Description

The Aquasure MK2 Black Box Ozonair Purifier Unit

The Aquasure MK2 Ozone Purifier Unit is a great addition to any pond, new or existing. The unit will enhance water quality and clarity by adding Ozone directly into the pond air feed.

The MK2 Black Box is the newest addition to the Ozonair range manufactured by Air Care Products.

The Black Box uses updated technology to produce 500mg of ozone per hour. The MK2 Black Box Ozone Cell has a built in Quartz Glass Reaction Chamber. The Reaction Chamber is manufactured to a small internal diameter; this ensures the airflow is concentrated directly over the Ozone Cell, ensuring it is kept cool at all times even when used with smaller air pump sizes. This unit can be run 24/7(see advisory dosages).

The MK2 Black Box unit is supplied with 2 sets of 3 different sized barbed threaded hosetails that work in conjunction with most standard sizes of airline/hose (4, 6, & 10mmID) The treaded hostail simply screw into the In/Outlet on the Black Box body for easy installation.

The only consumable part of the MK2 Black Box unit is the Ozone Cell, recommended to be replaced every 6 months.

The MK2 Unit incorporated several components that improve the reliability and longevity of the whole unit. Such as an Ozone Cell that replaces the more conventional Bulb, like that was used in our MK1 unit. The control electronics only consume 8 Watts of power despite being more powerful and effective and a redesigned body to help against degradation, dramatically improving the body’s life span.Overall the unit will cost less to run and maintain despite being more efficient and effective than the MK1 model.

How Does Ozone Help My Pond? – The Aquasure Ozonair Purifier unit will help prevent common and cure ailments such as bacterial infections, fungal infections, low immune system, ulcers, mouth sores and fin rot. Up until now the only way to treat such problems was to use additives in the water or apply directly to the wound. Additives can be detrimental to the Koi’s health or in some cases life threatening if added in the wrong quantities or situation.

The oxidation process has a huge effect on not only the quality of the water but also the visual aspect. The link between them both is surprisingly similar. The food that we feed our Koi is extremely high in protein. Koi cannot process/utilize much more than 25-30% of protein the rest is pure waste; and in return ends up as mulma. The mulma will pass through your filter system but not all will be collected and will return back to your pond.

The mulma is dissolved into the water, making dissolved organic carbons (DOCs). Bacteria thrive by feeding on the high proteins in DOCs. The bacteria will cause ailments such as bacterial infections, fungal infections, low immune systems, ulcers, mouth sores and fin rot. These are all extremely detrimental to the Fish’s health.

Algae is caused by the presence of too much organic waste. If the amount of organic waste is too high, the water loses the ability to maintain adequate oxygen levels. The more organic waste there is in the pond, the higher the biological oxygen demand will be. Since aerobic bacteria require oxygen to break down organic waste The absence of oxygen provided by organic material allows algae and different kinds of “weed” to thrive. This will also affect the clarity of the water, causing a yellowy/brown tinge and in some cases a green film to appear on the surface.

The Ozonair Purifier Unit produces ozone. Ozone, O3, occurs naturally in the world around us by the combination of oxygen, O2 in the air and ultra violet rays or by the electrical discharge during a lighting storm. On some occasions, you can smell the pungent odour after an electrical storm. Ozone is a natural purifier, meaning no harmful chemical by-products are created. When dissolved in water, ozone decomposes rapidly, forming hydroxyl radicals. Hydroxyl radicals are highly reactive and have a very short lifespan, but they are also potent oxidizers, which are very good at attacking contaminants and safely decomposing organic waste. Once reacted, ozone reverts back to harmless, non-reactive oxygen (O2) molecules.

Ozone & Other Types of Filtration – Ozone should never be used in place of conventional filtration. Mechanical, chemical, and biological filtration are the life of an aquarium or pond. Ozone in these systems is an enhancement. Each performs a different function in the system – filtration nurtures beneficial bacteria, ozone kills pathogens. Ozone should only be used to purify water and help eliminate pathogens that can kill fish. Since UV sterilizers can handle high flow rates, it is not recommended that ozone be used in place of UV units.

Bio/Fluidized Filtration Beds – it is advised that ozone is not introduced directly into a biological filter of any sort; ozone will oxidize any bacteria it comes in contact with, good or bad.

Medication – When medicating a system, turn off the ozonair and any UV sterilizers. When the treatment cycle is finished, bring them back on-line. Ozone is also safe when salt is used in the aquarium or pond as a disease preventative.

Is Ozone dangerous to my pond or fish? – Ozone is a potent oxidizer and can be fatal if implemented in the wrong dosage, an ORP above 700 mV would kill any type of aquatic life within minutes. However, the Ozonair unit has been designed to produce a small dosage of (500mg)of Ozone per hour. Providing that the correct dosages are used and ORP is monitored there will be no detrimental effects. Air Care Products have been manufacturing and disturbing the Aquasure Ozonair units globally since the early 2000s, During this time it has been implemented in a multitude of fresh and saltwater applications from Tropical fish egg tumbler tanks, large-scale koi breeders/wholesalers, trout farms and right through to the pond hobbyist. In this time there have been NO reports of any detrimental effects whatsoever to any type/bread of fish of any size or age. All ozone has been introduced to the water directly via aeration and all fish have been exposed directly to the bubbles.

Is my pond to large for this little unit? – Despite The Aquasure Ozonair unit only admitting a small dosage of ozone, the ORP will continue to rise thus still resulting in the desired effects even on the largest of applications  The only difference will be the time taken to increase the ORP. For example, a 10,000 gallon pond will take twice as long to achieve an ORP of 300mV compared to a pond of 5000 gallons.

Complete Ozonair system – Ozone is generated by an ozone generator such as the Ozonair purifier Unit and must be injected into the water or an reaction chamber. This can be done in several methods such as via an Protein Extractor, Aerator or Venturi. Air is either pushed through the Ozonair Unit with an air pump, then through an Aerator or it can be pulled through the unit by a venturi injection.

To get the best out of the Aquasure Ozonair unit it is recommended that it is used in conjunction with an aerator from the Aqua-Jet Air diffuser range, The range has been designed especially with the Aquasure Ozonair Purifier unit in mind. The range of aerators produces huge plumes of fine bubbles that maximize the saturation of Ozone in the water, ensuring maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

A protein Extractor or an ozone reactor to mix the ozone produced with the water as efficiently as possible, allowing the water to have full saturation of ozone, and then remove any residual ozone before the water is returned to the pond or aquarium.

Ozone Degradation –Due to ozone being a powerful oxidizer it will break down polymers over time depending on their Ozone resistance levels. Polymers such as PVC, Viton, HDPE, Silicone PVDF, Butyl PTFE and EDMP are rated “A” in ozone resistance making them completely ozone stable. Polymers such as ABS and polyethylene are rated “B”, ozone will affect “B” rated polymers but this happens over many years when exposed to the dosages that the Ozonair unit produces.

If the application of an ” Aerated Bottom Drain with hidden Airline” is used it is advised that ozone should not be used. If ozone is being added to a system it is recommended that all airlines and fittings are easily assessable and can be maintained if required

Measuring Ozone Levels in the Pond –The dosing of ozone in a pond is measured in oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), sometimes referred to as REDOX, and is commonly expressed in millivolts (mV). Simply put, ORP is a measure of how clean the pond water is in terms of its ability to oxidize contaminants and organic waste. The higher the millivolts displayed on an ORP meter, the more oxidizing potential the water has and, consequently, the more sterile it is.

Oxidation and reduction are terms used to describe the behavior of atoms and molecules as they react with other atoms and molecules. Chemical reactions can occur by sharing electrons or by exchanging electrons. REDOX reactions proceed by exchanging electrons between atoms and molecules. A typical REDOX reaction occurs when electrons are removed from one atom (oxidation) and added to another (reduction). The movement of electrons and the tiny charges that are generated are measured in millivolts. REDOX potential is a measure of the readiness with which these kinds of reactions occur.

We do not want pond water to be too sterile, nor do we want the water to be so full of waste that algae blooms and water clarity become an issue. So, what’s the sweet spot? An ORP of under 180 mV indicates the pond is becoming overwhelmed by the organic load. A low ORP can be an indication of low levels of dissolved oxygen, high levels of nitrites or high quantities of waste.

Conversely, an ORP over 500 mV means the water is highly oxidative and could indicate that there is too much ozone being introduced into the water. Exposure to highly oxidative water can be harmful to koi/fish and beneficial bacteria,

Ideally, we want the ORP in a koi pond to be somewhere in the 250-400 mV range, indicating that the water is very clean and the pond is doing a good job of handling the organic load. This can be achieved with a combination of aeration and ozone together.

Application- the Aquasure Ozone Purifier Unit can be run for a full 24 hour period, However in” most” applications an 6-10 hour cycle per 24hours will achieve excellent water quality and ensure ability to oxidize contaminants and organic waste.

Starting Dosage -The recommended starting dosage is 8 hours per 24 hour cycle when added to a new pond of any size (1000 gallons+). If after 7 days of application no change is noticed the dosage amount can be increased by 1 hour per 24hour cycle.

Once the desired quality/ORP is reached the Ozonair hourly dosage can be decreased to ensure a “level” of ozone is maintained. This will also save on power consumption

It is at the sole discretion of the user to determine dosage periods

Although weatherproof (IP45), the Ozone Purifier Unit should not be installed in any position where it might be submerged (fully or partially), subject to flooding, puddling, freezing or extreme conditions.

Installation – Installation of the Aquasure Ozone Purifier Unit couldn’t be simpler. Once removed from the outer packaging and a suitable position located, setting up requires nothing more than connecting an air line from your air pump to the Ozonair unit. Then connect the airline from the Ozonair unit to your in pond air outlet. (This unit will also help reduce build up of algae and limescale on all aerators). For ease of assembly place the tip of the airline in warm water for a few seconds and push onto the chosen fitting.

Fitting Bag – Supplied is a range of barbed hosetails to be used in-conjunction with most common sizes of flexible PVC airline (4,6,10 ID) attach the required fitting to the out/inlet via the threaded socket. A hose crimp/jubilee clip can be added for added security.