Week 28: Ozone and Reef Tanks: Crystal Clear Tanks but at a Cost! | 52 Weeks of Reefing

This week we are going to talk ozone and the reef tank. We will explore what ozone is , what it likely capable of achieving in the reef tank, what it isn't capable of, safety concerns, some similarities to carbon, relationship with ORP, as well as some common methods of ozone implementation.
#BRS160
Welcome to another week of the BRS 160 where every week we do our best to help you guys, members of the reefing community enjoy your tanks and find new ways to explore the hobby. We do that by following the set up and progression of this 160 gallon reef tank.
Ozone and seawater is an extremely complicated subject, there is some known science on the subject but how that science is applied to reef aquariums is up to a really healthy amount of debate and for everything we think we know there are ten or more times as many unknowns. As aquarists it is up to us to combine the science we do know with our personal experiences, best guesses and the anecdotal evidence that provides to produce results we can share with each other and progress the hobby.
Ozone in general I would consider something only advanced reefers consider. Reefers who are looking at some of the final frontiers in reefing and constantly perfecting their filtration system with the latest technology and for them the reason the hobby continues to be a hobby . For these reefers ozone is likely a worthwhile investment of time and money and may be worth some of the risks involved. For everyone else save yourself the hassle buy, a bag of carbon and throw it in the sump because you will receive more than half of the proven benefits associated with running ozone for a few dollars rather than a few hundred and with almost none of the risks.
Regardless of if you plan on using ozone one of the most fun components of reefing is learning about all of the most commonly discussed reefing methods and technologies. The first step of this is understanding ozone is which luckily is pretty easy to understand. Ozone is just a molecule of made up of three oxygen atoms where as typical oxygen gas is made up of two oxygen atoms.

[@ChrisLocke1969]

i love the smell of ozone in the morning... smells like... a vintage fender amp!

[@canvoodoo]

You had me at bag of carbon.

[@aaronh1785]

So glad I found reefing. It’s the ultimate tinkering hobby and always something new to learn. Thanks brs!

[@andrewhales9771]

The best 20 minutes and 51 seconds of my week.

[@turbocpt1]

ok

[@sweeney5296]

This is the best practical summary of ozone use in aquaria that I've ever seen. Well done.

[@livewireaquatics]

Congratulations Ryan! Great video as always, glad to see you back.

[@TheDaddy2003]

Great high quality video yet again. Thank you! And welcome back Ryan!

[@seangibbs6936]

Awesome...thank you. Appreciate the quick response.

[@bane1607]

glad you are back. great video.

[@sexton476]

Great picture of you two. Gratz to you and your bride Ryan. Another wonderful video by the BRS team.

[@Sh0rtyMac1]

Congratulations and welcome back.

[@nietrelevant3338]

I would like to add, that on top of adding AC at the air outlet of the reactor it is a very good idea to have biologically active media behind the output. This is standardized procedure in wastewater treatment, activated carbon can also be used. But active biological media such as sand is sufficient (or even the old AC since it will become biologically active over time). It will also will be efficient at breaking down higher amounts of organic matter into NO3 and PO4 making it more easily available for takeup by macro algea in a refugium. I would personally never use ozon without a refugium for this reason alone. Edit: another option would be a anaerobic sand filter after the ozon adition since it will make a slight portion of the top of an anaerobic SF aerobic causing nitrification to occur, furtermore ozon has a very high reaction rate coefficient with NO2 and will generally turn all of it into NO3. Followed by denitrification in the anearobic zone, this can be considered a very succesfull way of removing NO3 from the system.

[@Forgetii]

I enjoyed the video. A whole lot of info about ozone. My favorite part is finally understanding what ORP is. I knew what it stood for just didn't quite understand it's relevance.., never really checked on it either. But now I know, Thanks BRS.

[@eldridgehenry2]

mind blowing yet again

[@goldenpondrvpark1637]

Nice ring there Ryan! Congratulations!!! Glad your back

[@deepblue5939]

Very interesting. Love this series.

[@sevensurvival]

Well done, excellent, useful information. Thanks, respect.

[@ericj1500]

congrats pal and good luck on your new adventure.

[@edwardthayer9386]

Thanks Ryan for giving us your honest opinion! I'm sure I speak for alot of us including myself when I say we really appreciate that! also you're not looking to happy in that wedding picture!

[@charlottefalconer8602]

Totally true about reducing skimmer foam production!

[@ThomasColeman]

Watching all the way from the uk great video and congratulations. !!!!

[@ThomasColeman]

Ryan is the man - keep them coming!!!!

[@ch111ris]

Welcome back. We missed you

[@johnbull9718]

Yay! Ryan is back!

[@unluckyeddy7966]

Congratulations on your weeding

[@adolfo1991fito]

Great video !👍🏻

[@NYCityCichlids]

Wow. That was advanced...

[@zacjordan1845]

Love the vids!!! Gratz on the wedding Ryan! Your next vid on alk, cal, and mag, I heard reducing nitrates can raise alk lvls. If this is true could you possibly elaborate on this on the next vid? Either way thanks!! Also my alk, cal, and mag have been locked at the same lvls for over 2 months in my 150. Had to stop dosing because of this. I'm at loss as to why.( coral are still growing as fast as always) Hopefully the next vid can provide some understanding. Thanks again!!!!

[@toolman8281]

Lots of good info there, but I will not be using ozone in my setup. Congrats on getting married, she looks like a keeper. See you next video. Cheers!

[@Reject06]

yes! this is one area that i'd really like to learn more about. i'm rebuilding my 180 and ozone has seriously crossed my mind multiple times.

[@alecg7854]

+BulkReefSupplyCom well I was wanting to go with ozone just for the water clarity part but it doesn't seem to be worth it. tank is going to be heavy on the SPS and clam side of the house and am hoping to be able to work some ribbon eels into the tank, but need to do more homework on who they can get along with haha. don't want to be feeding them expensive snacks!

[@alecg7854]

i know haha!! i'm very excited to have my first one though. going to be designing up a little under gravel eel network so they can move around and have a little dug out pre made, all they have to do is decorate to their liking lol!

[@diogojapa]

Welcome back

[@bonsaiforu]

Nice tan Ryan!

[@stonedmegatron3459]

This is the one I have been waiting to see. I love Ozone video and information. I have been needing my BRS fix. How often should the carbon be change on the reactor output port? I change it about once a month but I run ozone only 50% of the time.

[@cryptobulldog2563]

Thanks for the video, more dry than the others but not your fault. I learned if someone says you should use o3, i reply no. Carbon is just fine and about 100 times less expensive.

[@ldballoon4]

Check Out That Ring! -(good luck , dude). Anywho, O3 is left for the experienced old timers, meaning, 15 plus years of experience. Learn your Basics, then progress to Intermediate, then to Advance,then Expert, then,.... The Final Frontier can begin.

[@jim28fl]

Congrats bud. We missed you. and as always .......great work!

[@jellmag]

congratulations :) all these video's on reefing I'm glad I'm into freshwater lol

[@beast_gago2660]

ik this is late but ive been in the hobby for 4 years now and its slowly getting me to spend $2k to get a aquarium

[@xXdwsizevilXx]

Another very informative video about some advanced reef keeping methods.

[@melisajohnson]

Another way to add ORP value is using potassium permanganate. I learned this from my lfs which was a marine biologist teacher.

[@akashramesh8883]

Ryan #1 represent comming from the carribean Trinidad and Tobago

[@lisafoster4468]

But...but I LIKE three hour science lessons :'3

[@pjfreak99]

Great video. I can't imagine why anyone would deal with this hassle when a bag of carbon does basically the same thing.... Baking dessicate? LOL. Who does that?!

[@Albertoamigon]

ohhhh forgot you got married... was like wth... I want more vids... but now I'm like... CONGRATS AGAIN jaja

[@menkalos]

Congratulations on the wedding Ryan! I sure hope your new wife likes aquariums! :-) Best of luck in all things! Thanks for another great informative video. One question - I'm running a skimmer, an activated carbon reactor and a biopellet reactor, and my ORP is almost always around 450 (using an APEX ORP probe). It rarely ever drops below 400, but I've been using that drop as a signal that it's time to change the water. Any thoughts on that?

[@Anayal81]

Check out that tan! lol

[@Chub4Chevy]

Nope too complex for me 🙂 thanks BRS

[@taryndeclyn1474]

Can you specify what modifications you reform to the skimmer cup for this use? From the video you remover the inner tube. What did you do with the resultant hole? Thanks!!

[@seangibbs6936]

Great video as usual and welcome back. Had a quick question! Have a 450 gal reef setup...tank been running since September 2015. Have the usual filtration setup (filter socks, skimmer, Refug, chiller, carbon & GFO reactor and UV) and everything is controlled by an Apex. My ORP readings have consistently remained at 490 - 505. During water changes it will drop to about 350 and slowly rise back to 500. Do I need to be concerned about anything? All other parameters are perfect and corals/fish are good. Just curious given the ORP numbers are so high. Thanks.

[@leviburns89]

welcome back. no interest in ozone tho, I wanna see some params on that tank!

[@RyanPardoe]

Glad you're back in action gents. Another great video. Congrats on getting married!

[@MrShishi]

Wow, this was "ozone for dummys" in a good way...

[@andyh8239]

UVC lights operated in the air produce a TON of OZone. Are you suggesting when used in water it doesnt?

[@pjfreak99]

Video should have said "If you think all of this is worth it, then you need to re-sort your priorities...."

[@akashramesh8883]

congratulations on getting married Ryan 👍

[@ibinyth5866]

I want an in depth video like this but for zeovit... More so a introduction guide rather than completely in depth though being that zeovit is very complicated

[@ibinyth5866]

***** awesome

[@dutchymomo4560]

I don’t think anyone will answer this cause this is an old video but what is the fish swimming all over the tank at 1:35

[@snapbackreef1905]

So what's better to reduce the yellow pigments, running ozone or carbon? I really only want to spend money on one on these. Which is more beneficial at increasing or from ridding yellow pigments? I guess I'm asking which one has overall more benefit including increasing par because of the yellow pigments ozone or carbon?

[@eal1]

You can't get brain damage from overdosing carbon

[@timothymayes520]

I was wondering if I could put GFO in the filter socks that come with the Nuvo 20 Gallon Tank Kit. What is your opinion on GFO without a reactor and what are some important things that I will need to know about this? How often will I have to change out the GFO? Is it a good investment? Will I have to do less water changes when I have the GFO? Thanks in advance!

[@timothymayes520]

I actually may want to add activated carbon to my system. Do you think that GFO or carbon is better? What are the pros and cons for each?

[@samiam9059]

That tank is so small would be fine. But you want some phosphate 1ppm generally. Zero is not accurate and a tank that small be careful not to use too much. Start small and watch for results. The smaller the tank quicker things can spiral out over a larger tank that has more range to get to that point.

[@samiam9059]

for sure pad it well so nothing rocks it into any grinding. I have used a mesh sock and floated it in a sump. He probably has not that much room.

[@timothymayes520]

Got it. Thank you everyone who responded!

[@jakecarpenter8209]

I just bought a ozone generator for my reef tank. brand name AQUATECH. it does 100/200mg of ozone. It also has a dial on it. What setting do I put it on for a 60 gallon reef tank? I have been battling ich and marine velvet. I am done and ready to blast any little nasty creature that creeps its way in

[@goldenpondrvpark1637]

What type of coral is that at minute 2:48? The green one. Is it a flower pot coral?

[@205up90down]

+Golden Pond RV Park Yeah, it looks like a flower pot that's retracted

[@goldenpondrvpark1637]

+205up90down Thank you. I have the same coral. Wish mine was as big though.

[@nonfunctionalslackfill]

Tannest man in Minnesota?

[@bradsimpson8724]

The last video in the playlist, he mentioned taking some time away to get married and go on his honeymoon. I'd expect that took him to someplace a little warmer and sunnier than Minnesota.

[@REEFDADDY2008]

:)

[@tigheclark6]

What coral is at 12:40?

[@BRStv]

That's an acan :)

[@tigheclark6]

That’s what I thought, thanks!

[@PhongLe-rl5vg]

nice tan Ryan haha

[@ArrickthaRed]

congratulations on getting married

[@dusk1947]

Excellent video. But, it is incorrect to say ozone is not a disinfectant and label it a misconception, the lesson should instead be on understanding the dose of ozone provided in these products as being insufficient to properly disinfect. The video tries to address this but only after it dismisses the potential. Ozone is a disinfectant, even college level microbiology discusses the effects of ozone as a disinfectant alongside UV and more traditional methods. However, it is not a disinfectant in these applications because of how low the concentrations are kept by the monitoring hardware. To increase ozone production to where it would properly disinfect your reef, would render the entire reef dead. Poison's, toxicity, disinfection's: they aren't all or nothing. To understand them, you have to understand the dose and concentration relative to it's setting

[@muffemod]

3:01 poopy

[@benjaminn2674]

And, what is that fish..!?

[@muffemod]

Looks to be a Blotched Anthias

[@benjaminn2674]

Nice one, thanks.

[@user-kw9kc4my3o]

英文水平不太好，能有加个字幕的吗？

[@pewheretic7967]

Stupid thumbs up button only lets me click it once.

[@xXdwsizevilXx]

+Pew Heretic lol

[@devisissy1]

Ozone is a gimmick. Change my mind.

[@sweeney5296]

Saying ozone is a gimmick sounds like you're saying you don't believe it exists and/or that it doesn't do anything once produced. Maybe you think using it is unnecessary, which is fine, but when used intelligently it will accomplish specific goals reliably, which is the exact opposite of a gimmick. Just because you don't want what it offers doesn't mean it doesn't offer it. The properties of ozone and the chemistry of how it reacts with organic compounds are true whether you believe in it or not.

[@devisissy1]

@@sweeney5296 as in ozone in the reef is a gimmick. Not ozone itself. Jesus man it's the context. Must be fun at parties.

[@sweeney5296]

@@devisissy1 I did also address it in context of the reef aquarium, in that ozone definitely reacts with organic compounds and produces results. The evidence and examples of what it does in the reef are what this video is all about, and it can't be a gimmick when it actually does what it claims to do. Again, maybe you think it's unnecessary, which is fine, but it's no gimmick. Also, you comment asking for someone to change your mind, get defensive when someone actually does, and then insult them.