Got somehting to say about ORP?

[Europhyllia]

Then please do.
Here's an article to get us started:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-12/rhf/feature/index.php

Was looking more into ORP after Ping mentioned on Rob's reef feeding thread that uv-sterilizers increase ORP...

[hobogato]

didnt read the article yet, but...

i used to monitor mine on the 240 - especially when i was running ozone into the skimmer. the tank, very heavily loaded never had an ORP reading above 350, and really looked its best around 330. i did notice that at that level, zoanthids and other softies did not grow well if at all. if i kept it closer to 350, they actually didnt open fully either. sps loved it at 330, and if it stayed there for a long period of time, that is when their colors looked the best. above there, they would fade a bit to lighter colors and below 310, they would green out and then brown out if it stayed there for long.

i was able to keep the orp at 330 later (with less bioload) with no skimmer - just doing 5 gallon water changes twice a week (keep in mind that was a VERY well established tank with TONS of biological filtration). i had to stay exactly on schedule, or it would fall to 300 and stay low for a couple weeks even after i got back on schedule.

[CoryDude]

I'm with Randy, and don't think that ORP is something high on my list of things to check. Redox potential was the rage for a while when I got into the hobby. FAMA and all the other mags had reviews on various orp monitors and ozone generators. But, everyone I talked to said they were more of a headache (literally, they would get headaches if they overdosed o3) than they were worth. The only people I knew that had success were people w/tanks overrun by algae, like Randy mentioned. But, their tank's improvement could also be attributed to the fact that they kept up with water changes and just generally took better care of their tanks.

IMHO, monitoring ORP is better suited for someone that doesn't or can't watch their tank alot, especially if things are starting to go south within the tank.

[Europhyllia]

didnt read the article yet, but...

i used to monitor mine on the 240 - especially when i was running ozone into the skimmer. the tank, very heavily loaded never had an ORP reading above 350, and really looked its best around 330. sps loved it at 330, and if it stayed there for a long period of time, that is when their colors looked the best. above there, they would fade a bit to lighter colors and below 310, they would green out and then brown out if it stayed there for long.

Interesting! Thanks. I don't think I'll bother with the UV-sterilizer then. No SPS and no ichy tangs in my tank...