ORP Question

[Reddog170]

Well I was going to get a reef angel controller but after 2 delays now with them being on back order I have decided that I am not that patient. I will be getting a Reef Keeper Elite instead.
Now on to my question. What is ORP? The probe is optional. Is it something that I need to be watching? I have never tested it before, but should I have? I get a little lost there. Some people I talked to say you need to keep an eye on it but could not tell me what exactly it is.
So do I need to what the ORP and get the probe or is it only for certain way or types of systems? Thank You, Shaun

 

[Reddog170]

Interesting. Well I am going to assume that I must I have irritated someone here. My questions here of late just go unanswered so I apologize. Shaun

 

[steved13]

From what I have read ORP has sort of drifted away as an important measurement. I think the reason you haven't gotten any repsponse is not many are knowledgeable.

I believe Dbrinson uses ORP measurements quite a bit you might want to PM him. He's also a successful long time reefkeeper.

 

[jpsika08]

Hello Reddog, here is a useful link to understand what is ORP,
ORP and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

ORP is really difficult to read but what most users tend to see is any considerable change on the regular parameter of it, for example, my ORP probe reads 320 - 330 all the time, if in any given day that number goes to 290 or 370 I would know something is wrong with the water parameters, so I tend to do some water testing and find what's going on.

I know this ain't the best explanation and hopefully others will join and comment, good luck and congrats on getting that controller

 

[Luukosian]

I've always seen ORP probes used in conjunction with ozone for some reason. Not an expert on the subject, just an observation.

 

[bwhit1406]

Bummer I was interested to see how you liked the reef angel.

 

[Boomer]

Shaun

it is not something you really need, unless you have money and time. Time, meaning, to learn what causes a ORP shift or change in your tank. One thing that really jumps out is that as pH falls ORP goes up and an has pH goes up ORP drops. To add, new seawater will have lower ORP than tank water.



Luukosian


Yes, for ozone, as ozone is a strong oxidizer and can raise the ORP very high. A ORP of 400 mV when using ozone is not that same as 400 mV when not using ozone but just a well run reef tank at 400mV.