UV light showing through casing

[LovesDogs_CatsRokay]

I noticed today that the UV bulb is showing through the casing of my Pentair unit. I thought it used to be completely opaque. Should I be concerned about chemicals leaching into the water? I did a recent ICP test and it didn’t show any thing unusual.

 

[Isaac Alves]

I've looking into getting a UV system. I noticed a lot of reviews on BRS stating the pentair housings were thinning out after about a year of use.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I noticed today that the UV bulb is showing through the casing of my Pentair unit. I thought it used to be completely opaque. Should I be concerned about chemicals leaching into the water? I did a recent ICP test and it didn’t show any thing unusual.

To my knowledge you don't need to worry about chemicals at all, but you probably should be concerned about the casing degrading, as that can lead to leaks (and if it gets thin enough, it can also lead to you being exposed to any UV that makes it through the thinning plastic of the casing).

This thread has comments from a few different people with the same issue - they suggested fixing it using a heat gun to remove the casing and replace it with new, black PVC:

UV light penetrating casing

Hi All, I have a pentair smart uv 40w running about 600GPH flow for a 220 gallon plus reef tank. Ive owned the unit for about 3 years now and have changed the bulb and glass sleeve twice. It seems to work with out issue until month week when i walked into my garage and saw that it was...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[ThaBeast]

If you don’t want to replace the casing on your current unit, Lifegard UV units use a replaceable sleeve on their products. The replaceable sleeve should be done every bulb change, it is easy and inexpensive

 

[exnisstech]

If you don’t want to replace the casing on your current unit, Lifegard UV units use a replaceable sleeve on their products. The replaceable sleeve should be done every bulb change, it is easy and inexpensive

And BRS gives pentair top rating. They must be rating the profit margin not performance As stated the lifgard units have a replaceable sleeve. The only light I see on my lifgard unit is on the ends which is opaque I assume so you can see the light is on.

 

[Steve2020]

The Lifegard Aquatics Pro Max series UV have white pvc inserts that are replaceable to prevent the degrading issues seen with some other UV brands. This was one of the main reasons why I chose to install a Pro Max in my system along with a few other key features it has over some other brands.

 

[Steve2020]

If you don’t want to replace the casing on your current unit, Lifegard UV units use a replaceable sleeve on their products. The replaceable sleeve should be done every bulb change, it is easy and inexpensive

You beat me to it. I was typing while you posted lol.

 

[ThaBeast]

You beat me to it. I was typing while you posted lol.

You remembered the ‘Pro Max’ line. This is the version I purchased also & I’ve been pleased with it