In Praise of UV

[Mono]

I had a an Aqua Ultraviolet Classic 57 watt sitting around on a shelf. I was about to sell it but then I had a dyno outbreak.

After all of the talk on BRS and Tidal Gardens in praise of UV I figured I'd hook it back up.

I originally disconnected it because I had it plumbed into my chiller and return which I would think twice about doing again.

Why?

Well, I think the UV needs a little bit of TLC.

Plumbing it into the return with a chiller made maintenance a little too difficult both because of the physical placement of the UV and the plumbing connections.

So, this time I just connected it to a small AC pump (rated at 200 gph) I had laying around with the return directly into the sump. (Of course a DC pump is better for variable flow applications but I had an AC pump laying around, plus they're simpler and cheaper.)

You want to be able to get to the UV easily to clean the quartz sleeve and change the bulb.

Even with an old UV bulb it worked overnight to clear the tank of 75% of the dyno crud and the next few days it kept on working.

Now, Afer a few days I still have a bit left but it's NO comparison. 90% is gone.

I've ordered a new UV bulb and I will install it over the weekend.

What's the moral of the story?

Adding the UV back in was probably the easiest thing I did this year with the greatest positive impact on my tank.

And on a final note, I will say the build quality and functionality of Aqua Ultraviolet is pretty darn good.

The design is well thought out and everything connects up easily with NO LEAKS.

I'd buy again and in fact I did. Just a second one for my other tank.

 

[KingTideCorals]

I had a an Aqua Ultraviolet Classic 57 watt sitting around on a shelf. I was about to sell it but then I had a dyno outbreak.

After all of the talk on BRS and Tidal Gardens in praise of UV I figured I'd hook it back up.

I originally disconnected it because I had it plumbed into my chiller and return which I would think twice about doing again.

Why?

Well, I think the UV needs a little bit of TLC.

Plumbing it into the return with a chiller made maintenance a little too difficult both because of the physical placement of the UV and the plumbing connections.

So, this time I just connected it to a small AC pump (rated at 200 gph) I had laying around with the return directly into the sump. (Of course a DC pump is better for variable flow applications but I had an AC pump laying around, plus they're simpler and cheaper.)

You want to be able to get to the UV easily to clean the quartz sleeve and change the bulb.

Even with an old UV bulb it worked overnight to clear the tank of 75% of the dyno crud and the next few days it kept on working.

Now, Afer a few days I still have a bit left but it's NO comparison. 90% is gone.

I've ordered a new UV bulb and I will install it over the weekend.

What's the moral of the story?

Adding the UV back in was probably the easiest thing I did this year with the greatest positive impact on my tank.

And on a final note, I will say the build quality and functionality of Aqua Ultraviolet is pretty darn good.

The design is well thought out and everything connects up easily with NO LEAKS.

I'd buy again and in fact I did. Just a second one for my other tank.

Nice write up and review on the UV! I am a fan for sure if certain things are going on in a system!

Thanks for the thread!