plug in box like a air pump) instead of normal air that it helps to kill of free swimming bacteria and diseases how ever you will need to pass the "treated" water throw a carbon filter and re-airate it before it goes back into the main water supply. i also know that the protein skimmer must be made of a special plastic to advoid becoming brittle and there are types out there that come with a ozone unit, but i was wondering if it is somthing i should get and if so would a reef octopus bh-100 be ok to run with one without becoming brittle as i dont want to come home one day and find that my skimmer has broken and theres god knows how many gallons of water on the floor lol

 

Some good links regarding this subject are provided here:

http://www.3reef.com/forums/water-chemistry/orp-63128.html

 

I have never used one before(almost did), but the way I look at it, its a double edged sword(imo). Its great at killing bacteria and such, but you must be very careful with it. As you stated, you must make sure that your skimmer is ozone "safe" and all the hoses that you use must also be ozone safe. Carbon is a MUST and you have to be on top of it. I have been told that ozone can be fatel if the carbon is exhausted and you breath in enough ozone. I chose not to get it b/c of this reason, I couldnt live with myself if something happened to one of my girls b/c of the ozone. I dont see the need to use ozone unless "pristine" water is a must. If you do decide to use it, please be careful with it and read all you can. Luna

 

Usually the ozone units that you can buy are not nearly large enough to really matter. They don't circulate enough water to really matter that much. I don't know if the same applies to ozone in a skimmer, but as luna said, there are pluses and minuses to running ozone, personally, I wouldn't want to deal with it.

 

If you do get one, get one that has a built in ORP controller/meter. Have the O3 set for the rated tank size or less. I have read about 5mg/hr per 25G of tank is safe rate, and keeping the ORP ~300-350mV is a standard range, I have seen some go as high as 380mV. I would suggest running the outlet of the skimmer through carbon, and have carbon in the collection cup as well. Change the carbon monthly and it should be safe.
Most quality skimmers are O3 safe, using cell cast acrylics. O3 is a personal preference thing. I bought one for my tanks, but won't use it on a daily basis. I will only use it as needed. It will oxidize any pathogens in the water, including heavy metals, algae, waste, diseases, etc. in the water. The people that have reported huge problems usually bought cheap generators without the ORP monitor and just cranked it on and guessed when to turn it off. To me, that is like playing Russian Roulette.

 

I heard all the horror stories about ozone but it was recommended by a friend so I went for it. There is no comparison to the quality of water you get from one of these. The smell is like a beach after a heavy rain. I vent my fish room so I don't worry about smelling it. Once it cleans the water you won't even be able to smell it. I would highly recommend one but only use it with a controller and ozone safe skimmer. I have mine go off at 390mv and come on at 325mv.

 

I bought an ozonizer back in the 80’s for my 55 gal and recently dug it out when I got back into the hobby. I run it on my biocube 14 if for no other reason than having gin clear water. As for the other benefits some say there are plenty some say few? Since I don’t have an orp controller I just do the smell test, if I can smell it I turn it down so I may not be utilizing it to it’s full potential. I have a Red Sea ozone test kit and according to it I could be dumping a lot more ozone in than I am. This rookie would recommend it but with a controller to be on the safe side.


John

 

if you ever ran 03 then you would never not generate it , I have used it since 71 and I have yet to ever see a horror come true even when trying to cause a problem.. Its natures way of cleaning and scrubbing the atmosphere and water of the oceans ..As for a skimmer being 03 proof all re today now 30 yrs ago it was a different story Try it you and your tank will like it.. But you either have to get a red sea with a controller or buy a seperat controller never run it with out being controlled thats where the horror stories came from. In the day we old guys always used a air pump and wodden stone and a timer and ran them for 1 few hrs a few times a day and cthat did just fine , But there was alwasy the guy who always figured if 6 hr per day is good then 24 Hrs a day had to be better. same applies now days with refugium lights