Problems with my Aquazone.

[Luis A M]

I recently put to use my Aquazone plus 100 in my 200 gal broodstock system.
As a reactor,I am using my old Berlin skimmer,which seems a good choice as all the air and water leaving it can be passed thru carbon.
Only that trying to improve my skimmer like the new model,I removed the Venturi and connected it to an Octopus turbo pump,with a special propeller that aspirates air and works it in a very fine mix.
Everything seemed to work fine and the pump sucked air thru the Aquazone and the dessicant chamber and started to foam.
But when I tried to force more air into the system via an air pump connected to the dryer chamber,the pump stop to mix air completely,which escaped as large bubbles thru the pump intake.So I removed it and let it work with passive aspiration.
My system is in the 200-220 mV range,the water is yellow and I feed the fish often,so I imagine a heavy organics load.I set the ozonizer to 300 mV and delivering 100 mh/hr.
There was a lot of skimmate produced but the ORP didn´t improve a bit.I turned both controls to maximum and it still doesn´t rise.
I am lost here,because don´t know what is going wrong.

Malfunction of the ozonizer or the electrode is unlikely as both are new and the control panel and the red light seem to work fine.

Perhaps air must be actively pumped into the Aquazone for proper function?

Or the organics load of the system is so high that at 100 mg/hr it will take a long time before the ORP rises?

How can I find out if ozone is really produced?.Placing the probe into the skimmer?.Testing the reactor water with OTO reactive?.

Thanks for your assistance:)

[Steven Pro]

For starters, dosing ozone into a needle wheel pump is very likely to destroy the needlewheel impeller and pump. Ozone is really best used with a venturi or air-driven skimmer.

As to the ORP rising or not yet, it is going to take sometime. How long has it been running for?

[Luis A M]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13800836#post13800836 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Steven Pro
For starters, dosing ozone into a needle wheel pump is very likely to destroy the needlewheel impeller and pump. Ozone is really best used with a venturi or air-driven skimmer.

As to the ORP rising or not yet, it is going to take sometime. How long has it been running for?

Thanks Steve:) This makes sense.But then the Berlin X2 comes standard with a needle pump or a venturi.So the first one is not fit for ozone use or should it be injected somewhere after the pump?.

So I disconected the ozone from the pump air intake and I am now pumping air from the Aquazone thru the existing air intake for the venturi (which I removed).Though this produces some coarse bubbles in the skimmer´s inner tube,things work overall well,I can now actively pump air into the Aquazone and the pump is not subjected to ozone.

Only that ORP remains low,it went even lower,to 180 mV and plugging-unplugging the ozonizer,or placing the probe at the skimmer´s outlet or right inside it,doesn´t change a thing.
The system has been running for 10 days now.

So I must face that the Aquazone is not producing ozone.Again,how can I confirm that and what could I do about it?.

[Steven Pro]

We make the X2 in a venturi version specifically for ozone injection. The needlewheel X2 is more efficient. It makes more, smaller bubbles, but should not be used for ozone because of potential damage to the pump and impeller.

Do you have a residual ozone test kit? The easiest way to test if it is working is to pump air from the ozone generator into a little cup of tank water for a few minutes and then check that water sample for ozone.

[Luis A M]

Thanks Steve.A LFS owner came with an unsafe,yet definite test:to put the ozone airline next to your nose and smell for ozone.I did it and couldn´t smell nothing.Now I know that my brand new aquazone plus 100 is not producing ozone.Which means I am in "deep sea":rolleyes:

[Steven Pro]

Yeah, a lot of people like to go with the sniff test, but I don't feel comfortable using it.

As to your unit, it is warranteed for one year from date of purchase.

[Luis A M]

Actually I bought the unit more than a year ago,but kept it unpacked in my fish room (moisture damage?).I don´t claim a warranty,just liked to have it fixed.Thing is that being here makes sending it to USA or Israel round trip complicated.I will contact RS cust.serv.
Thanks for your help.

[Steven Pro]

We don't have a repair shop in the US. All repairs have to go back to Israel.