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View Full Version : Wow, my ORP is over 400 mV today!


Randy Holmes-Farley
02/29/2008, 07:23 AM
Not sure why. It usually hovers in the 300-320 mV range, but over the past week or two it has been rising. I've recently been forced through misordering to use Reef Crystals instead of IO (which in turn is driving my skimmer wild and I've been skimming out 5 gallons per day), I got a new higher presser air pump for my ozone system a month or so ago (a Luft pump), and it is very cold today (so the air is dryer).

But before this week, its never been above 330 mV, even when very cold.

Anyway, I hope everything is OK. I don't at present regulate the ozone. Guess I'll have to watch it carefully.

Tony Romano
02/29/2008, 07:49 AM
Randy - I was under impression from reading your articals you did not run Ozone.

I am planning on adding to sps tank, one of my books thinks this is bad idea.

Also we have very tight house with many pets - is there a device that is affordable to conver CO2 or filter it? (don't say plants!)

Smile!

Randy Holmes-Farley
02/29/2008, 07:54 AM
No, I've been using the ozone since I wrote these and tested it on my system. It made the water visibly clearer.
Ozone and the Reef Aquarium, Part 1: Chemistry and Biochemistry
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-03/rhf/index.php

Ozone and the Reef Aquarium, Part 2: Equipment and Safety
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-04/rhf/index.php

Ozone and the Reef Aquarium, Part 3: Changes in a Reef Aquarium upon Initiating Ozone
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-05/rhf/index.php

For the excess CO2 in a tight home causing low pH, I think using limewater is the best bet.

DrBDC
02/29/2008, 08:28 AM
Did you check the probe to see if some crud is caught on it?

Give or take a few months, we started ozone about the same time and my probe is needing a lot more frequent cleaning, almost to the point that I may need to order a new one. ??

Boomer
02/29/2008, 10:20 AM
Randy

(a Luft pump)

I think long ago I told you to use this pump :) It is the pump most of use/ed. And I have said dyer air are is always better. By any chance do you have a humidity gauge near the pump input ? Maybe this week it is exceptionally lower. Humidity is not just function of air temp and I know you know that :)

However, as Dr pointed out, when was the last time you cleaned that probe for algae :) And a 100 mV increase in a week is allot, if you have not changed the dial setting.

HowardW
02/29/2008, 10:39 AM
<<< I've recently been forced through misordering to use Reef Crystals instead of IO (which in turn is driving my skimmer wild and I've been skimming out 5 gallons per day) >>>


Wow, that really seems excessive from a salt change only, especially a somewhat similar salt and considering you change just 1g per day?

Randy Holmes-Farley
02/29/2008, 01:12 PM
yes, I might get some new calibration fluid, but it has always been spot on, and the probe is in pitch dark the way it has been for 2 years.

Wow, that really seems excessive from a salt change only, especially a somewhat similar salt and considering you change just 1g per day?

I've been changing 1% daily (~3 gallons), but with the skimmer acting up, I just shut off the outflow of the autochange and set the water change to just deliver replacement for the skimmer. Since that is about 5 gal per day now, the change is now up to closer to 2% daily.

I agree that I have been amazed that the change to RC caused such a skimming difference. When this 88 gallons runs out, I'll try another batch of IO to see if the skimmer subsides again.

I think long ago I told you to use this pump

Luckily I only listen to you part of the time. :D


Give or take a few months, we started ozone about the same time and my probe is needing a lot more frequent cleaning, almost to the point that I may need to order a new one. ??

I've never touched it. But I don't want to mess with it until I get more calibration fluid. :)

Boomer
02/29/2008, 01:18 PM
Luckily I only listen to you part of the time.

That may be your whole problem = Listen to Boom all the time :lol:

Billybeau1
02/29/2008, 01:39 PM
I would say it's the new air pump. Same thing happened to me.

The higher ozone level could also be affecting your skimmer, no ?

It does mine.

If you start climbing past 400 mv, I would turn that puppy down a little, but I know you know that already.

BTW - notice any visual difference in your tank since you started using RC or is it too early to tell. :)

Randy Holmes-Farley
02/29/2008, 02:43 PM
You got more skimmate, or less with more ozone? Most folks report less these days.

No noticeable difference in the tank. :)

The kids have some friends over, and we just looked through a big pile of Caulerpa for brittle stars, copepods, etc. They loved it, especially when we fed the pods to the fish. :)

Billybeau1
03/01/2008, 12:18 AM
I get more skimmate when the ozone is generating. :) Don't know why others get less. One theory I thought of was maybe since you are pumping in more air with the Luft, it is drawing in some undesirables that the skimmer is moving out. Household things you know.

I also bought a Luft and it made a world of difference in my ORP. :)

I now have my Sanders unit on a Milwaukee controller and it keeps me right around 375 mv where I like it. :)

I stopped using ozone for a month but when my skimmer slowed down, I started up again and I'm back to normal. :)

jdieck
03/01/2008, 03:24 AM
I get more skimate at the low and high end of Ozone.
When I am adding less than 50 mg/hr or whan I am adding more than 150 mg/hr.

Regarding the probe, with some salts the reading just keeps on going higher and higher. after cleaning it goes back down and then starts going higher again, in three weeks is above 400
Change slats and the problem is gone.

By the way have you smelled your newly made water mix with RC? I get the impression it really smells strongly of B12.

Also try this. Once you add the salt add an airstone and make enough bubbles to skim the mix for a couple of hours. Cover the mixing tank so the cover is a couple of inches above the water surface. This is to collect some of what the bubbles bring up on the undercover side.
After a couple of hours take a paper towel and swipe the undercover. Dirt? bacteria? clay? rehydrated diatoms? still trying to find out.

Randy Holmes-Farley
03/01/2008, 06:32 AM
[B]By the way have you smelled your newly made water mix with RC? I get the impression it really smells strongly of B12.[?B]

I don't recognize the smell, but it does have a strong "vitamin" type of smell that IO never has.

May barrel is about empty, so I'll swap in IO for a while now and see what happens. I'll try the bubbling thing next time, but to date I do not see the brown scum that some report with RC.

davy182
03/01/2008, 10:15 AM
maybe having the higher pressure air pump allows the ozone to get to the water quicker allowing more reaction time with ozone. If I remember correctly, isn't it really unstable and converts quickly.

Randy Holmes-Farley
03/01/2008, 10:46 AM
Yes, the reason I got the higher pressure pump was to drive more air and ozone into the elevated pressure reactor, and to thereby drive more ozone into the water. I expected there might be an immediate effect (a few days), but did not notice any right away. A t least a couple of weeks went by with no noticeable effect, so I do not know if that was important or not. :)

Tony Romano
03/01/2008, 10:52 AM
Please recommon brand of Ozone generator - I am planning on purchasing soon.

Thanks.

I have ORP controller.

Boomer
03/01/2008, 11:06 AM
jd

clay?

Often is what it is or anticaking agents

Billybeau1
03/01/2008, 11:54 AM
Tony,

I love my Sanders. The price is right and it's easy to clean. :)

jglackin
03/01/2008, 01:09 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11972842#post11972842 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
I've been skimming out 5 gallons per day

How many thousands of gallons is your tank?

Tony Romano
03/01/2008, 01:58 PM
Hey Jim on your 6055s, do you think they would work on 3/4" glass?

jglackin
03/01/2008, 11:25 PM
The magnets are pretty powerful. I have them on 1/2" glass now and they are stuck on there pretty good. My Koralia 4 barely stays on.

jglackin
03/01/2008, 11:30 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11981038#post11981038 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jdieck
Dirt? bacteria? clay? rehydrated diatoms? still trying to find out.

RC tells me that it is not clay. It is not dirt. It is bacteria from an unclean mixing tank. I bleached my tank out last week, made a new batch of RO/DI water, let it aerate for a couple of days (crystal clear), added salt as I ran out the door today, when I got back home, the water was brown. It has to be something in the mix.

jdieck
03/02/2008, 12:08 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11987141#post11987141 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jglackin
RC tells me that it is not clay. It is not dirt. It is bacteria from an unclean mixing tank. I bleached my tank out last week, made a new batch of RO/DI water, let it aerate for a couple of days (crystal clear), added salt as I ran out the door today, when I got back home, the water was brown. It has to be something in the mix.
Yes, I get it even after I clean my 55 gal mixing tank and I clean it very well, I start by filling the tank with tap water and pour in 1 gallon of muriatic acid and run the pump for 3 hours and scrub then drain and rinse well, then I fill it again and pour in 1 gal of bleach and run it for three to 6 hours or overnight, drain rinse with a hose several times until little to no chlorine otheor is felt, then rinse one last time with RO/DI water, fill and aerate heavily for 24 hours with a large piston high pressure white water air pump with four limewood stones and then ready to mix.
First batch get the brown stuff. After about 5 or 6 batches time to clean again. I'm tired of it. The worst thing is that I get the stuff in more or less degree with Red Sea, Oceanic, RC and Tropic Marin salts. The only one not giving me that issue was Kent and IO. Still trying to find out what it is as I do not belive is simply clay either.

HowardW
03/02/2008, 12:26 AM
<<< The worst thing is that I get the stuff in more or less degree with Red Sea, Oceanic, RC and Tropic Marin salts. The only one not giving me that issue was Kent and IO. Still trying to find out what it is as I do not belive is simply clay either. >>>


I have spoken with the head scientist for Red Sea Salt in Israel regarding the infrequent small amount of brownish "stuff" that was on the bottom of my mixing jugs, and he explained to me that it's just sand or silt or similar left over from their solar evaporation process of the salt. He said nearly 90% of their salt mix is taken from the Red Sea and their cleaning process of the final product is not always 100% but they are working to improve it. He finished by telling me that whatever I may find on the bottom of the mixing jug is not harmful and can either be discarded or used.

Boomer
03/02/2008, 12:38 AM
I was told long ago, by AS themselves, that it was the clay mineral Montmorillonite used as a binder/carrier in IO. Know anybody at the main U that has access to an XRD. Major U Geology departments always have one, they have to :) That will tell you EXACTLY what it is right down to the ion counts.

http://www.webmineral.com/data/Montmorillonite.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montmorillonite

I know what the heck is an XRD :D

Powdered X-Ray Defractor

http://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/geochemsheets/techniques/XRD.htmll

Billybeau1
03/02/2008, 12:47 AM
Boomer, you and jd make my head hurt.

Are you sure this brown stuff exists ?





Page 2. :D
















:lol:

jdieck
03/02/2008, 01:03 AM
Montmorillonite; that's freaking drilling mud! Lots of aluminosilicates.

jdieck
03/02/2008, 01:05 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11987527#post11987527 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Billybeau1
Boomer, you and jd make my head hurt.

Are you sure this brown stuff exists ?





Page 2. :D
















:lol:

If you can drive about 1 hour I'll show you.
BTW Are you counting posts :)

Billybeau1
03/02/2008, 01:16 AM
I may just have to make a date to meet you jd.

I can make it in 45 min. :lol:

As far as counting posts, thats Randy's new job. :D

jdieck
03/02/2008, 01:54 AM
:lol:

Randy Holmes-Farley
03/02/2008, 08:50 AM
How many thousands of gallons is your tank?

I have several tanks/sumps/refugia on this system, for a total system volume in the low 300's.

jglackin
03/02/2008, 11:41 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11988642#post11988642 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
How many thousands of gallons is your tank?

I have several tanks/sumps/refugia on this system, for a total system volume in the low 300's.

Do you skim very wet and use the skimmer as part of a type of water exchange method? Skim out 5 gallons of tank water and then replace with 5 gallons of new saltwater?

Randy Holmes-Farley
03/02/2008, 04:40 PM
I normally use an automatic water change system to swap 1% daily.

Since "accidently" starting to use Reef Crystals, my skimmer has skimmed out a lot more, and I'm using the skimmate as the water change (with the auto change system supplying the replacement salt water). When these buckets run out, I plan to go back to Instant Ocean.

jglackin
03/02/2008, 05:27 PM
I like the idea of using a wet skim to do a water exchange. In this way, you are not just taking out 5 gallons, you are taking out a dirty 5 gallons.

Randy Holmes-Farley
03/02/2008, 06:01 PM
I like the idea of using a wet skim to do a water exchange. In this way, you are not just taking out 5 gallons, you are taking out a dirty 5 gallons.

Yes, that is the current plan. :)

Randy Holmes-Farley
03/15/2008, 10:55 AM
Well, the ORP was still running around 420 mV the day before yesterday, so I decided to clean the ORP probe by soaking it in acid overnight, then giving it a quick clean with a toothbrush. it read 550-600 mV in my tank when returning it to it.

I figured it just needed time to equilibrate, but now 48 h later, it still read 560 mV. So I shut off the O3,a and within 2 h the ORP dropped to 330 mV.

I posted some of this in another thread, but here is a duplicate commentary:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=12096259#post12096259

I'm really surprised by the ORP drop .
That surprises me in 2 ways. That the ORP may have really been that high (590 mV) for a long time (2 weeks +) and that nothing seems amiss in the tank aside from a presently closed green tree coral that often opens and closes periodically anyway. It was open a couple of days ago.

I plan to get some calibration fluid, but that will take a few days and I'll probably leave the ozone off, at least for a while.

jnfallon
03/15/2008, 11:06 AM
Hi Randy.

I use rc, and 2-3 weeks ago my ORP shot into the 550 range, after being mid 300's for years.

I havent paid it much attention since I dont use ozone and havent calibrated in a long while, but now I'd like to double check everything.

What will you use for calibration fluid?

Justin

Randy Holmes-Farley
03/15/2008, 11:17 AM
Thanks for the info. :)

There are a variety of calibration fluids available. I think I'll get the Pinpoint 400 mV fluid:

http://www.americanmarineusa.com/accessories.html#ORP fluid

FWIW, I had actually swapped back to IO about a week ago with no drop in ORP or in skimmate volume (changing about 2% per day). We'll see if the ozone being off drops the skimmate volume in the next couple of days. Maybe 590 mV was really driving things that resulted in very effective/watery skimmate, as opposed to my earlier hypothesis about the Reef Crystals vitamins.

Boomer
03/15/2008, 11:51 AM
Hmm .....me thinks Randy and others are not listening to old Boom and controlling the ORP with a controller when it comes to O3 :)

We have run it up into the 500- 550 range with nothing dying but some animals seeming stressed. However, I really don't think it got that high.

When Mike Ross hears of people cleaning ORP probes with a tooth brush he starts pulling his hair out :eek2:

Justin

If you do not use ozone or add any oxidizers high ORP is not an issue. High ORP is usually from Algae growing on then probe, due to the release of O2

jnfallon
03/15/2008, 11:53 AM
Randy,

Thanks for the tip. Last time I did it I used quinhydrone. Needless to say, I havent done it in quite a while - that was brutal.

http://www.automatedaquariums.com/tecorpca.htm

:)

Thanks Boomer,

Thats what I figured too. But, I'm by nature a lazy reefer, so every once in a while it's good to actually calibrate/measure. :)

Randy Holmes-Farley
03/15/2008, 11:56 AM
Hmm .....me thinks Randy and others are not listening to old Boom and controlling the ORP with a controller when it comes to O3

Well, before I cleaned the ORP probe, the controlled wouldn't have done squat, would it. :D

FWIW, I was gentle with the tooth brush. :)

FWIW, in 3 hours of no ozone, the ORP is below 300 mV, where it was for years before I started any ozone a couple of years ago, so the probe is probably calibrated OK (at least not reading too high), so I might restart with ozone at a lower level or, dare I say it, using my controller. :D

Pick a target max ORP for me, Boom! :)

jdieck
03/15/2008, 12:14 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12096677#post12096677 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
Hmm .....me thinks Randy and others are not listening to old Boom and controlling the ORP with a controller when it comes to O3

Well, before I cleaned the ORP probe, the controlled wouldn't have done squat, would it. :D

FWIW, I was gentle with the tooth brush. :)

FWIW, in 3 hours of no ozone, the ORP is below 300 mV, where it was for years before I started any ozone a couple of years ago, so the probe is probably calibrated OK (at least not reading too high), so I might restart with ozone at a lower level or, dare I say it, using my controller. :D

Pick a target max ORP for me, Boom! :)

I tops the setpoint at 375 mv. I guess at that level the organics I want the ozone to break up are done.
Big swings with the feeding..
http://67.184.79.120/IISSamples/Default/aqimg3.gif

Boomer
03/15/2008, 12:18 PM
If you cleaned it once a week it would not be an issue, would it :)

Target = 425 mV, because I trust you :). There is no real need to run a tank over 400 mV.

I find it hard to believe the O3 would drop 200 mV in 3 hrs, unless you dumped in crap loads of food or something else to kill it.

Yes Justin, quinhydrone testing is an pain in the ash :lol: Really it only tells you if the ORP probe is OK. Just get the stuff Randy posted for a quick check. One should have both.

Billybeau1
03/15/2008, 12:23 PM
I like 375 as well and is where I keep my tank.

I thought the higher ozone production was driving your skimmer nuts. I've seen it in my setup. :)

Billybeau1
03/15/2008, 12:26 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12096819#post12096819 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Boomer
I find it hard to believe the O3 would drop 200 mV in 3 hrs, unless you dumped in crap loads of food or something else to kill it.

I've seen that myself Boomer. From my experience, it is certainly possible. :)

Randy Holmes-Farley
03/15/2008, 12:38 PM
I've not fed or added anything else in that time, but remember I have lots of refugia filled with all sorts of organic detritus. :D

old95er
03/15/2008, 01:49 PM
Here is my experience with about six months of ozone.

I am running a Ozotech Poseidon. I have a Milwaukee controller.

I set the probe in the sump in between the baffles between the skimmer output and the pump return. Ozone is dosed through the EV180.

I use a luft pump at 100% run through a DI canister filled with dryer beads.

I also have an air flow gauge, and set it so that the flow is 4 scfh, as that is what the Ozotech people told me is the optimum flow rate.
Once a week I dip a qtip in probe cleaning fluid and clean the probe. I notice that effects a 20-30mv drop from algae build up.

I had been running the unit at 100% and set the controller to 425. The probe reads close to that.

For the past week I have been treating with Red Slime Control, so the skimmer and ozone have been off. The probe reading is 298.

Water clarity is incredible. Skimmer, when on, pulls a watery green and smelly liquid.

jdieck
03/15/2008, 04:00 PM
The Highest drop I see is when I add the Chemi Clean ORP drops from the 360/375 all the way down to 150/160 if there is a lot of detritus and recovers in about 6 to 8 hours, On a second treatment within 72 hours the drop is minimal. Don't ask me why or if the chemical afects the probe or not. I would not know.

By the way, I use Quinhydrone. Randy, do you need some? I can spare 25 to 50 grams of it. Enough for several two point calibrations.

Randy Holmes-Farley
03/16/2008, 04:13 AM
Thanks, but I'll probably get some calibration fluid myself soon enough. :)

DrBDC
03/16/2008, 07:04 AM
I've only cleaned in vinegar and while in the vinegar it goes to 550-600 range. Then when returning to the tank, I go down to the low 300's again but quickly gets up mid 300's after an hour or two. That can be with or without ozone turning on. Just seems like the probes are slow to settle in to a true reading and over-react. Just like when feeding, I don't think it truely drops the orp as far as they show, it may just over-react and make it look like 50% larger drop than it really is. ??

I usually clean mine whenever it gets above 400 and I find it settles back in the mid 300's. It also seems that after a couple years I find myself cleaning it every 2-3 weeks now. I'm using the standard grade neptune probe. Probably time to change it so I can go back to a month or more between the cleanings. At first I could go 2 months or more.

Randy Holmes-Farley
03/16/2008, 07:40 AM
Thanks. :)

ORP this morning is 281 mV. the wet skimmate may be a bit less, but I'm going to watch it for at least a couple of more days to see if it decreases substantially before restarting ozone. :)

jdieck
03/16/2008, 12:58 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12101519#post12101519 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
Thanks, but I'll probably get some calibration fluid myself soon enough. :)
:thumbsup:

sjames
03/17/2008, 08:23 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12101941#post12101941 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
Thanks. :)

ORP this morning is 281 mV. the wet skimmate may be a bit less, but I'm going to watch it for at least a couple of more days to see if it decreases substantially before restarting ozone. :)

I think i remember reading somewhere (probably one of your articles :p ) that excessive O3 would decrease skimming by forceing all the charges one way or something similar?

Randy Holmes-Farley
03/17/2008, 09:51 AM
Some folks claim ozone greatly decreases skimming in their tanks. Others claim it increases it. perhaps it does depend on many factors, such as what else is adding and removing organics, and how much ozone and skimming is actually being used.

Today I'd say the skimmate is clearly a smaller volume, but still significant, about 1% of the tank volume in the past 24 h. I want to watch it another day or two before changing anything else. :)

I comment on skimming and ozone here:

Ozone and the Reef Aquarium, Part 1: Chemistry and Biochemistry
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-03/rhf/index.php

from it:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-03/rhf/index.php#11

Oxidation of Organics by Ozone: Skimming and Nutrients



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another result of breaking some organics into smaller, more hydrophilic bits (Figure 3 and 4) is that it often increases their bacterial biodegradability.27-29 Therefore, the ozone may need only to start the degradation process, and bacteria in the aquarium can finish off the organics by uptake and metabolism. Large humic acid molecules, for example, are converted by ozonation into smaller fragments that are more readily taken up and metabolized.29 This process may, in fact, be why some aquarists report drops in nutrient levels after initiating ozone. It is not because ozone directly impacts either nitrate or phosphate (it does not react directly with either), but the newly bioavailable organics may drive bacterial growth, just as adding ethanol (e.g., vodka) or sugar might. The growing bacteria need nitrogen and phosphate, and if they satisfy those needs by taking up nitrate and phosphate, the levels of those nutrients in the water may drop. That effect, however, may be only temporary as the initial burst of new bioavailable organics winds down, and a new stable state is reached with lower levels of organic material and similar levels of inorganic nutrients.

Skimming is a complex process that has many subtleties. The previous sections have discussed how ozonation modifies organic molecules , and we can then extrapolate how those processes impact skimming. Years ago it was widely claimed that ozone use increased skimming, and I claimed then that I didn't see how that could happen directly. Most organic compounds likely to be found in significant quantities in a reef aquarium will become more polar and likely less skimmable after it reacts with ozone. Figure 3, for example, shows how oleic acid (readily skimmed) gets converted into more polar compounds that will not be so readily skimmed as they will not be as strongly attracted to an air water interface.

A small portion of organic molecules in reef aquarium water may become more skimmable if, for example, they become more hydrophobic after reaction with ozone. They may also become more skimmable if they were totally hydrophobic before ozone and were transformed into molecules with polar and nonpolar parts (called amphiphilic) which more readily absorb onto an air water interface and are skimmed out.

Are there other ways that skimming might be increased besides these two processes? I hypothesized in a previous article that it was due to the growth of bacteria (either in the water itself, or bound to surfaces), and possibly also the release of new organic molecules as they grew, that caused the effects some aquarists observed.

It seems as if the tide of opinion has turned, however, and most aquarists now claim that the amount of skimmate is reduced significantly when using ozone. Many claim that the collection of skimmate has nearly stopped in their aquaria when starting ozone. Why the difference compared to past opinion? That's hard to say, and may depend on the types and qualities of the skimmers available now compared to years ago, as well as changes in other husbandry practices. In any case, the overriding experience of many aquarists today is that skimming is reduced, and the presumed reason is that the organics are being made chemically less skimmable by ozone. The remaining organics would then be removed more by bacterial processes than before the initiation of ozone in the same aquarium.

jglackin
03/26/2008, 09:57 PM
Eventually, I will add ozone to my system. I do want to thank you VERY MUCH for your articles on ozone. I found them to be very informative and quite easy to read. It all makes common sense. If you add the ozone to the water, the radical O will help oxidize/break down larger waste particles which will then absorb/reflect less light, thereby making the water appear clearer. Additionally, by breaking the waste down into small particles, they should/could be more readily broken down by the biological systems in the tank and/or there will simply appear to be less skimmate because the skimmer is pulling in smaller particles. Makes sense to me. Maybe it's wrong, but I buy it.

p.s. I am in Singapore and just got back from diving in Komodo. Here are some pics, if you are interested: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1352488&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

Randy Holmes-Farley
03/27/2008, 07:35 AM
Thanks. :) I'll check out the photos!

jglackin
03/27/2008, 03:35 PM
By the way, I have discussed the whole idea of using the skimmer as part of a water exchange system with several people and they are all very interested in the concept. How is this working for you? I am still scheming on how I can pull this off without some major plumbing work, but it may have to wait until I do a new set up in a new home with a basement.

Randy Holmes-Farley
03/28/2008, 07:35 AM
It is working "fine", but is a bit more of a pain for my setup since I do not have my skimmer in a place where I can send the skimmate directly into a drain. I may have to rig something up with a pump when I go on vacation.

Now that I've stabilized my ozone and ORP in the 390-420 mV range, the skimmate is a bit less, about 2.5 gallons per day, but still a pretty large amount. Part of it may be my modification to the skimmer by removing the air inlet adapter to make bigger air inlet holes.