Ozone generator

[Fizzy54]

Hey everyone wanted to know your views on ozone generators.

Are they difficult to use? Safe for your health and your fish? Please share your experience with them if you have ever owned or still use one.

Thanks,

 

[Jekyl]

Hey everyone wanted to know your views on ozone generators.

Are they difficult to use? Safe for your health and your fish? Please share your experience with them if you have ever owned or still use one.

Thanks,

I believe @Lasse uses one in his dream build. Even DiY if memory serves. That would be a good direction for you.

 

[Lasse]

Nope - I use an oxydator. an equipment that´s do nearly the same as an ozon generator but is driven by hydrogen peroxide instead.

In my former aquarium I use a ozone generator and I had a lot of help of it.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Montiman]

I am an ozone user and love it. What specifically do you want to know?

For me I inject ozone into my skimmer and run it 24/7. I use the dial on the generator to dial in a constant low level of ozone and then use my Apex as the back up in case I did something wrong.

I never knew water could be so clear before ozone.

 

[Paul B]

I used it full force for 40 years. My Ozone generator died 4 years ago but when I get ambitious I will get another one.
No, it is not dangerous unless you stick the hose up your nose, so don't do that. Personal exprience

 

[WVNed]

Easy Peasy but you need some stuff to make it work

Careful or you will end up with giant mutant crabs that eat flesh.

 

[Murica]

I have one and absolutely love it. That plus an orp controller and it’s literally set it and forget it.. my water is extremely clear all the time, there’s no odors, and overall the tank looks healthier.

My ozone is in my basement sump room, so I don’t worry about health issues, however depending on your setup that may be something to look a little further into. I’ve heard of people putting bags of carbon on top of their skimmers to prevent ozone from going into the air.

If you set your ozone to a low setting instead of cranking it... granted it may take a little while to get to a desirable level (i run mine at 400 orp), I’d be less concerned with ozone leaching into the air.

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

Super easy with an ORP controller / skimmer and it makes the fish room smell nice.

 

[ca1ore]

What problem are you trying to solve? Haven't personally used one in, well .... a long time. Late 90's probably. Personally found it to be a PITA and mostly unnecessary on a modern reef tank.

 

[Socutemolly]

I am an ozone user and love it. What specifically do you want to know?

For me I inject ozone into my skimmer and run it 24/7. I use the dial on the generator to dial in a constant low level of ozone and then use my Apex as the back up in case I did something wrong.

I never knew water could be so clear before ozone.

Any skimmer can be used with ozone?

 

[WVNed]

Any skimmer can be used with ozone?

No. Ozone degrades some plastics. They usually will say if they are ozone safe.
https://support.coralvue.com/513277-Reef-Octopus-Skimmers-and-Ozone

 

[Montiman]

Technically not any skimmer can be used with ozone but most mainstream not supercheap skimmers work fine. My favorite are becket and venturi skimmers as well as the tunze needle wheel skimmers. Beckets and venturis tend to have designs that allow for more contact time and the tunze DOC skimmers have dedicated ozone injection ports as well as an attachment for carbon post filtration if you want it.

 

[Gtinnel]

Does using Ozone with a skimmer reduce the effectiveness of the skimmer? Also if using an apex can that be used instead of a standalone ORP monitor?

I've been intrigued with ozone generators in the past and I am getting ready to setup an apex so that has me looking at them again.

 

[blasterman]

I Have a small ozone generator and when I run it my skimmer pretty much stopped working.

I fire up the ozone generator once a week to clear the tank of DOCs. I dont run it 24/7. No need.

I've found ozone has xero effect on nuisance algae, cyano, dinos, etc. Does keep water clear though.

 

[Montiman]

You can use an apex as an orp controller provided your model has an orp probe. The Apex EL does not include 1.

Reports go both ways on how ozone affects skimmers. Some say it improves skimming others say it interferes. I personally haven't noticed a big difference but I also only use a small amount of ozone.

 

[Lasse]

No. Ozone degrades some plastics. They usually will say if they are ozone safe.
https://support.coralvue.com/513277-Reef-Octopus-Skimmers-and-Ozone

I´m sorry to say - IME - there is no plastic that withstand ozone in the long run - however some withstand them longer and some not so long time

Sincerely Lasse

 

[WVNed]

I´m sorry to say - IME - there is no plastic that withstand ozone in the long run - however some withstand them longer and some not so long time

Sincerely Lasse

This is certainly true but some plastics fail and crumble in a few months while others last many years. I had to change tubing from vinyl to silicone based in several spots after a few months. It also matters if it is exposed directly to the ozone as a gas or once it has dissolved into water.
CPVC and PVC have excellent ozone resistance.
There is a lot of information on that on websites for commercial ozone usage.
That is why you get Kynar fittings from BRS instead of nylon ones from Home Depot when you make something.

 

[WVNed]

Does using Ozone with a skimmer reduce the effectiveness of the skimmer? Also if using an apex can that be used instead of a standalone ORP monitor?

I've been intrigued with ozone generators in the past and I am getting ready to setup an apex so that has me looking at them again.

Yes it does. That is why I have 2 skimmers in the picture above. The one doing the skimming is upstream of the one injecting ozone in my sump flow.

 

[Gtinnel]

Yes it does. That is why I have 2 skimmers in the picture above. The one doing the skimming is upstream of the one injecting ozone in my sump flow.

I noticed the 2 skimmers and that's why I asked. Well I guess that will probably rule out ozone for me, I currently don't have room for a second skimmer or reactor.

 

[WVNed]

I noticed the 2 skimmers and that's why I asked. Well I guess that will probably rule out ozone for me, I currently don't have room for a second skimmer or reactor.

I have 2 because I thought mine wasn't working good so I bought a new one.
The papers that came with the new one tell you that ozone will make the skimmer operate poorly.

So I put the original skimmer back in. It works fine.

The internet is great but you get opposite answers to everything. I am learning by doing it.