UV Sterilizer Question!

[Dierker0000]

Ok so I am looking to buy a Uv sterilizer for my 40 gallon aquarium. The purpose of the sterilized would be to prevent and control Parasites and disease. I have been looking around in the web and have not found a clear answer of what size Of watts and Gph I’ll have to run the sterilizer at for it to be effective. The sterilizer I am looking into is the lifeguard aquatics aquastep pro 15 or 25 watt UV sterilizer. Also my tank has no sump and has a HOB filter so I’ll need to buy a pump and some hosing to plumb it into my tank. Thanks!

 

[Mjrenz]

Ok so I am looking to buy a Uv sterilizer for my 40 gallon aquarium. The purpose of the sterilized would be to prevent and control Parasites and disease. I have been looking around in the web and have not found a clear answer of what size Of watts and Gph I’ll have to run the sterilizer at for it to be effective. The sterilizer I am looking into is the lifeguard aquatics aquastep pro 15 or 25 watt UV sterilizer. Also my tank has no sump and has a HOB filter so I’ll need to buy a pump and some hosing to plumb it into my tank. Thanks!

I'm honestly not sure if there is a clear answer available but the typical rule of thumb is that the larger the uv sterilizer the better and slower flow with more contact time is what you want for it to be effective

 

[Dierker0000]

I'm honestly not sure if there is a clear answer available but the typical rule of thumb is that the larger the uv sterilizer the better and slower flow with more contact time is what you want for it to be effective

Just did a little research and found that you want a turnover of around 1.5 times your tank ever hour. For a 40 gallon tank that would mean 60 gph. For level 2 sterilization you want about 8-12 gph per watt. That means with a 15watt sterilizer and a 60gph pump I would have about 4gallons per hour per 1 Watt. Achieving the level 2 sterilization. Does this sound about right? [emoji23] if it is I can kick it up to about 150gph pump and still achieve around 10gph per watt. Just to cycle more water.

 

[Jay Z]

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumUVSterilization.html#flowtable

Good info on this page!

 

[Peace River]

You may find this post by @SPR1968 helpful.

Realize that not all of the water needs to flow through the UV - in order to get the appropriate dwell time it may be appropriate to setup a bypass line with a slower flow rate in order to acheive the appropriate exposure. Good luck!