Skimmer Ozone on the cheap

[G Santana]

Years ago I had an ozone generator on my skimmer and loved how it improved the skimmers production and how it cleared the yellowing tannins/detritus in the water column so I started looking around knowing that I was in for sticker shock.
I ran across a vid from Reef Dudes and was surprised at how inexpensive the unit he was using was, further searching led me to one if his followers who was using an inexpensive air dryer. Now both of these vids were 5 years old and I thought they would be either out of stock or too expensive now,
They weren't.
I bought the Ozone generator for $55, a 200mg per hour unit and the air dryer for $34. So for under $100 I got both.
Now I have to build a plexiglass bracket to hold both that I can hang on the rim of my sump.
Remember, if you are going to use Ozone, do your homework first, your skimmer and airlines should be rated for Ozone and if you are going to use it long term it's best to have an ORP controller. Better safe than sorry.
I love it when you can find a bargain in this hobby. Both can be found on Amazon.

 

[MnFish1]

Years ago I had an ozone generator on my skimmer and loved how it improved the skimmers production and how it cleared the yellowing tannins/detritus in the water column so I started looking around knowing that I was in for sticker shock.
I ran across a vid from Reef Dudes and was surprised at how inexpensive the unit he was using was, further searching led me to one if his followers who was using an inexpensive air dryer. Now both of these vids were 5 years old and I thought they would be either out of stock or too expensive now,
They weren't.
I bought the Ozone generator for $55, a 200mg per hour unit and the air dryer for $34. So for under $100 I got both.
Now I have to build a plexiglass bracket to hold both that I can hang on the rim of my sump.
Remember, if you are going to use Ozone, do your homework first, your skimmer and airlines should be rated for Ozone and if you are going to use it long term it's best to have an ORP controller. Better safe than sorry.
I love it when you can find a bargain in this hobby. Both can be found on Amazon.

I have always had a problem using UV and Ozone. I didn't see any difference - and only problems. Everyone has a different experience. I don't want another thing to 'maintain' unless it's doing something. What exactly is Ozone doing? removing the color from the tank - I use Chemipure.

 

[G Santana]

I have always had a problem using UV and Ozone. I didn't see any difference - and only problems. Everyone has a different experience. I don't want another thing to 'maintain' unless it's doing something. What exactly is Ozone doing? removing the color from the tank - I use Chemipure.

I bought a UV made for ponds dirt cheap and It worked for when I had an algae bloom and worked well, I run it often it helps with the tank clarity but not 100%.
I remember (32 yrs ago) that my Ozone reactor helped considerably. Now my tank now is fairly clear, I am so on top of my maintenance that it borders manic lol but I'd like to get the water as pristine as I can as it helps with par and helps with overall tank quality.
If it works like I remember it did then my investment is minimal and hopefully it lasts a long time before I have to put more money into it. We will see.

 

[MnFish1]

I bought a UV made for ponds dirt cheap and It worked for when I had an algae bloom and worked well, I run it often it helps with the tank clarity but not 100%.
I remember (32 yrs ago) that my Ozone reactor helped considerably. Now my tank now is fairly clear, I am so on top of my maintenance that it borders manic lol but I'd like to get the water as pristine as I can as it helps with par and helps with overall tank quality.
If it works like I remember it did then my investment is minimal and hopefully it lasts a long time before I have to put more money into it. We will see.

my tank. without testing or anything - is clear - So - its impossible to take thee things into acconut - either mine nor yours

 

[Kalinina]

Any updates? Have you tried out the set up?

 

[G Santana]

Any updates? Have you tried out the set up?

Actually no, my redox is over 370 and I don't want it to sky rocket by pushing the ozone. It does dip under 350 after I clean the bottom of the bare bottom and I will do that this week and then I'll use the ozone. Kind of stoked.
I'll let you know what happens!!!

 

[G Santana]

This is was what i made to hold the unit off of the side of my sump.

 

[Kalinina]

This was i made to hold the unit off of the side of my sump.

That looks great!!! Very clean! I ordered those two products from Amazon because of this thread. I’ll let you know how it goes over here as well!

 

[o2manyfish]

You can find a variety of these types of ozonizers for little money. Most are just a sparkplug inside a tube. Keep an eye on them. They work great. But not for very long. They are designed to use for a few minutes to pump ozone into a bag to store fruit and quick little things like this. You might get as much as a year out of these units, but depending on the manufacturer running them for aquarium use you may only get a few months.

They seem like a deal, but if you are serious about using ozone long term invest in an Ozotech and be done with thinking about the unit for years and years.

Dave B

 

[Kalinina]

You can find a variety of these types of ozonizers for little money. Most are just a sparkplug inside a tube. Keep an eye on them. They work great. But not for very long. They are designed to use for a few minutes to pump ozone into a bag to store fruit and quick little things like this. You might get as much as a year out of these units, but depending on the manufacturer running them for aquarium use you may only get a few months.

They seem like a deal, but if you are serious about using ozone long term invest in an Ozotech and be done with thinking about the unit for years and years.

Dave B

Good points! I’ve never used ozone, so I’m using the simplistic aspect of both devices to experiment and see how I like it. Right now I have a 7ft tank with a smaller than I’d like sump and the sump is jam packed. I’m going to use a small tunze skimmer that will hang on to the side of the sump and act as the reactor. When I upgrade to the peninsula tank I have in my garage, I’ll plan on a permanent ozone set up if I decide to continue to run it. I will have much more room in the sump and in the stand.

 

[Kalinina]

I have an update of sorts. The tunze intank skimmer is too small, so I probably committed a faux pas with setting the ozone up according to the directions.. which is attaching an air pump to the ozone generator and then attaching the air stone to the end of the tube, which I placed under a bag of media in the skimmer section of my sump. I have a 120 watt UV set up on the return line, so wasn’t worried about ozone getting into the tank. I ran it for 2 hours both nights and the difference is incredible. Last night I bought an elite bubble magus 9 skimmer to replace my current skimmer so I can attach the tube to the intake and make it safer and less ozone in the air for us in the house!!

And will definitely set up a permanent solution in the future with the next tank. Ozone is a game changer for me!

 

[G Santana]

I have an update of sorts. The tunze intank skimmer is too small, so I probably committed a faux pas with setting the ozone up according to the directions.. which is attaching an air pump to the ozone generator and then attaching the air stone to the end of the tube, which I placed under a bag of media in the skimmer section of my sump. I have a 120 watt UV set up on the return line, so wasn’t worried about ozone getting into the tank. I ran it for 2 hours both nights and the difference is incredible. Last night I bought an elite bubble magus 9 skimmer to replace my current skimmer so I can attach the tube to the intake and make it safer and less ozone in the air for us in the house!!

And will definitely set up a permanent solution in the future with the next tank. Ozone is a game changer for me!

I finally set up the ozone. I cleaned the glass and stirred up some sediment and my ORP dropped to 350, this morning my ORP was 414 and the unit was off as I set the controller to shut off at 395.
The biggest difference is that my skimate is much thinner as if the skimmer was skimming whatever it could.
This litte unit did work, let's see what happens over time.

 

[G Santana]

What a difference 4 days makes, my tank is Crystal clear.
I always found it a little dingy looking through the tank from end to end inspite of a skimmer, filter socks and an algae scrubber but today it is as clear as I could have hoped for. It is pretty remarkable!!!
Now some folks will say the same could have been gotten with activated carbon but I will not risk the health of my tangs to find out.
Ozone is as remarkable as I remembered it from 30 plus years ago.
If you're looking for clarity, this might be a good option for you!!!

 

[Suneru]

What a difference 4 days makes, my tank is Crystal clear.
I always found it a little dingy looking through the tank from end to end inspite of a skimmer, filter socks and an algae scrubber but today it is as clear as I could have hoped for. It is pretty remarkable!!!
Now some folks will say the same could have been gotten with activated carbon but I will not risk the health of my tangs to find out.
Ozone is as remarkable as I remembered it from 30 plus years ago.
If you're looking for clarity, this might be a good option for you!!!

It's been almost a year, do you have any updates? I'm looking at the same cheap ozone unit, or the much more expensive Ozotech. Is your unit still working? Do you run it all the time?
Any update would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[djray77]

Any updates?