# Philips Aquarium Purifier



## Quint

Does it do it's job well ?


----------



## italianstylzzz

I would really like to know myself, I dont know of any LFS that sells them?


----------



## MPG

> 8. Is every aquarium guaranteed to be clean and healthy with the TAP?
> 
> Answer:
> That depends on the set-up. An aquarium has to be treated as a complete environment. The general rules are:
> • do not allow a tank to be overpopulated
> • ensure there are enough plants
> • include soil and filters in the aquarium (to provide a home for useful bacteria)
> • ensure adequate filtering (clean when necessary, but not too often)
> • do not overfeed
> • keep the water at the right temperature
> 
> If even one of the above rules is not complied with, the aquarium environment may become unstable.


Seems like it if you do the following, having it wouldn't make a difference anyways.


----------



## Ægir

Stuck at home on a sick day, so I spend some time looking around.

The unit uses a small (how small, nobody knows) Ozone generator, and an aerator to mix the ozone with your aquarium water.



> Ozone is a naturally occurring highly reactive form of oxygen gas comprised of three oxygen molecules (O3) that is also highly unstable and short lived. It is this inherent instability of the ozone molecule that is taken advantage of for use as a strong oxidizing agent. "Normal" oxygen, as found in air and water, has two oxygen molecules (O2) and is very stable. When ozone molecules break down, they lose an oxygen molecule, forming a stable "normal" oxygen molecule, and a free single oxygen atom. It is this free oxygen atom that attaches to dissolved organic compounds, which in turn causes them to break down into simpler forms that can consumed by heterotrophic bacteria , or recombine into forms that can be removed with mechanical filtration or protein skimming.


After using a much larger Ozone setup on the 400gal reef tank, I learned a few important things... Its important to control how much ozone you are adding, and the best way to do that is an ORP (Oxidization Reduction Potential) probe and controller. When your ORP reaches a set point (420mv on the reef tank) it shuts the Ozone generator off. The unit you posted doesnt use one... Which leads me to believe that even running full time, is only creating extremely small amounts of Ozone. Its also important to maximize contact time with the water, and an air stone isnt the best way to do that. In Saltwater, you have the perfect reaction chamber, your protein skimmer... Freshwater aquariums are a bit more tricky, and almost require a dedicated reactor.



> You do not want ozone to escape freely into your aquarium, it will also oxidize organic material in there, which will cause damage to fishes gills, and invertebrate tissue. You also do not want high concentrations of ozone to escape into the air; it is harmfull to your lungs if in high enough levels.


Ozone will also destroy some plastics, and rubber... which is why special tubing is required, and why you should make sure any plastics that may come in contact are O3 safe.

Overall, I would say Ozone is a GREAT thing to add to your aquarium if done correctly... Introducing unknown amounts directly into your aquarium doesnt sound like a good idea to me. If you want to use ozone, do it the safe way and use something like the Red Sea Ozonizer with built in ORP controller, and a dedicated reaction chamber.

Heres a great read about Ozone: Ozone!

Ok, found some more info...



> At first we believed this would be the greatest aquarium product since flake food but then we saw that the Philips Tropical Aquarium Purifier mdoels *produce between 0.55 to 1 mg O3 per hour.* What in the world are you supposed to do with half a milligram, 0.0005 grams of Ozone per hour? Scrub a betta bowl? Makes us wonder why Philips thought a half a milligram of ozone per hour would have any use in an aquarium when the smallest ozone generator produce between ten and 100 times that.


----------



## italianstylzzz

> At first we believed this would be the greatest aquarium product since flake food but then we saw that the Philips Tropical Aquarium Purifier mdoels *produce between 0.55 to 1 mg O3 per hour.* What in the world are you supposed to do with half a milligram, 0.0005 grams of Ozone per hour? Scrub a betta bowl? Makes us wonder why Philips thought a half a milligram of ozone per hour would have any use in an aquarium when the smallest ozone generator produce between ten and 100 times that.


actually this article was responed to by a philips employee:

I get you might be sceptical, but I've gotta say I'm a little disappointed with the comments. I thought you'd have tested it first or at least have asked for some explanation.
In comparison to the other ozonisers we do make a lot less ozone but the reason's quite simple: 
When you connect a higher dose ozoniser to an airpump and an airstone for example, about 20% of the ozone really has the chance to react with the aquariumwater. Add that to the fact that they are redox driven and only produce ozone for say 2 to 3 hours a day and you'll see why our 24 hours-a-day mechanism only needs these ozone levels. Even better, if we'd produce more the water would be sterilised (try hooking our new TAP400-700 to a 100 liter aquarium).
95% of the ozone reacts away so there's no excess ozone, it's safe and it works really well. We've done three years of testing on the best ozone level for reducing the nitrite peak, on water purity/clarity, health of fish and we even have our units working now to treat diseased Koi's at various Koi breeders. 
Try it yourself, but do use it on the required tank sizes. If you use it on your small freshy tank I guarantee you you'll OD your fish









Oh yeah, regarding the water changes, of course ozone doesn't affect nitrate. Your water changes vary from tank to tank: 
If you are an aquarist with a balanced ecosystem with sufficient plants to take up the nitrate, you can go a really long time without changing it. (we've tested up to 275 days, but don't hold that as an example, the last month levels were indeed borderlimit high) 
If you just like the looks of pretty fish and don't balance out your ecosystem, well you'll need to change it a lot more often, that's a fact...


----------



## Ægir

italianstylzzz said:


> actually this article was responed to by a philips employee:
> 
> I get you might be sceptical, but I've gotta say I'm a little disappointed with the comments. I thought you'd have tested it first or at least have asked for some explanation.
> In comparison to the other ozonisers we do make a lot less ozone but the reason's quite simple:
> When you connect a higher dose ozoniser to an airpump and an airstone for example, about 20% of the ozone really has the chance to react with the aquariumwater. Add that to the fact that they are redox driven and only produce ozone for say 2 to 3 hours a day and you'll see why our 24 hours-a-day mechanism only needs these ozone levels. Even better, if we'd produce more the water would be sterilised (try hooking our new TAP400-700 to a 100 liter aquarium).
> 95% of the ozone reacts away so there's no excess ozone, it's safe and it works really well. We've done three years of testing on the best ozone level for reducing the nitrite peak, on water purity/clarity, health of fish and we even have our units working now to treat diseased Koi's at various Koi breeders.
> Try it yourself, but do use it on the required tank sizes. If you use it on your small freshy tank I guarantee you you'll OD your fish
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Oh yeah, regarding the water changes, of course ozone doesn't affect nitrate. Your water changes vary from tank to tank:
> If you are an aquarist with a balanced ecosystem with sufficient plants to take up the nitrate, you can go a really long time without changing it. (we've tested up to 275 days, but don't hold that as an example, the last month levels were indeed borderlimit high)
> If you just like the looks of pretty fish and don't balance out your ecosystem, well you'll need to change it a lot more often, that's a fact...


The lifespan of a unit that runs 24-7 is far less than a unit that runs a total of a few hours per day. And the key thing here is maintaining a constant, higher ORP. If the unit is running 24/7 or switched on and off they are achieving a similar end result. The big difference is you have absolutely no control of the smaller one that runs 24/7, and without an ORP probe you really dont know what its doing, or if its even producing Ozone. They say "When you connect a higher dose ozoniser to an airpump and an airstone for example, about 20% of the ozone really has the chance to react with the aquariumwater." Thats because an airstone and pump is about the least effective method of induction... regardless of whats producing the ozone. If you used a proper reaction chamber, ozone wouldnt simply float to the top of your water column and into the air (also not good).

Ozone can affect nitrates, through oxidization its converting nitrites to less toxic nitrates, and making export easier.


> It is not because ozone directly impacts either nitrate or phosphate (it does not react directly with either), but the newly bioavailable organics may drive bacterial growth, just as adding ethanol (e.g., vodka) or sugar might. The growing bacteria need nitrogen and phosphate, and if they satisfy those needs by taking up nitrate and phosphate, the levels of those nutrients in the water may drop. That effect, however, may be only temporary as the initial burst of new bioavailable organics winds down, and a new stable state is reached with lower levels of organic material and similar levels of inorganic nutrients.


The thing that gets me, is still the lack of ORP readout... You are going to see severely different results based on a few factors, such as size of the aquarium, height of water column (contact time), where you place the unit, and even PH of your water. Everything I have read (keep in mind, I am far more familiar with saltwater and Ozone) says its really useless with a PH less than 7.5 in freshwater aquaria. If you had a larger unit controlled through ORP, it would eliminate all those variables and still give you a consistent ORP regardless of day to day changes.


----------



## italianstylzzz

Sounds to iffy to me, also the fact the dangers of ozone that can affect you..... I say, grab your buckets and syphons and do it the old fashioned way....


----------



## Quint

Saw a guy on youtube....seemed to be working for him so who knows.


----------



## Ægir

Quint said:


> Saw a guy on youtube....seemed to be working for him so who knows.


No doubt adding ozone, even in super small doses will do something... but nothing compared to a full sized unit with a reactor and ORP controller.

this is the unit we have been using: 











> Most manufacturers of ozone units recommend a dosage rate between 5-15mg per hour per 100 liters (26 gallons)


If the unit posted makes 1mg/hr, recommended tank size would be approx 2-5 gallons, full on 24/7. You just arent going to see the same results on anything larger.


----------

