I can see the upside of this for a marine tank but what I would like to know ( and I very possibly passed over it and didn't see it ) is whether this is as beneficial for a FW tank. Say I was looking at doing a 100gal, discus only tank, and I could afford a manufactured O3 "machine" designed for aquariawith an ORP and PH indicator and controller, would it keep the discus water tip top?
DIY Ozone System
- Thread starter CHOMPERS
- Start date
Using this for freshwater will require more development than what I gave it. It will need a larger pump than for salt water. It had succeeded with fresh water that had a high amount of organics. When the water cleans up, the bubbles do not form as easy and they easily combine to form larger bubbles. In the mixing chamber I had issues with vapor lock, which is why a larger pump will be needed for freshwater use. I built a much larger unit like this that worked so I know that it can be done. That system had a 10hp pump and 8" plumbing.
Are you still using this? Has the ionic breeze held up? I've heard some of the cheaper ones will corrode fairly qucikly.
This is a great read, and I finally had a chance to go through it all. Since I am preparing to do the same thing, and have done some of my own research, Allow me to point out the things that could be done "differently" some may be better, but I havn't built it yet.
I am going to be treating several thousand gallons, so my system will be much larger.
First- Eliminate the commercial Ozone machine, and get a neon sign transformer. I have one that is 3000v that I will start with to see how much I get out of it. If the Ionic breeze has a wattage on it, it may help choose a transformer. I paid $20 for mine on Ebay a long time ago.
With the transformer, you can keep the reactive materials out of the system. I'm not sure what I was going to use, but a 3" pcv tube is a perfect size for reference. In this 3" tube, fit a piece of glass into it vertically like a fin, and use silicone to glue it in place if it doesn't fit tightly enough. Now, you need stainless steel contacts on each side of the glass. I think I'm going to use stainless steel spatulas inserted through a slot in the tube. By making a narrow slot on an angle towards the glass, the spatulas can be slid in so that there is tension pressing the spatulas against the glass. So there will be 2 spatulas with small tabs sticking out of the tube (for the transformer wires). The Ozone reaction takes place through the glass. When it is powered up, you will see a small "aura" within the glass directly between the 2 spatulas. Again, this may not be how I do it, but I need tabs for wire attachment outside of the tube, and I need the stainless contacts to have some spring tension on the glass. So, now, the slots where the spatulas went in can be sealed with silicone, and the whole thing can be capped up and fitted with an airline fitting on each end. Again- I don't know if PVC is safe yet...I've been too busy to continue the design completion. Take care to insulate the high voltage wires on the outside of the tube!!! perhaps mount the Transformer in another pvc tube to protect from electric shock(death).
So, now you have an O3 generator that is as powerful as you want to make it. run the airline through a dessicant first, or if you have $1100, buy an oxygen concentrator to make the thing something like 300% more effective.
The next different thing I suggest is to inject the O3 after your pump. Chances are, the pump is not Ozone safe, and aside from failure, I don't know what chemicals can come out of there as it breaks down the inside of the pump. If you have the proper Ozone safe venturi, it will work equally as well on the pressure side. The venturi's I was looking at actually require 15psi pump output to work.
I like the reaction chamber you have. I'll probably steal the basic configuration. But, I suggest adding a large "settling chamber" before the carbon. Do you have an air bleed in there somewhere? you'll want to get all of the leftover gaseous o3 out of the water before it goes into the settling chamber. the settling chamber should be about 10% of the water volume of the system. For me, I was instructed by the Ozotech engineer that I would need a 400 gallon tank. this chamber gives the Ozone more time to react, and then dissipate to safer levels. This way, the Carbon isn't quite as critical. Without that extra settling space, the carbon is going to be maxed out all the time and you won't know if it's all coming "clean" or not...the carbon will degrade, and you won't have consistent Redox potential...which (as your fish are telling you) is bad. Perhaps you can construct a large 4" pvc reaction/ air bleed tank. That will allow the water to slow it's velocity and rest for a bit. Then, you should have a bleed-off at the top of the last part of your reaction chamber to let the gasses out before it goes into the settling chamber.
The last thing you must have to do this safely is an ORP monitor/controller system. There's no safe way to eliminate that item unless you are going to be making constant chemical tests to check the Redox potential. There are a few of them for around $200. they will track the ORP level and turn the O3 generator on and off as needed. It will also help you see when the carbon needs to be changed.
It is also possible to use UV light to remove the extra Ozone instead of carbon. I didn't look at how much though since It would cost money to buy a UV clarifier that would be able to do 200gpm flow rate...But on a smaller tank, perhaps it would be more affordable.
Mike
I am going to be treating several thousand gallons, so my system will be much larger.
First- Eliminate the commercial Ozone machine, and get a neon sign transformer. I have one that is 3000v that I will start with to see how much I get out of it. If the Ionic breeze has a wattage on it, it may help choose a transformer. I paid $20 for mine on Ebay a long time ago.
With the transformer, you can keep the reactive materials out of the system. I'm not sure what I was going to use, but a 3" pcv tube is a perfect size for reference. In this 3" tube, fit a piece of glass into it vertically like a fin, and use silicone to glue it in place if it doesn't fit tightly enough. Now, you need stainless steel contacts on each side of the glass. I think I'm going to use stainless steel spatulas inserted through a slot in the tube. By making a narrow slot on an angle towards the glass, the spatulas can be slid in so that there is tension pressing the spatulas against the glass. So there will be 2 spatulas with small tabs sticking out of the tube (for the transformer wires). The Ozone reaction takes place through the glass. When it is powered up, you will see a small "aura" within the glass directly between the 2 spatulas. Again, this may not be how I do it, but I need tabs for wire attachment outside of the tube, and I need the stainless contacts to have some spring tension on the glass. So, now, the slots where the spatulas went in can be sealed with silicone, and the whole thing can be capped up and fitted with an airline fitting on each end. Again- I don't know if PVC is safe yet...I've been too busy to continue the design completion. Take care to insulate the high voltage wires on the outside of the tube!!! perhaps mount the Transformer in another pvc tube to protect from electric shock(death).
So, now you have an O3 generator that is as powerful as you want to make it. run the airline through a dessicant first, or if you have $1100, buy an oxygen concentrator to make the thing something like 300% more effective.
The next different thing I suggest is to inject the O3 after your pump. Chances are, the pump is not Ozone safe, and aside from failure, I don't know what chemicals can come out of there as it breaks down the inside of the pump. If you have the proper Ozone safe venturi, it will work equally as well on the pressure side. The venturi's I was looking at actually require 15psi pump output to work.
I like the reaction chamber you have. I'll probably steal the basic configuration. But, I suggest adding a large "settling chamber" before the carbon. Do you have an air bleed in there somewhere? you'll want to get all of the leftover gaseous o3 out of the water before it goes into the settling chamber. the settling chamber should be about 10% of the water volume of the system. For me, I was instructed by the Ozotech engineer that I would need a 400 gallon tank. this chamber gives the Ozone more time to react, and then dissipate to safer levels. This way, the Carbon isn't quite as critical. Without that extra settling space, the carbon is going to be maxed out all the time and you won't know if it's all coming "clean" or not...the carbon will degrade, and you won't have consistent Redox potential...which (as your fish are telling you) is bad. Perhaps you can construct a large 4" pvc reaction/ air bleed tank. That will allow the water to slow it's velocity and rest for a bit. Then, you should have a bleed-off at the top of the last part of your reaction chamber to let the gasses out before it goes into the settling chamber.
The last thing you must have to do this safely is an ORP monitor/controller system. There's no safe way to eliminate that item unless you are going to be making constant chemical tests to check the Redox potential. There are a few of them for around $200. they will track the ORP level and turn the O3 generator on and off as needed. It will also help you see when the carbon needs to be changed.
It is also possible to use UV light to remove the extra Ozone instead of carbon. I didn't look at how much though since It would cost money to buy a UV clarifier that would be able to do 200gpm flow rate...But on a smaller tank, perhaps it would be more affordable.
Mike
Boy, have I got a lot to build right now...It's like the walls are closing in on me as I race to get all this done and find a way to make some money while waiting on everything to start coming together.
I may not get to this project right away, but rest assured, when I do I will be sure to cover it as well as I can. I'm having to put off some of these things for now, but I am going to need to add it as my breeding capabilities increase to the point where I can start pushing the stocking envelope.
Mike
I may not get to this project right away, but rest assured, when I do I will be sure to cover it as well as I can. I'm having to put off some of these things for now, but I am going to need to add it as my breeding capabilities increase to the point where I can start pushing the stocking envelope.
Mike
That was an amazing read. Coronal discharge is actually the most efficient way of producing ozone. I've never looked into building one of these, but from my days of studying insulators for capacitors, I think the spacing of the terminals is going to be pretty important. You might also need a capacitor to start the corona. Air has a very high electrical resistance, but when the electricity makes an arc, the resistance drops significantly. The distance between the terminals will be determined by the output of your transformer.Clearwater guy;3993820; said:
I have several high flow UV sterilizers. The bulbs are 36-48" long (Rainbow Life Guard). I might look into that some day. (The system is no longer running but I still have all of the parts.)
I know the feeling. I was between jobs when I made this thing. I didn't have the money to do the recommended upgrades. Now I do, but that tank is housing some pretty important freshwater fish.Clearwater guy;3995232; said:
