For some reason, ozonizers and ozone usage has never been as discussed or as widely used as other equipment in the home aquarium, and most definitely not because it doesn't yield great benefit to your aquarium. Widely used in commercial aquatics applications, ozone doesn't get much love from hobbyists these days, and it should. Perhaps it's not as easy to 'itemize' and sell as other aquarium products? Maybe due to lack of information?
Whatever the reason, Ozone use has many benefits, and I recommend its use in most aquariums. Captive Aquatics uses ozonizers in every system we install, and I use ozone in my home aquariums, as well! Here's why:
1. Ozone improves water clarity even better than fresh activated carbon, and does so for pennies a month! You likely paid a great deal of money for your lighting setup (and buying new carbon isnt' cheap, either), so why let dissolved organics discolor your water (and it is, even if you can't tell by looking), reducing light penetration by 10% or more to your coral and other animals?
2. Ozone improves ReDox potential, or the ability of your water to oxidize (break down) organics. Reefers especially go to great lengths to reduce the buildup of organics - O3 usage does just that
3. Ozone increases dissolved oxygen content in your aquarium. While this isn't usually a concern for saltwater aquariums which use protein skimmers, in freshwater aquariums with many active fish (such as cichlids) or large fish (fahaka, mbu, or other freshwater pufferfish, arowanas, koi, stingrays, etc) high dissolved oxygen levels are a legitamate concern.
4. Reduce nuisance algae growth! An overall decrease in organics coupled with an increase in ReDox potential and oxygen levels means less nuisance algae growth
5. Ozone is a powerful oxidizer and antiseptic, effectively sterilizing the water it comes into contact with, reducing the number of pathogens including harmful bacteria and parasites such as ich.
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2. Ozone improves ReDox potential, or the ability of your water to oxidize (break down) organics. Reefers especially go to great lengths to reduce the buildup of organics - O3 usage does just that
3. Ozone increases dissolved oxygen content in your aquarium. While this isn't usually a concern for saltwater aquariums which use protein skimmers, in freshwater aquariums with many active fish (such as cichlids) or large fish (fahaka, mbu, or other freshwater pufferfish, arowanas, koi, stingrays, etc) high dissolved oxygen levels are a legitamate concern.
4. Reduce nuisance algae growth! An overall decrease in organics coupled with an increase in ReDox potential and oxygen levels means less nuisance algae growth
5. Ozone is a powerful oxidizer and antiseptic, effectively sterilizing the water it comes into contact with, reducing the number of pathogens including harmful bacteria and parasites such as ich.
Subscribe to our free RSS updates or weekly email updates so you don't miss out future articles about ozone use in aquariums!
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