Flowmeters in the Aquatics Environment

Why is a flowmeter important?

Whether operating a negative pressure (protein skimmer) or positive pressure (ozone reactor) aquatics environment, knowing the volume of air drawn through your ozone generator is integral to understanding how the generator is performing.

Insufficient airflow over the CD cell can result in poor ozone production and reduced skimmer/reactor performance resulting in little to no change in ORP, even if adjusting the variable output on the Poseidon 200 or Poseidon 400. Using a flowmeter ensures the proper airflow is being pulled through the system enabling optimal ozone production.

How to adjust skimmer/reactor airflow with the use of a flowmeter

If using a DC water/sump pump on your skimmer or ozone reactor, simply increase the pump speed until the desired flow rate is achieved (6-7 SCFH). If using an AC water/sump pump, an inline vacuum air pump may be required between the air dryer and the ozone generator to achieve the desired airflow (6-7 SCFH).

Ozone 101

Ozone oxidizes (breaks down) larger particulates in a reef tank into smaller particulates, they don’t make them disappear. Therefore, when using an ozone generator, it is important to make the necessary filter adjustments to capture those smaller particulates. A 50-micron filter is ideal to capture most of these particulates.