Why is ozone good?

[rioratholenm]

Does anyone know if theres a downside to using ozone in a skimmer. I heard that it makes your skimmer pull out more gunk. If it does make a good deference in water quality i would like to know what should i buy. i am going to hook it up to a Coralife Superskimmer 220 on a 55 gal. whats your opinion.

[samsfishnchips]

rioratholenm,

I don't know if your post count says anything about your experience in the hobby or not

but with anything new I would first research it and make an informal decision, not just go by people's opinion, which can be very bias ;)

here is an excellent long thread that should give you good info on it

Thumbs up for Ozone! (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=770106)

second there are many ways to go about it, few pointers

A.
coralife - junk units
red sea - seem a few bad units - has control knot
enaly - cheap powerful unit-ebay- 200mg - no control knot
Sander - seems to be the best quality - unit - but pricey

B.
them you need to have a air filter with moisture removing bids, so that the unit works at optimum performance, and the unit stays clean thus not producing nitric acid, which studies have shown
harmful to aquatic life even in low concentrations due to its acid nature

C.
them you should post carbon treat the water to make sure is clean and no bad chemicals made by the reactions reach your livestock

D.
them you need to post carbon the air output so the people close to the tank are not harm

E.
make sure the skimmer is ozone safe, ozone is a very powerful oxidant.

F.
a controller is always a good idea, so you can dial in your preferable ORP 350-420

so now that thats out of the way :D

Why is ozone good?

Ozone is good in my opinion,

1. because in low dosages improves the performance of my skimmer,

2. makes the water crystal clear, fish look like they are swimming in air,

3. it makes me feel that bacterial are keep under control, any that enter the skimmer are eliminated, similarly like a UV

another example where ozone is used and why

only 5 grams/hour is enough to clear the water on a 120,000 gallon shark tank when injected into a protein skimmer, 1gram/hour will clear a heavily loaded ray bay touch/feed tank.
statement by Justjoe, Curator/ CoFounder, Atlantis Marine World

research and good luck,

sam

[Roland Jacques]

Very good question!!! I’m still trying to figure out why so many hobbyists use it. It seems to me the cons outweigh the pros every time I look at the use of ozone in most hobbyists Aquariums. Large public aquariums that set it up right and monitor it, it is a great tool. But in a private aquarium it is something else that can go wrong and it can go very wrong.

The facts as I no them. Cons

Ozone makes your skimmer produce LESS (every time i've tested it) skimmate and pull out less organics.

It virtually cooks everything it comes in contact with. That is good for neutralizing parasites and chemicals put out from your corals also it raise your ORP (the ability for water to hold oxygen). But not for the food sources and additives you want in your water not good.

If not use properly it can hurt your critters or you

[rioratholenm]

thanks i guess ill stay away from ozone for now!!!!!