Ozone worth it?

[Murica]

I’ve used ozone for years and love it, however…

Regardless if I use the air drier, the corona discharge cell always dies/clogs at around 1 year causing me to spend around 100 bucks for a new one. I’m curious whether the benefits of ozone outweigh the benefits of GAC enough to make the yearly expenses worth it. Opinions?

 

[Dan_P]

I’ve used ozone for years and love it, however…

Regardless if I use the air drier, the corona discharge cell always dies/clogs at around 1 year causing me to spend around 100 bucks for a new one. I’m curious whether the benefits of ozone outweigh the benefits of GAC enough to make the yearly expenses worth it. Opinions?

“How many successful aquarists use ozone” might be another perspective. Maybe consider skipping regular ozone use unless there is a very specific need for it.

 

[Murica]

“How many successful aquarists use ozone” might be another perspective. Maybe consider skipping regular ozone use unless there is a very specific need for it.

Good point, thank you for that. Plenty of successful reefers dont use it. The biggest reason I did, in addition to water clarity was to keep the odor down. However, without ozone it’s not really that bad either.

 

[CasperOe]

I use it- I do however use a unit where I can not change the Corona discharge.

So far, it's been running for two years with no issues two hours every night.

Better with or without? Well, I swear by it. Anything but anecdotal evidence? Sadly, no...

 

[Ironwill723]

I’ve used ozone for years and love it, however…

Regardless if I use the air drier, the corona discharge cell always dies/clogs at around 1 year causing me to spend around 100 bucks for a new one. I’m curious whether the benefits of ozone outweigh the benefits of GAC enough to make the yearly expenses worth it. Opinions?

Have you tried flushing the cell with isopropyl alcohol? That will help clean out the buildup of nitric acid inside.

 

[Murica]

I use it- I do however use a unit where I can not change the Corona discharge.

So far, it's been running for two years with no issues two hours every night.

Better with or without? Well, I swear by it. Anything but anecdotal evidence? Sadly, no...

What unit do you use? I use ozotech

 

[Murica]

Have you tried flushing the cell with isopropyl alcohol? That will help clean out the buildup of nitric acid inside.

No i haven’t. If i decide to keep ozone I’ll have to definitely give that a try. Thanks for the tip

 

[Ironwill723]

Ozotech units are okay. I've used a bunch of different models. If you want a lower maintenance brand the Sander units use a metal plate you can wipe down instead of the CD cell found in the Ozotech brands.

Sander Ozonizer Certizon Model C200 - Sewatec A.E.

An Ozonizer

www.sewatec.com

 

[danreef55]

I have been out of the hobby for 10 years so I am trying to get up to snuff.
Are you utilizing ORP probes to determine levels to trigger the ozone unit to come on
or
Are you just running it a few hours per day?
thanks for any input

 

[GARRIGA]

Decided to not use ozone in the 90s because I knew little of it and seems more hazardous than I was willing to risk. Fast forward to today and I started leaning that way but now contemplating the use of hydrogen peroxide in place of ozone. You'd think the latter would provide the same benefits under the convenience of dosing vs another contraption taking space, maintenance and my still existing hazardous concerns.

Wouldn't dosing HP into a reactor then filtered by GAC not serve some of the same benefits assuming an appropriate amount of GAC can be used to accelerate decomposition of the HP? HP easy enough to reasonably measure with test strips therefore one could start with small dosages and adjust from there.

 

[danreef55]

From the ozonetech description on BRS

 

[Patx]

I have been out of the hobby for 10 years so I am trying to get up to snuff.
Are you utilizing ORP probes to determine levels to trigger the ozone unit to come on
or
Are you just running it a few hours per day?
thanks for any input

I don't use ozone but...
Have yoou see those video ?

 

[danreef55]

Patx,
thanks so much. I just watched both videos. AWESOME info!

 

[Murica]

I have been out of the hobby for 10 years so I am trying to get up to snuff.
Are you utilizing ORP probes to determine levels to trigger the ozone unit to come on
or
Are you just running it a few hours per day?
thanks for any input

I keep mine on at a very low level and run it all day, but other run it intermittently. I have a probe but to be honest, mine runs so low I rarely check it

 

[Murica]

Decided to not use ozone in the 90s because I knew little of it and seems more hazardous than I was willing to risk. Fast forward to today and I started leaning that way but now contemplating the use of hydrogen peroxide in place of ozone. You'd think the latter would provide the same benefits under the convenience of dosing vs another contraption taking space, maintenance and my still existing hazardous concerns.

Wouldn't dosing HP into a reactor then filtered by GAC not serve some of the same benefits assuming an appropriate amount of GAC can be used to accelerate decomposition of the HP? HP easy enough to reasonably measure with test strips therefore one could start with small dosages and adjust from there.

I’m a big fan of the set it and forget it model. Sounds like a good idea but I think either ozone or GAC is right for me, but I can certainly see the benefit of HP

 

[Murica]

Ozotech units are okay. I've used a bunch of different models. If you want a lower maintenance brand the Sander units use a metal plate you can wipe down instead of the CD cell found in the Ozotech brands.

Sander Ozonizer Certizon Model C200 - Sewatec A.E.

An Ozonizer

www.sewatec.com

I’m definitely going to look into this, do you know if there’s a retailer in the US? Everything I’ve seen so far is outside the states

Looks like they have worldwide shipping though!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Wouldn't dosing HP into a reactor then filtered by GAC not serve some of the same benefits assuming an appropriate amount of GAC can be used to accelerate decomposition of the HP? HP easy enough to reasonably measure with test strips therefore one could start with small dosages and adjust from there.

Different things happen.

They might accomplish some of the same results, but others are clearly different.

Hydrogen peroxide reduces ORP, for example, since it can act as both a reducing agent and an oxidizing agent in seawater. Ozone can only raise ORP.

 

[danreef55]

Hi Randy,
Is it safe to run a low dose of ozone a few hours a day without a probe?
This seems contrary to good practice. I have used ozone in the past but it was always to remediate a situation.
I wish to thank you for contributions to this site. YOU ARE AWESOME!
All the best
Dan

 

[CasperOe]

What unit do you use? I use ozotech

Mine is an AquaMedic. Would like yours but they dont sell here in the UK.

 

[GARRIGA]

Different things happen.

They might accomplish some of the same results, but others are clearly different.

Hydrogen peroxide reduces ORP, for example, since it can act as both a reducing agent and an oxidizing agent in seawater. Ozone can only raise ORP.

Thought I read where this was raised as point that perhaps ORP is reduced because it's decomposing organics. Could that be the issue and wouldn't that be resolved via natural nitrification?

I'm assuming that combining HP with GAC removes the yellowing of the water and the HP might reduce the organic build up on the GAC making it last longer. I'm still learning about both therefore all theory seeking knowledge vs expressing facts.