DIY Ozone Reactor

[dandy7200]

Chip, I know your a fan of balls but, the biobale is actually better for this application since you can stuff more of it into a cylinder than you would be able to with balls. I have the bale already and trust me it is not going to compress. I actually thought it was a paper type material (film or something) but is is actually plastic shavings so it will be perfect.

 

Carbon post filter is mandatory for both air and water.

[dandy7200]

Here are some pics. I will describe a little bit about materials and how this fits together. How I cut pieces is going to be little use to the DIYer so I will skip that, if you have certain questions on how something can be done by hand, I will try to answer those.

 

The 3/8" cast acrylic base plate is routed so it accepts a 4.5" dia cast tube. There is a hole drilled in the center .84" so 1/2" pvc can glue in. A little cut off from a 1/2" bushing provides a nice sandwich between pipe-acrylic-pipe to help strengthen the through pipe bond. On the underside I came out with 90 ell to a union. Inside there is a 4" tube about 1" tall with a cap on it that has many holes, this is to keep the bio-bale from compressing into the outlet hole.

 

 

The top is just a simple flange with 3/8" cast acrylic, ozone resistant silicone o-ring is used:

 

 

The top has 4 holes, one for the 1/2" pipe inlet, one for the pressure gauge, one for ozone inlet and one for pressure relief valve.

 

 

Under the cap there is the drip plate. Again, this is 4" tube and the bottom has many holes drilled. The top just has a hole drilled for the 1/2" pipe water inlet. It is basically a shower head.

 

[basser9]

how long before the PVC union break apart from the ozone ....what type of material are the black inlet for the ozone....what about using a mazzei spa injector on the incoming pvc i saw a German ozone reactor that had a tee off the injector for the ozone to be recirculated back into the reactor.THINK IT WAS A SCHURAN

Edited September 29, 2009 by basser9

[ctenophore]

how long before the PVC union break apart from the ozone ....what type of material are the black inlet for the ozone....what about using a mazzei spa injector on the incoming pvc i saw a German ozone reactor that had a tee off the injector for the ozone to be recirculated back into the reactor.THINK IT WAS A SCHURAN

Probably 10-15 years under constant 500+ mg/hr ozone use. Less than that, decades.

[Boret]

Here are some pics. [....] [/img]

 

Very nice!!! Good job Dan.

I was wondering if a more solid base could be added at the bottom. In a flat surface, the two vertical PVC slabs will work but in my case, where I am using those metal shelves it might not be as solid..., will have to see it in person. Nonetheless, it looks great!

[dandy7200]

how long before the PVC union break apart from the ozone ....what type of material are the black inlet for the ozone....what about using a mazzei spa injector on the incoming pvc i saw a German ozone reactor that had a tee off the injector for the ozone to be recirculated back into the reactor.THINK IT WAS A SCHURAN

 

The black nipples are nylon, good ozone resistance. The venturi design wont work very well on this style reactor, we need a high psi air pump to help pressurize the reactor, so having independent control of water and air flow/pressure is going to provide better adjustments.

[dandy7200]

Very nice!!! Good job Dan.

I was wondering if a more solid base could be added at the bottom. In a flat surface, the two vertical PVC slabs will work but in my case, where I am using those metal shelves it might not be as solid..., will have to see it in person. Nonetheless, it looks great!

 

 

Gluing a base on would be pretty simple.

[flowerseller]

Gluing a base on would be pretty simple.

 

Fine, but let's get back to the ballls.

How about the small ones instead of the big ones?

[dandy7200]

Fine, but let's get back to the ballls.

How about the small ones instead of the big ones?

 

Is this how your evening conversations went with your roommates at MACNA?

 

Actually there is no way you could get as much surface area with bioballs. Since even the small ones won't compress into the contours of the cylander like the bale, you will have open gaps that allow water to pass quickly. Here are a couple more pics showing how tightly I can pack the bale into the reactor.

 

 

 

 

[Leishman]

$?

[dandy7200]

$?

 

Honestly not sure yet. Still have a few more things to go on it, valves, tubing, dual carbon filter etc. Really I need to test it to determine tank rating first so this can lead to a discussion of turnover rates hopefully.

 

Escobals turnover equation is:

 

T=9.2(G/F)

 

T= time the ozone is running

9.2= 99.9% of the water being processed

G= tank volume

F= Flow in GPH

 

Here is my hypothesis as to how this will play out:

 

100gph is going to be the flow rate to get at least 30 seconds contact time

250 gallons is tank volume

 

T=9.2(250/100)

T=9.2(2.5)

T= 23 hours

 

Using the same flow rate and adjusting to 100 gallon tank

 

T=9.2(100/100)

T=9.2(1)

T=9.2 hours

 

So if the ozone is running 23hours for a large tank or 9.2hours for a small tank the same reactor can be used for this range of volumes keeping a constant flow rate and still get a 99.9% water processing rating.

 

Boret is going to bring me his 50mg/hr generator and luft pump to test with. Hopefully within a week I will be able to determine what flow rate will give me 30 seconds contact and how much ozone is required to get the kill rate we are looking for. After that we will be able to keep working the equasion backwards until we know how many hours we can run the generator and still stay in a safe orp range for the tank. The time equation listed above would represent the minimum the generator needs to run to process the water at a 99.9% efficiency, if it runs more than that and tank still stays under 450mv then all the better. If we can get 30 seconds contact time with a faster flow rate then again the equation will tilt in our favor.

[Leishman]

So T=lots of $

[flowerseller]

I knew it..

 

Escobals

[dandy7200]

So T=lots of $

 

The one Boret showed earlier in the thread (and really the only decent one on market in USA) goes something like this:

 

reactor+airfilter+water filter+tubing+valves+shipping=$600ish

 

I am positive I can add a 1-(x/100) to that. x=? for a few more weeks though. No one wants something like this without complete testing at any $ point.

[ctenophore]

Dan you should add a probe adapter in a tee to the output, it would be nice to measure effluent ORP. Also need to switch out nylon for kynar or teflon, nylon is not good with ozone.

[dandy7200]

Dan you should add a probe adapter in a tee to the output, it would be nice to measure effluent ORP. Also need to switch out nylon for kynar or teflon, nylon is not good with ozone.

 

Will probably do the tee for testing, I doubt many people are going to want to run two orp monitors/probes on the tanks these are going to be rated for. Your right about the nylon, I read my chart wrong. I will switch them out for Polyurethane ones. Here is a good listing of materials: http://www.ozonesolutions.com/Ozone_Compat..._Materials.html

[OldReefer]

Hey Dan,

 

I'll bring my 300mg Ozone reactor over anytime if you want to see what it can handle.

 

By the way, I hooked that up to the GS2 skimmer I just bought from you. Even at 300 mg there is not a trace of smell. Those fine bubbles in the skimmer must have a big dwell time.

[dandy7200]

Hey Dan,

 

I'll bring my 300mg Ozone reactor over anytime if you want to see what it can handle.

 

By the way, I hooked that up to the GS2 skimmer I just bought from you. Even at 300 mg there is not a trace of smell. Those fine bubbles in the skimmer must have a big dwell time.

 

Thanks for the offer. Is it an adjustable generator?

 

I have one orp probe in my tank and a AC3 with expansion probe slot so I would plan to test effluent as well as tank orp, does anyone have a second orp probe I can use for a few weeks?

[Boret]

Oldreefer, if I order any misc. parts like tubing etc I will let you know. Right now I am just getting whatever Dan recommends.

 

In the meantime, it seems those Luft Pumps are in high demand. They are pretty much out of stock at most vendors' sites.

 

I ordered mine from this place LINK it is $53.99. I found a 10% discount coupon "TEN" that brought it down to $48.59 and I end up at $59.58 with shipping. They still have some in stock.

[basser9]

Here is a simple compact ozone module that i am interested in building it is not pressurized so as the ozone rises it is sucked back into the injector and recirculated plus your carbon filter area is built in a very simple design that is great for most of us.......YOU ALSO DONT NEED A AIR PUMP IF you run enough water through the injector.....i like it i want one........IT IS BUILT BUY SCHURAN........ALL i want out of ozone is to have crystal clear water this will be perfect for that...... Edited September 30, 2009 by basser9

[OldReefer]

Dan,

I have a spare ORP probe you can use for a bit. My ORP reactor is an Enaly with a built in pump. Very nice affordable unit but it doesn't adjust. I am getting a 50mg unit in this week and I will take the Enaly off-line. 300mg was way too much.

 

Bill

[Boret]

I knew it..

 

Escobals

 

:biggrin: Esco"balls"

 

Dan you should add a probe adapter in a tee to the output, it would be nice to measure effluent ORP. Also need to switch out nylon for kynar or teflon, nylon is not good with ozone.

 

Why would you want to measure effluent ORP vs overall tank water ORP? I would imagine that you would get a much higher ORP reading out of the reactor. Isn't the 450 ORP the value you want to reach/maintain in the tank? Unless there is some specific range, like on Ca Reactors where a pH of 6.5-6.8 is necessary to have a reaction with the argonite in the reactor Chamber.

 

Here is a simple compact ozone module that i am interested in building it is not pressurized so as the ozone rises it is sucked back into the injector and recirculated plus your carbon filter area is built in a very simple design that is great for most of us.......YOU ALSO DONT NEED A AIR PUMP IF you run enough water through the injector.....i like it i want one........IT IS BUILT BUY SCHURAN........ALL i want out of ozone is to have crystal clear water this will be perfect for that......

 

If all you want is crystal clear water you might as well run it through your skimmer. You would need the airpump but you save the money not having to buy the reactor. I think the main point of the pressurize chamber is to achieve a pathogen "killer" as well as the crystal clear added bonus.

[dandy7200]

:biggrin: Esco"balls"

 

 

 

Why would you want to measure effluent ORP vs overall tank water ORP? I would imagine that you would get a much higher ORP reading out of the reactor. Isn't the 450 ORP the value you want to reach/maintain in the tank? Unless there is some specific range, like on Ca Reactors where a pH of 6.5-6.8 is necessary to have a reaction with the argonite in the reactor Chamber.

 

Exactly, we want to hit a internal orp of 600mv to make sure pathogens are destroyed, 450mv is the safe level in tank. This is not something I feel necessary to monitor but it is needed to test the efficiency of the design

[dandy7200]

Here is a simple compact ozone module that i am interested in building it is not pressurized so as the ozone rises it is sucked back into the injector and recirculated plus your carbon filter area is built in a very simple design that is great for most of us.......YOU ALSO DONT NEED A AIR PUMP IF you run enough water through the injector.....i like it i want one........IT IS BUILT BUY SCHURAN........ALL i want out of ozone is to have crystal clear water this will be perfect for that......

 

Interesting design. It is kind of half downdraft skimmer/half ozone reactor with a built in carbon chamber. If you decide to build it be sure to post photos as you go. You are correct though for simple water clarification a skimmer or this style reactor will work well, if you want to kill pathogens and sterilize you need to go into a more efficient design like the pressure reactor at slow flow.

[ctenophore]

Looks like you could lightly pressurize that design by adding a luft pump input to the chamber on the right, in addition to the venturi. Too much pressure and you'll shut down the venturi, but a little bit should just force the water level a bit lower. A shelf with eggcrate on the right to hold biobale above the water level would help increase surface area. The large, easy to maintain carbon area is nice.