uv sterylizers

sinaloa213

sinaloa213

Active Member
i saw u uv sterylizer and i wanted to know if these could be useful in a 95 gal i could never seem to get rid of the little thing in my tank and i heard UVs are good ........can anyonre help me out....? :help: :help: :help: :help:
 
cgrant

cgrant

Active Member
alot dont do the research before buying them and basically dont set them up correctly, like they buy big power heads, you want the flow to be under 110 gph to kill parasites.
Some dont know when turning the uv pump off/on you want to tilt the unit sideways to let any trapped air out, etc.
 
sebae09

sebae09

Member
a UV is more of a personal choice. it mostly depends on the fish you have, if you have a fish that is very prone to get ich like a powder blue than a UV is a good idea but if you have a fish that doesn't get it than its pretty much a waist of money. What kinds of fish do you have/want to get?
 
sinaloa213

sinaloa213

Active Member
i have 3 p j cardinals, 1 blue tang 1 yellow tang and 2 damsels and one blackhead goby or jawfish dont know what one
dont plan on getting anymore fish
 
sleasia

sleasia

Active Member
I use a coralife turbo twist 36 watt on my 200 gallon tank. I use a quiet one pump and run it slowly. I keep my uv on 24/7, and I do beleive it helps control parasites and other opportunistic bacteria in the tank....If nothing else it also controls unwanted algae. uv's need slower flow rates to operate effectively. the bulbs need to be replaced every 6 months or so as well. Many members do not beleive they do anything...I beleive they are very helpful and I have actually looked at water under a microscope and verified this by seeing some dead anchor worms, etc. So I'm convinced they really do work. If you run water through them too fast they will not work because then the parasites and bact are not exposed to the uv long enough to get zapped....
 
aquatics24

aquatics24

Member
Originally Posted by sleasia
I use a coralife turbo twist 36 watt on my 200 gallon tank. I use a quiet one pump and run it slowly. I keep my uv on 24/7, and I do beleive it helps control parasites and other opportunistic bacteria in the tank....If nothing else it also controls unwanted algae. uv's need slower flow rates to operate effectively. the bulbs need to be replaced every 6 months or so as well. Many members do not beleive they do anything...I beleive they are very helpful and I have actually looked at water under a microscope and verified this by seeing some dead anchor worms, etc. So I'm convinced they really do work. If you run water through them too fast they will not work because then the parasites and bact are not exposed to the uv long enough to get zapped....


Hm, im interested in where you say every 6 months, replace the bulb? I just bought a Aqua UV 25w and I am hooking it up shortly, i already turned it on and the bulb is a greenish color...anyways...are you saying i should shut off my ball valve every 5-6 months to check it?
 
sleasia

sleasia

Active Member
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.
 
cgrant

cgrant

Active Member
I have hipo tangs and just went through a spurt of ich, i never medicated it went away on its own, i think it was due to the uv zapping the parasite when falling off the host, been ~2 weeks now and no sign of ich!
Concept is simple, pump pushes water through uv and uv zaps parasite, etc.
You want a flow rate of -110 gph to zap the parasites.
 
sinaloa213

sinaloa213

Active Member
a blue hippo tang
sleasia how much was the uv sterilizer?
i have a 95 gallon tank
would i need a different size?
 
cgrant

cgrant

Active Member
for your tank the 18w coralife would work fine, I think its rated to 200 gallons or something like that?
look around, i have found that bigalsonline has very good prices.
 
cgrant

cgrant

Active Member
I just check coralifes web site and the 18w is rated to 250gallons, the 18 watt should be all you need for a 95 gallon tank but bigger is always better so if you have the extra for the next size up coralife is the 36 watt, if your going to purchase a coralife model?
esuweb . com
 
sleasia

sleasia

Active Member
Sinaloa..the other members answered the size question...
I bought mine on the big internet auction site for $100. different lfs and online stores have different prices. New they usually run between $165 and $200 (if I'm not mistaken)
 
cgrant

cgrant

Active Member
also check bigalsonline , they have good prices also!
I order alot from them and never had any issues.
 
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