Diff between Ozone and UV

[edgerat]

So let's hear it, what is the difference between running ozone and UV? I was reading a reply that Jerel(Bomber) made on RC and he mentioned that he uses UV and gets the same results without the "danger" factor of Ozone. I know that mike runs ozone and UV on his tank and I can't seem to find anything on the net to give me some answers on which is better.
Sound off!

 

[bpiermat]

For treatment of wastewater, Ozone is considered very deadly to micro organism. Especially, extemely effective at killing bacteria. Where as UV may not be as effective (at complete eradication of bacteria), but will also kill viruses.

I would be careful using Ozone as it does kill everything that goes through it.

 

[NaH2O]

This is my basic understanding of the difference. They do the same, however, ozone not only kills, but also makes what it kills disappear (oxidize it to kingdom come?), while UV kills it doesn't make it disappear. The dead organism would have to be filtered out somehow. I hope that sounds OK...its too early for my brain....

 

[Boomer]

Ozone kill things....NO. The ozone level is nowhere near high enough to kill things, nor has a long enough contact time to kill much of any thing, even to a bacteria. There is a lengthy review of this in;

Sea Water Aquariums; The Captive Environment by Spott

The issue is the ORP getting to high or the accumulation of bromine bleach, which can be removed with GAC.


See my posts on RC or here

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/search.php?searchid=119601

http://reefcentral.com/forums/searc...=6080576&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

 

[NaH2O]

The ozone level is nowhere near high enough to kill things, nor has a long enough contact time to kill much of any thing, even to a bacteria. There is a lengthy review of this in;

Sea Water Aquariums; The Captive Environment by Spott

The issue is the ORP getting to high or the accumulation of bromine bleach, which can be removed with GAC.

I thought ozone was a strong enough oxidizer that it actually killed microscopic things.....but that's dumb (which for me, seems to be getting worse with age) because folks don't see problems with their nitrifying bacteria (at least that I know of). A long while back, it was explained to me the way I explained it, and I think it just stuck. After reading a couple of things, I found this quote....and it kind of put ORP and bacteria in perspective Using Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP):

Research has shown that at an ORP value of 650 to 700mV, spoilage bacteria and bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella are killed within a few seconds.

Considering reef aquariums are generally in the ORP 350 - 450mV range (450mV turn off ozone?), then there would probably be other issues if ORP values elevated to the 650 - 700mV range.

Off to do some more reading

 

[Boomer]

The OPR Nikki in the skimmer can get that high but the contact time is not long enough in the skimmer. However, if one used a re-circ O3 reactor you could kill some things.

 

[fishermann]

This may be a stupid question, but why do people run ozone if it doesn't kill anything? Isn't the yellowing of the water caused by bacteria and it does clear the water so people say.

 

[NaH2O]

john - I think (maybe Boomer can elaborate more) what it is doing is oxidizing nutrients in the water. So, organics can be more easily skimmed out. Here is a link to the thread I need to read through myself, but Mike explains the "active filtration" that I mentioned Ozone Alters Skimmate???. With regards to the yellow water, I'm not sure if that is from macroalgaes? I'm not familiar with using ozone, but from what I've read ozone does aid in clarifying water turbidity and color....I'm not sure if "color" is from a type of plankton or macroalgae?

 

[Boomer]

John

It was used ofen in the olden days to raise the ORP as they use to be rather low. With today's modern reefs NSW ORP's can be acheived without the aide of Ozone. A more nomal OPR allows for better oxidizing. Ozone is a strong oxidizer, breaks down organics. The yellowing of the water is mostly from algae extracts, which Ozone can clean-up but so can activated carbon. If ozone is adjusted properly you can get a better skimmate and the skimmer works better, more foam. Yes, Ozone makes the water very clear which aids in light penetration.

 

[fishermann]

Thankyou both for some clarity, I have been under the impression that ozone also killed pathogens and other stuff. We were told at one of our meetings by a guest speaker that ozone would kill alot more bad stuff then UV. After reading the above threads I see the diff. I think alot of people think that ozone does alot more then it really does. Again thanks, I was getting ready to order a ozone unit not because I have yellow water, mine is crystal clear since I alternate bags of carbon, but was getting tired of cleaning the calcification off of the quartz sleeve all the time.