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uv sterilizers

yellow

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yellow

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i was just wondering if anyone has or is using these on thier tanks/systems and what thier experiences have been with them.im putting together a system and am considering whether or not to use them.also which is better the in tank ones or the inline ones.any help would be appreciated.

thankyou jason

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bennyN Newbie

bennyN

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i was just wondering if anyone has or is using these on thier tanks/systems and what thier experiences have been with them.im putting together a system and am considering whether or not to use them.also which is better the in tank ones or the inline ones.any help would be appreciated.

thankyou jason

Im using a 24W internal AA uv steriliser on my 95G (350L) discus tank... I struggled with discus for a long time, and when i started fresh with my new fish and the big tank i ordered the UV... Keeps the water 100% crystal clear ALL the time, keeps algae at bay, and havent had many disease issues (well, none) with the discus either...

I wouldnt ever keep expensive fish, with out a UV again..

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ViS Newbie

ViS

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The in line models are more efficient than the in tank ones, as more water will pass through them (and not the same water over and over again).

I use them on my systems and have found the water to be clearer and have had no disease problems at all.

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wui39 Newbie

wui39

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I sometimes wonder......UV clarifier or UV steriliser.....is there a real difference?

From experience a lot of pond equipment have the word clarifier and their main purpose is to kill the algae to clump them together for filter removal. Indoor aquariums have the word steriliser which is meant to kill not only algae but disease as well.

Any ideas as to why this is?

Sorry for going off topic a bit but its kind of related offtopic.gif

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Ash Newbie

Ash

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I sometimes wonder......UV clarifier or UV steriliser.....is there a real difference?

From experience a lot of pond equipment have the word clarifier and their main purpose is to kill the algae to clump them together for filter removal. Indoor aquariums have the word steriliser which is meant to kill not only algae but disease as well.

Any ideas as to why this is?

Sorry for going off topic a bit but its kind of related offtopic.gif

That's a good question!

Perhaps the "clarifier" type have less wattage compared to water volume treated because it's easier to eradicate green water than the other organisms. Say use a 9w globe on a 600l tank to sterilize or a 2000l pond to kill algae.

I'm just guessing but it sounds plausible to me? dntknw.gif

It also might just be pond branding vs tank branding as generally you don't have green water probs in a tank. laugh.gif

Anyone actually know?

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patchy Newbie

patchy

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Do you guys know if it would kill any plant fertilizers in the water?

Are there any downsides to using it with a planted tank?

UV will kill any living orgnisem which comes into contact with it, given enough time (not long). If your plants go through the UV (inline) then it will do damage but i think the chances of that are, lets say minimal bigsmile.gif . Plant ferts are substances, not living organisems so my money's on that UV wont do much to it. (however O2 in a high UV enviroment becomes ozone (O3), maybe the presence of UV will help oxidise the ferts...) non the less i reckon it wont do anything.

BTW my uncle uses UV on his planted discus tank and the plants still grow like mad, but so does some blue-green algae and since installing the UV he's had one case of HITH, go figure.

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Colfish Newbie

Colfish

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the main difference between pond clarifiers and uv sterilizers is the diameter of the water jacket. bigger in pond units, to allow for a greater water flow, just to control algae. smaller in sterilizers, to keep the water closer to the uv light, to kill

ALL bacteria and pathogens that pass through.

to function effectivley the water must be clean, they are not a tool for minimum maintanance. if they run 24/7[as they should] the bulb/tube will last about 12mths

i run an 8wt Lifegaurd [500ltr marine] through a 2213 ehiem [440ltr] with a Lifegaurd micro fine filter and chemical filtration

cheers;

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CThompson Newbie

CThompson

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UV steriliser. UV stands for Ultra Violet RADIATION.

The effectiveness of the radiations effects will be dictated by 1) the POWER of the bulb (i.e. the wattage), 2) how CLOSE the living organism (parasite or algae) comes into contact with the source of the radiation, and lastly 3) how LONG it stays in proximity.

Most if not all UV manufactures will tell you it will do “X” number of litres per hour. Say 10,000 lph for example. At a rating like that it will kill (dependant on the power of the bulb) only free floating algae. It is my understanding that the wattage of this bulb will be too low to kill anything more resistant to UV than algae, that is, diseases in our tanks such as the white spot parasite, will pass through unaffected.

So what does that mean to you and I? Simple, reduce the water flow through the UV, and you will increase the kill potential. For me I keep it simple and half the recommended flow through. That means that if a UV that states that it can do 10,000 lph, I would put 5,000 lph through it.

How do you do that if your pump does more than 5,000 lph? You put the UV on a bypass with water flow controlled by taps. This way you don’t throttle back your pump, but you reduce the water actually passing through the UV. Any parasites that you miss and don’t go through the UV bypass, will be gotten next time around or the next, or the next. It is better to have a parasite miss altogether going through the UV occasionally, and be gotten the next time around, than it is to have them all pass through it, but not be killed – this is useless.

I believe Collins explanation of the difference between clarifies and steriliser is good.

I also understand that a UV can affect some of the plant fertilisers, but the net affect is that it makes no difference to the plants.

Craig

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G-1000 Newbie

G-1000

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At the end of the day, a U.V functions to eliminate water born pathogens and bacteria. As such, you would use it for keeping the water inside the tank (NOT inside the filter) low in bacteria levels. This benefits fish in that, they are not exposed to organisms that cause disease, yet also reduces the number of times the fish mounts an immune response. In doing so, the fish is a little weaker, from an immunological point of view, but much healthier. If you opt to put a UV on a tank, it should be left on constantly, except when medicating or during maintenance (unless you want to use it for a tan or something).

Basically, inline UV's require less maintenance than internals. However, internals are much cheaper. Depending on the fish you have, make a decision based on cost I guess. Like discus would be a must for the inline, yet a fry tank for african cichlids would only need a small internal one at the most.

G

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Maxi Newbie

Maxi

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Hi all,

I am keeping some bristlenose - I want the water to be clean etc - but I still want some algae for them. Does the sterilizer "kill" all the algae - or will the algae on the rocks & wood etc survive?

Is there a preference for UV over Ozone?

Thanks

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