LF Ozone Reactor GVRD

reefwithareefer · #1 12-18-2014, 03:59 AM

Anyone have an ozone reactor for sale?

gregzz4 · #2 12-18-2014, 04:09 AM

Do you really wanna use one ?

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-03/rhf/index.php

reefwithareefer · #3 12-18-2014, 04:21 AM

No, not really, just wanted to put one up on the xmas tree.....haha

I have spent 3 weeks researching ozones pros and cons and yes, I really want one, but thanks for the info.

Excerpt from Randys info, which by the way is fairly old. The negative aspects is why I want the reactor, to limit the hazards

Conclusion
Ozone has many effects when used in a reef aquarium. The most useful of these is the degradation of organic materials. Most importantly, and quite coincidently and fortunately for aquarists, the colored organic pigments in marine aquaria are very sensitive to ozone. For this reason, ozone can remove seawater's color quite readily, and much more effectively than it removes the overall load of organic material. Its effects on water clarity described by most aquarists range from minimal to very dramatic, with most aquarists reporting significant beneficial effects.

Another big effect of ozone is the bioavailability of the organics in the water. Many organics in the aquarium are not readily metabolized by bacteria, and such materials may last for hundreds or thousands of years in the ocean. Ozone, however, has the ability to make many organic materials more readily absorbed and metabolized by bacteria. So in a sense, ozone triggers a bacterial attack that can reduce the load of circulating organic materials. This reduction in organic materials may also usefully apply to circulating toxins released by the aquarium inhabitants in an effort to kill each other with chemicals.

Ozone and its byproducts can, in high enough doses, kill many pathogens. The levels of ozone encountered in reef aquaria, however, may be inadequate to have any significant effect on total bacterial populations. Viruses are more susceptible than bacteria to ozone, and they may be effectively inactivated by typical use. Larger pathogens and parasites are much harder to kill and are not likely to be killed by ozone in reef aquaria.

Ozone also has a dark side. When reacted with seawater, ozone produces a variety of highly oxidized halogens such as BrOH and BrO3-. If the ozone produced oxidants are not largely removed with activated carbon, they may enter the aquarium and be hazards to the most sensitive organisms in the aquarium (which are likely eggs or early stage larvae).

Finally, ozone alters a variety of other inorganic materials in ways that may or may not be important. It alters the aquarium's redox balance, raising the ORP (which may mean as little as altering the ratios of different forms of manganese in solution). It may permit more rapid conversion of ferrous ion to ferric ion, and may increase its bioavailability, but perhaps decrease the lifetime of strongly complexed iron such as EDTA iron. Ozone also oxidizes ammonia to nitrate. While that is likely beneficial, it may alter the relative effectiveness of different nitrogen export pathways (macroalgae vs. denitrification, for example). It may drive the speciation of iodine toward iodate and away from iodide. Is that good or bad? I expect neither, although others have different opinions, but it is a good poster child for the many things that happen in reef aquaria when using ozone that normally take place without any notice or recognition of them by the aquarist.

So with all things considered, is the use of ozone in a reef aquarium worthwhile? Many aquarists answer with a resounding, "Yes!" I'll leave that question unanswered until additional information is detailed in the next two articles discussing what equipment and methods are most useful for applying ozone to aquaria, and reporting on what impact it had in my aquarium.

Until then,

Happy Reefing!