Ozone vs UV

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Dear friends

Concidering the option of ozone to improve water clarity. Am a little weary of the whole thing and frankly not in the mood to measure redox etc. on another thread @Bobthe reefbuilder gave recommendations tht on 500L 25-40mg O3/hr is safe and does not require monitoring.

So the questions are:

1. Is this a safe guide that will still produce results?
2. Best way to run O3. Straight into skimmer?
3. Recommendations on equipment?
4. Is UV better or similar and worth it given the cost on bulb replacements?

Thanks all
 
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When I started I ran 30mg/h into the skimmer for 15 min 4 times a day. I monitored the water clarity and increased it to 20 min. Ideally yo I want an ozone reactor with a controller. But the simple setup will work fine too if your goal is just water clarity.
 
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I think you need to enaure you dont mix ozone and uv uses, as they do different things for the aquarium in different ways

Here is a extract i used to setup my ozone ans also what it does for an aquarium

What can Ozone do for the Aquarium?
Due to its oxidizing capabilities, ozone can break down harmful waste products produced by fish. In a marine aquarium (or
in a freshwater tank with pH higher than 7.5), ammonia is efficiently oxidized to less harmful nitrite and further to nitrate. This oxidation reaction can also be performed by bacteria in a biological filter however it is advantageous to install an ozonizer as a backup to prevent dangerously high ammonia levels. This backup function is especially important in aquaria with a lot of fish and subsequently a lot of waste.
More complex organic wastes, such as the substances that
turn the water yellow, cannot be removed by biological or mechanical filtration. Ozone however, breaks up their structure, so that the fragments can be cleared up by the filter’s bacteria or through protein skimming. The use of Ozone leads to “Crystal
Clear” water.
Another important property of Ozone is its sterilizing ability. Harmful bacteria and other possible pathogens that float in the water are efficiently killed by ozone. In the sea the amount of floating bacteria is always very low, due to the antiseptic action of natural sea water. In the aquarium however, bacteria that can be harmful to many aquarium inhabitants, find a favorable environment for rapid reproduction. The term “sterilizing” should not be taken too literally. The amount of ozone administered should be just enough to kill only surplus bacteria. Totally sterile water is also harmful, to fish and invertebrates.
Ozone should never be introduced directly to the aquarium water: it must be administered through an isolated chamber like a pressurized ozone reactor or a protein skimmer. A freshwater aquarium can be ozonized by connecting the ozonizer to an air-driven internal filter.

1.3 How much Ozone should be used?
The ideal dosage will vary for each aquarium. The right dosage of ozone is dependent on a number of factors: the volume
of water, the water flow rate, the ozonized air flow rate, the amount of dissolved organic matter, the fish density, the type of biological filtration and additional equipment in use. As a guideline, the ozone production should be between 5 and 15 mg/hr per 25 gallon (100 liter) of aquarium water.
Aquaria densely populated with fish need more ozone input levels, values higher than 430 mV can be dangerous, values of 600 mV will cause increased levels of sterilization which should not even be considered for aquarium use.
Values below 200 mV indicate an accumulation of organic wastes and a low oxygen level. Negative redox potentials are also possible indicating anaerobic conditions which can occur, for example, under the bottom gravel.
 
Before I got the redox controller, I used to run the ozone for 45 minutes twice a day. Directly into the skimmer. Had the ozone generator and air pump on a timer. And timed it to run when I'm not there. After I left for work and just before I come back.
 
@DeanT awesome read.. very explanatory. i'll be definitely looking at investing in a Ozone reactor/machine

so just to summarize on Ozone vs UV.. one is cheap but less effective the other more expensive and complicated to use but far more effective and with many more benefits
 
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Carbon dosing + activated carbon improves water clarity very effectively. Substantially safer than ozone if you follow the instructions and don't overdose.
 
Just to clarify, both ozone and uv will increase your redox potential in your tank. Contact time for both applications is important.
 
So @carlosdeandrade:

Which ozone and UV units are best? Assuming for my 650L tank?

ozone units from a ozone company, the ones for hobbyists are 100mg and almost R1000, can get a 1g for about the same price. as for UV you want a unit that allows the water to contact with the tube and not through a quartz sleeve
 
Correct @dallasg. Just to add. I have been using a non commercial O3 machine manufactured by a ozone services company. I run it using a redox probe that monitors my O3 very closely, dont mess around with O3, use the correct equipment. Please pm me if you need the name of the company I use to make and service my machine.
In terms of UV, contact time (this is also NB with O3, but another discussion on its own) is very important so is the the proximity the water is to the UV lamp (no more than 2,5cm). Ideally you would have the water come into direct contact with the globe with no glass/quartz tube. To kill pathogens you will need at least a flow of water through the lamp of 3,8l per watt of lamp. Wattage of lamp is also important with 55w lamps being the best.
How water is transported to and from the lamp is very important too, with no re circulation being optimal. The best scenario would be to take water directly from your aquarium on one side then out on the other side, however if you have a sump with no recirc this can be done too
 
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To add to what Carlos says on UV steralizers there are a few pointers to look out for when purchasing a unit.

1. The unit should be rated for optimum 33000 Microwatts/sec/sq.cm intencity output.
2. For optimum eficency and longitivity of the bulb the balast should be electronic. This should give you a 9000 hours continuious bulb life by reducing flicker.
3. IMO proper pure quarts sleve units are better because they alow 98% of UV-C to pass through and have little efect on water heating. They also maintain the globe operating tempreture at 40 - 45c. Most of the comon units use poor "quarts" sleves or plain glass sleeves resulting in poor performance and higher wattage globes having to be used or more units being used.
4. Check the efficiency of the globe. A 39w unit should put out the 33000 microwatt's/sec/sq.cm intencity and capible of treating at a flow or 2000l/min. That is sutable for a 1000l system.
 
Hi everyone!

Thanks for all the responses - much appreciated.

In terms of UV, contact time (this is also NB with O3, but another discussion on its own) is very important so is the the proximity the water is to the UV lamp (no more than 2,5cm). Ideally you would have the water come into direct contact with the globe with no glass/quartz tube. To kill pathogens you will need at least a flow of water through the lamp of 3,8l per watt of lamp. Wattage of lamp is also important with 55w lamps being the best.
How water is transported to and from the lamp is very important too, with no re circulation being optimal. The best scenario would be to take water directly from your aquarium on one side then out on the other side, however if you have a sump with no recirc this can be done too

This gave me a :idea:...I have a Teco TR20 chiller which caters for UV on the input / output ports of the unit. The water comes directly from the tank to the chiller and returned to the first chamber of the sump.

Now I wonder what the ratings of the unit is for the Teco hmmm...

In terms of quartz sleeve, I guess the unit from Teco will determine whether or not i will have one.
 
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