Ozone discussion.

[Heres_doe_]

Anyone run ozone on bigger tanks 125+? Huge difference in water clarity? How about algae growth on glass? Also would it breakdown things so quick that you need to watch nutrients going low? What about effect on trace elements especially the ones being dosed? What about tank water smell?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

My tank was a 120. Water was clearer, and that’s about all most folks see. It’s not really expected to do anything for nutrients or algae. I did not monitor trace elements. It likely changes the form to more oxidized chemical states.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

my water never had a negative smell.

 

[Heres_doe_]

My tank was a 120. Water was clearer, and that’s about all most folks see. It’s not really expected to do anything for nutrients or algae. I did not monitor trace elements. It likely changes the form to more oxidized chemical states.

Appreciate you. Was the water a drastic clearer or just clearer

 

[rishma]

I used ozone many years ago in a skimmer. I believe the skimmer worked better with it, though skimmers (I could afford) were not as good in those days so I’m not sure if the same thing would be noticeable with modern equipment. I actually don’t know if there is a reason it made the skimmer work better, but I certainly believed it.

If the main benefit is clearer water, do we get that and more with just using carbon?

Ozone seems to be gaining popularity again. This should be an interesting thread.

 

[slingfox]

I use a Poseidon ozone generator on my 140 gallon. It definitely makes the water clearer. I don't notice any material change in algae growth.

 

[Heres_doe_]

I used ozone many years ago in a skimmer. I believe the skimmer worked better with it, though skimmers (I could afford) were not as good in those days so I’m not sure if the same thing would be noticeable with modern equipment. I actually don’t know if there is a reason it made the skimmer work better, but I certainly believed it.

If the main benefit is clearer water, do we get that and more with just using carbon?

Ozone seems to be gaining popularity again. This should be an interesting thread.

I think carbon is linked to hlle especially in tangs. I rarely use carbon tanks been running about 7 months or so and I’ve ran it 2 times. Helps clear up water but I think ozone will push it further and won’t have the same issues.

 

[Heres_doe_]

I use a Poseidon ozone generator on my 140 gallon. It definitely makes the water clearer. I don't notice any material change in algae growth.

How much clearer like very noticeable or you have to look hard to notice. I haven’t seen one in person so I haven’t bought one yet.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

My water is like gin. In my opinion it’s a lot more effective than carbon and the clarity is constant unlike carbon where it will rise and fall as the carbon is used up.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Appreciate you. Was the water a drastic clearer or just clearer

Ozone and the Reef Aquarium, Part 1: Chemistry and Biochemistry by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

Ozone and the Reef Aquarium, Part 2: Equipment and Safety by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

Ozone and the Reef Aquarium, Part 3: Changes in a Reef Aquarium upon Initiating Ozone by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

From the third one:

Figure 1. Two digital photographs of a plastic bar taken through four feet of aquarium water. The bar on the left was taken before using ozone, and the bar on the right was taken after two weeks on ozone. The numbers were written onto the bar with marking pens. All camera settings were identical.​

 

[slingfox]

How much clearer like very noticeable or you have to look hard to notice. I haven’t seen one in person so I haven’t bought one yet.

I would say the clarity improvement is very noticeable. Take out some of your tank water and put it into a white bucket. You will almost certainly see a yellow tinge to the water. With ozone that yellowing is significantly reduced. I have a 5 ft wide tank and I can stand on one side and see very clearly to the other side now. 100% recommend. With a quality unit there is not much maintenance or upkeep needed either. I suppose you can get similar results with carbon but I did not want to add another task to weekly tank maintenance. Also, carbon likely interacts with other things in the water.

 

[rishma]

I would say the clarity improvement is very noticeable. Take out some of your tank water and put it into a white bucket. You will almost certainly see a yellow tinge to the water. With one that yellowing is significantly reduced. I have a 5 ft wide tank and I can stand on one side and see very clearly to the other side now. 100% recommend. With a quality unit there is not much maintenance or upkeep needed either. I suppose you can get similar results with carbon but I did not want to add another tank to weekly tank maintenance. Also, carbon likely interacts with other things in the water.

Fair point. I don’t know all the things carbon removes. Some of it is probably stuff I’d rather not remove. But I don’t really know all the things ozone interacts with either. I think for a large tank, it makes a lot of sense. Water clarity is really noticeable.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Fair point. I don’t know all the things carbon removes. Some of it is probably stuff I’d rather not remove. But I don’t really know all the things ozone interacts with either. I think for a large tank, it makes a lot of sense. Water clarity is really noticeable.

Both ozone and GAC will impact trace elements and organics, though in different ways. Those are legit concerns, but I do not know if they are problems.