Ozone worth it?

[GARRIGA]

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

Buying some HP today. Test strips arriving on Monday. Also getting some UV resistant dropper bottles so I can easily administer it daily. Test tank only 16 gallons of tank volume therefore at 1ml per ten gallons much easier to just add 30 drops. Want to see how my fish, Pom Pom macroalgae and GHA react. No corals in the tank. Try pushing the dosage to stress test it. Only way to find out. Also curious how it interacts with Dinos and Cyno which I just resolved but might pop up again.

Goal is main tank to be automated based on dosing what's needed and making it as equipment light as possible. I'll gladly pay more in GAC vs the addition of Ozone if GAC/HP can handle most of my needs.

I'm also going to monitor ammonia. Reef Dudes did a live event with a reefer who used 34% HP to help resolve Uronima acquired through addition of Chromis and Biome testing revealed his bacteria population wasn't damaged which goes against my findings.

In addition, I had asked about using bleach to steralize a QT holding tank and HP was mentioned. At higher dosages such as 35% this might be a solution. Found a source where they use that to resolve ecoli from source water. Obviously all this needs to be done cautiously but it does seem this old remedy might have several advantages for reefing and might also solve my need to bypass RODI when filling my main tank as I might be able to get away with using ultra-filtration along with HP to sterilize the display water then test what metals entered and find a solution, if needed. Later add salt. Not looking forward to producing 400 possible gallons or having a truck show up which would be my only other alternative.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

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

Generally, yes, as long as the ozone added is not oversized for the tank.

Thanks for the kind words!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

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.

It appears that hydrogen peroxide reduces copper II to copper I in seawater, while ozone cannot do that. So there are chemical differences.

 

[GARRIGA]

It appears that hydrogen peroxide reduces copper II to copper I in seawater, while ozone cannot do that. So there are chemical differences.

What are the implications to keeping corals or other life in a reef tank? Assuming the only copper present at levels naturally found in sea water or does it have an adverse affect for those who use copper treatment? I have no plans of using latter.

 

[Ironwill723]

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!

I don't believe there is a US distributor anymore. You can order direct from that website though. Also, AquaMedic rebrands these and sells them as well.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

What are the implications to keeping corals or other life in a reef tank? Assuming the only copper present at levels naturally found in sea water or does it have an adverse affect for those who use copper treatment? I have no plans of using latter.

I'm not making the claim it is a problem (or a benefit), I'm just noting that hydrogen peroxide and ozone can do very different things chemically when added to reef tank water.

 

[GARRIGA]

I'm not making the claim it is a problem (or a benefit), I'm just noting that hydrogen peroxide and ozone can do very different things chemically when added to reef tank water.

Randy,

If I wanted to maximize the effectiveness of HP to react on detritus then would I introduce it before UV so that splits the bond and creates a free radical thereby having immediate contact with those organics causing decomposition quickly before entry back to the display. Researching the use of both ozone and HP with UV and it seems rather confusing because on the one hand exposure to light decomposes HP and why store brands in brown bottle and once opened their shelf life diminishes quicker. I'm assuming decomposition meaning it splits the bond causing the free radical being my best guess and grasp of this subject matter.

I'm seeking a solution to capture detritus and accelerating it's decomposition including possibly the eventual mulm that might linger for decades while minimizing it's affect on the display. I can additionally dose the display for algae treatment or dose enough that residual from the trapped and process detritus makes into the display. Have ordered low range strips to test the life of HP on my test tank and testing both store brands which have stabilizers as well as food grade.

BTW, notice the store brand with stabilizers are being used in this hobby as well as with planted aquariums in FW. Are you aware of any concerns with using those? Humblefish has a video on dipping fish with HP as well as recommendations for dosing the tank to treat algae and potentially pathogens using store bought options.

Still researching this but perhaps you'd have a grasp on what these stabilizers might be. The manufacturer doesn't provide ingredients because it's marketed as a topical solution thereby regulations don't require it. Seems there's a wide gamut of stabilizers and not sure how a reef tank or any other tank would process or accumulate these stabilizers. Food grade is crazy expensive compared to store bought.

Seems HP dosing been around a decade plus yet oddly something I've only recently became aware of or perhaps never appreciated an actual application for it and I just ignored it.

 

[GARRIGA]

This is where I got the idea about introducing HP before UV. Still trying to figure this all out and perhaps offers an option for those considering an alternative to ozone accepting the fact they don’t both do the same thing yet might either compliment each other or for some offer the only solution needed.

 

[EduardoBoy]

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.

Hello! Could you tell me how many days a week you use the ozone? Another question I have is if you have measured the PH when the Ozone is in operation, do you see a drop in PH? greetings!!!!

 

[carbasaurus]

I ran ozone for about a year in a multi-pronged effort to defeat dinoflagellates. Can’t say if it was the ozone that worked as I did multiple interventions but the Dino’s eventually went away. The tank was crystal clear and the livestock tolerated it. I eventually stopped to simplify the system. I’m mixed in my overall opinion but I think it’s a good way to great rid of free swimming pathogens if you have them

 

[Murica]

Hello! Could you tell me how many days a week you use the ozone? Another question I have is if you have measured the PH when the Ozone is in operation, do you see a drop in PH? greetings!!!!

Hello!
I ran it 24/7 but at a very low level. Also, I could be wrong but I don’t think ozone affects pH at all. Nonetheless I never noticed my pH levels change

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Randy,

If I wanted to maximize the effectiveness of HP to react on detritus then would I introduce it before UV so that splits the bond and creates a free radical thereby having immediate contact with those organics causing decomposition quickly before entry back to the display. Researching the use of both ozone and HP with UV and it seems rather confusing because on the one hand exposure to light decomposes HP and why store brands in brown bottle and once opened their shelf life diminishes quicker. I'm assuming decomposition meaning it splits the bond causing the free radical being my best guess and grasp of this subject matter.

I'm seeking a solution to capture detritus and accelerating it's decomposition including possibly the eventual mulm that might linger for decades while minimizing it's affect on the display. I can additionally dose the display for algae treatment or dose enough that residual from the trapped and process detritus makes into the display. Have ordered low range strips to test the life of HP on my test tank and testing both store brands which have stabilizers as well as food grade.

BTW, notice the store brand with stabilizers are being used in this hobby as well as with planted aquariums in FW. Are you aware of any concerns with using those? Humblefish has a video on dipping fish with HP as well as recommendations for dosing the tank to treat algae and potentially pathogens using store bought options.

Still researching this but perhaps you'd have a grasp on what these stabilizers might be. The manufacturer doesn't provide ingredients because it's marketed as a topical solution thereby regulations don't require it. Seems there's a wide gamut of stabilizers and not sure how a reef tank or any other tank would process or accumulate these stabilizers. Food grade is crazy expensive compared to store bought.

Seems HP dosing been around a decade plus yet oddly something I've only recently became aware of or perhaps never appreciated an actual application for it and I just ignored it.

IMO, it depends on what you mean by detritus.

The UV will drive the production of radicals faster, but they do not last very long, and if the detritus is not in the UV chamber, but rather elsewhere in the tank, the UV may actually reduce the degradation of that remote detritus by hydrogen peroxide.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Hello! Could you tell me how many days a week you use the ozone? Another question I have is if you have measured the PH when the Ozone is in operation, do you see a drop in PH? greetings!!!!

Ozone should not have any significant pH effects.

 

[GARRIGA]

IMO, it depends on what you mean by detritus.

The UV will drive the production of radicals faster, but they do not last very long, and if the detritus is not in the UV chamber, but rather elsewhere in the tank, the UV may actually reduce the degradation of that remote detritus by hydrogen peroxide.

If I understood correctly then the UV acts like carbon to ozone by decomposing/remove remaining hydrogen peroxide before it enters the display. How much HP added can be calculated by testing the effluent of the UV? Is that right?