# Ozone for planted tank



## vonjager (Jul 7, 2009)

Hello,

I have been having problems with my tank, and before we get into a discussion about paramters, please trust me that the source of the problem is my driftwood. I have a 120 with a VERY nice and large piece of driftwood that I am currently unwilling to pull out (it is perfect!). But it is leaching a ton of tannins and causing major algae problems. (Yes, I soaked it continuously for 4 months and ran it through my dishwasher three times, and I dremeled out all soft parts)

I was cleaning out the shed recently and found a box labeled "aquarium stuff." Guess what I found? I found a Sander ozonizer, a Sander redox reader, and an ozone reactor (must have been from that fish store that went out of business years ago).

So for no cost, I could set this up to solve my driftwood problem..... My research indicates it will work very well for tannins and other driftwood leachings.

But I can't find any discussions about it here. Will it also remove iron? Can I place the ozonizer on a timer to go only at night, when I can assume my iron has already been used up and before I dose again? 

What other things are there to consider? I read that it quickly converts ammonia and nitrites to nitrates but does not adversely affect nitrates themselves.

I understant the dangers of ozone but these dangers aren't any different than what we deal with in CO2.

vonjager


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## vonjager (Jul 7, 2009)

I read this series of articles about using ozone in reef tanks,

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

It seems that the only function that ozone provides is water clarity. Well, I have a build up of tannins that are causing problems with wicked algae growth (bha). I can even see that oil spill look at the water surface. I don't think the ozonator will solve this problem.

vonjager


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

Sorry it took me so long to get the PM...

I have no direct first hand experience but have done some reading on the subject...

My basic take is that an ozone system will do everything a (really good) UV system does but with less maintenance. So, it will probably break down tannins over time, take out many free swimming parasites and bacteria and generally clarify the water. It should do nothing for iron (or any other ion) content.


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## fishyfish (Jan 18, 2010)

just my humble two cents here (as a noob), your already talking about stuff way over my head ... but, in my nano tank I had lots of tannins leaching into the water from the driftwood, that I thought would be fine after boiling and soaking ... I've been alternating a couple of purigen filters in and out of the hob (replenish one while the other one is in the filter) and it works like a charm to get rid of the tannins and makes the water crystal clear, but, I can't speak to it's effect on algae one way or the other. I keep a handful of nano bio-balls in the filter to try to maintain the bacteria levels. I'm a 117 gallons shy of what your dealing with though!


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## Weq (Sep 1, 2009)

Im also a victim of tannins causeing algea. Quick fix is purigen.


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## Scotty (Jun 11, 2009)

x2 on the purigen. Supposed to be good stuff. Never used tho. Going on what I have heard.


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## faltaren (Apr 30, 2010)

*Bump*

Thinking about exact the same thing as vonjager. Have you used it?. Did it effect the plants?


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## potatoes (Jun 25, 2010)

I have never heard of these things. Do they completly contain the ozone or is it released? if it is being releasd, I would not use it because it is a potent pollutant in the lower atmospheres. If it is contained it obviously is not a problem. 
Throw a stocking with some activated carbon in the tank and see if it helps


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

Ozone generation is contained within the little box, traces of ozone may make it partially through the plumbing exiting the box, but it is so unstable, your tank will never see it.


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

First of all I don't think your algae problems are caused by the tannins (simple because tannins inhibit algae and don't promote), but I won't go on about that, because you clearly want the tannins out...

First, about the purigen, it works perfect! 1 little bag of purigen cleared my 100 gallon in a few days! I would go for this option above ozone. Ozone will clear your tank of the tannins, not sure how long it will take but by injecting enough ozone you should be able to clear it faster than it is produced. BUT it will only increase you algae problems because the ozone will remove CO2 out of your water. Low CO2 will add way more algae to your tank than tannins can ever cause! This is a nice solution in a non planted tank but not in a planted tank however.

A better alternative working almost the same way but without the negative impact on the CO2 is a UV unit.

Also using activated carbon in your filter might be an option, tannins bind to this and your water will be clear quite fast but is more expensive in the long run than purigen which can be reactivated.


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