uv sterylizers
- Thread starter sinaloa213
- Start date
acrylic51
Active Member
Originally Posted by sleasia
each company probably has a different recommendation for changing the bulbs..for mine I change it every 6-8 months. You are also supposed to "clean" the bulb periodically...I hardly do this because my tank is so clean I have never opened up the uv and found the bulb dirty....yes, you stop the system to open the uv and change the bulb. I have my uv on its own pump because you need to run water slowly. Many people have too powerful a pump running their filters for and "inline" uv to function. you need power in the filter pumps to keep the circulation of the tank going, but too fast of a pump will render the uv useless. Water will go by the bulb too fast for it to zap out bad guys.
You've made very good points on everything u've said, but the issue basically is most don't know how to set them up properly.....I have a 65W with 2" inlet and outlet and the thing behind running them off of "big" pumps, Hammerhead is that you must be able to control and regulate the flow going through the UV. Again flow rate through the UV is dependent on what your trying to accomplish with the UV....If it's for water clarity you would want the flow through the UV faster than if your using it for parasitic control. Again alot of people are clueless when it comes to flow, because you can't actually tell if the flow is within manufacturer specs or not unless you have a flow meter on that line? How many of use use flow meters? I DO!!!!!! so yes you can use a big pump to push your UV as long as you can regulate the flow through gate valves and flow meters and you can build in a bypass system in your plumbing to bypass the UV when it comes time to service the UV if it's plumbed inline with your main pump.......
As far as bulb life I think it differs between manufacturers, but most people don't change them on schedule or clean them as well......I'd advise if buying a unit, buy a unit with a wiper to make cleaning easier as well......
each company probably has a different recommendation for changing the bulbs..for mine I change it every 6-8 months. You are also supposed to "clean" the bulb periodically...I hardly do this because my tank is so clean I have never opened up the uv and found the bulb dirty....yes, you stop the system to open the uv and change the bulb. I have my uv on its own pump because you need to run water slowly. Many people have too powerful a pump running their filters for and "inline" uv to function. you need power in the filter pumps to keep the circulation of the tank going, but too fast of a pump will render the uv useless. Water will go by the bulb too fast for it to zap out bad guys.
You've made very good points on everything u've said, but the issue basically is most don't know how to set them up properly.....I have a 65W with 2" inlet and outlet and the thing behind running them off of "big" pumps, Hammerhead is that you must be able to control and regulate the flow going through the UV. Again flow rate through the UV is dependent on what your trying to accomplish with the UV....If it's for water clarity you would want the flow through the UV faster than if your using it for parasitic control. Again alot of people are clueless when it comes to flow, because you can't actually tell if the flow is within manufacturer specs or not unless you have a flow meter on that line? How many of use use flow meters? I DO!!!!!! so yes you can use a big pump to push your UV as long as you can regulate the flow through gate valves and flow meters and you can build in a bypass system in your plumbing to bypass the UV when it comes time to service the UV if it's plumbed inline with your main pump.......
As far as bulb life I think it differs between manufacturers, but most people don't change them on schedule or clean them as well......I'd advise if buying a unit, buy a unit with a wiper to make cleaning easier as well......
acrylic51
Active Member
Your the one that got me started on my rant.........
Honestly I'm not sure how much good they actually do, because to ever pro there's a con to them and if the UV kill off bad it will kill of some good stuff as well.....We'll have to see once I get this new puppy fired up
mavis1032
Member
I have a 94gal reef with a blue hippo and a blonde naso. I am running a 9 watt UV and have not had any problems with ich in the yr it has been up and running. My question is if I add a fuge will the uv kill the pods before they get into the dt, is it ok to unplug the uv for periods of time to allow pods to pass.
acrylic51
Active Member
UV's aren't 100% effective against ick....it does help, but can't be proven it's the sole reason of no ick IMO.....UV will kill of some, but with anything it's a trade off......The UV won't make your fuge useless or worthless if that's what your asking........UV use alot of times is done improper IMO, because there are so many variable such as, speed through the UV, and overall condition of the UV bulb as well, and without being able to accurately measure the flow through the UV as per manufacturer recommendations, it's hard to say any UV is running within spec, and the things your trying to kill of has to be in the water column for the UV to actually have any effect on as well.
mavis1032
Member
Originally Posted by acrylic51
UV's aren't 100% effective against ick....it does help, but can't be proven it's the sole reason of no ick IMO.....UV will kill of some, but with anything it's a trade off......The UV won't make your fuge useless or worthless if that's what your asking........UV use alot of times is done improper IMO, because there are so many variable such as, speed through the UV, and overall condition of the UV bulb as well, and without being able to accurately measure the flow through the UV as per manufacturer recommendations, it's hard to say any UV is running within spec, and the things your trying to kill of has to be in the water column for the UV to actually have any effect on as well.
Thanks Acrylic, but my real question is will the uv kill the copepods I am looking to breed in a fuge to help feed my Mandarin? I have the uv coming off the current wet/dry that I am planning on replacing with a fuge. After leaving the UV the water also passes through a chiller before returning to the dt. Can the pods survive this? or do I need to set up a seperate breeding tank?
UV's aren't 100% effective against ick....it does help, but can't be proven it's the sole reason of no ick IMO.....UV will kill of some, but with anything it's a trade off......The UV won't make your fuge useless or worthless if that's what your asking........UV use alot of times is done improper IMO, because there are so many variable such as, speed through the UV, and overall condition of the UV bulb as well, and without being able to accurately measure the flow through the UV as per manufacturer recommendations, it's hard to say any UV is running within spec, and the things your trying to kill of has to be in the water column for the UV to actually have any effect on as well.
Thanks Acrylic, but my real question is will the uv kill the copepods I am looking to breed in a fuge to help feed my Mandarin? I have the uv coming off the current wet/dry that I am planning on replacing with a fuge. After leaving the UV the water also passes through a chiller before returning to the dt. Can the pods survive this? or do I need to set up a seperate breeding tank?