I stopped baking beads long ago, and instead just throw away the silica beads I use. I only use them for 2 - 4 weeks depending on the humidity level of the air I am drawing in, then dispose of them.
I am sure anyone who has used the regenerating silica is thinking this is a waste, but I switched to silica cat litter, as it is pretty well the same material, and for $3 a 5# bag, every bag lasts 6 months +.
They do color change from white to a cream color when they are getting saturated, also I can tell by the make up and consistency of the bubbles in the reaction chamber of the skimmer.

FYI for a cheap alternative.

Something else to consider is that maybe a skimmer isn't the best place to be injecting ozone.

I thought of that too, and have read all about ozone reactors.

IMO s big skimmer is a much better reaction chamber then a relatively small ozone reactor.

I suppose if your skimmer is a recirc style it increases the contact time.

How come you weren't happy with the Red Sea ozonizer? I have one (not using it yet), it seems kinda basic but it seems like it should work?

It works, just not great anymore. It keeps my ORP at 330.

I wouldn't sell it to somebody that has a large tank, but somebody with a 55 or 90 would benefit for hopefully a few years from a little ozone.

My skimmer's (which is not recirc) reaction chamber is 8 inches by 36 inches. Much bigger then anything I want to get for dedicated ozone use.

I guess. My ozone reactor is 24" tall, 7" in diameter. But it could be much more then just size. A protein skimmer injects ozone into a column of water/bubbles. An ozone reactor injects/disperses drips of water into a column of ozone gas. According to dudes like Randy Holmes-Farley on RC that's the best way to get ozone to do its stuff. I'm not suggesting I'm right, just something to consider.

I considered it (also talked to SWC about it) and don't think it is really worth it, even if with a large reactor it is worth it.

If you have one I will definitely take a look at how it works for you. One of these days we are going to have to check out each others systems.

PM ed ya on ozone Ben

Weird stuff I find out, really weird!

I have always heard this fairly loud snapping sound, kinda like a snap of the jaws or pincers of something.

I only heard it at night with the tank lights out, but never saw any missing fish or tell-tale signs of a Mantis shrimp.


Well, yesterday I am watching the tank mid afternoon, and I hear the noise again, I look up and see the female clown (5+ years old, and 3 inches long) snapping her jaws on what seems to be some sort of food, but I am too late to see exactly what it was. Definitely the same noise, I always was sometimes suspect of my plumbing, my 4-way or something, but I could never pin-point it.

Ever heard of something like that before?

Ben, My pair of Cinnamon clowns use to make a clicking noise. It was almost a chatter type sound.