Uv sterilizer size

[Matthias7]

i beleive I have a a bacterial issues in my tank. There is quite a bit of white/clear like stringy substance only in the shaded areas of my tank. Consequently at night it seems to grow on corals. I am thinking that I will buy a uv setup. My question is if I undersize it is it better then nothing? I'm trying to avoid spending 400$ for this since I most likely will not run it all the time.

 

[Joey waid]

I know amazon has them way cheaper than that. There a lot of mixed reviews on them. Some say they don't work and others swear by them??? You need a big enough one with low flow. Not knowing your thank who knows.

 

[Matthias7]

It's about 400 gallons or so all together

 

[lion king]

I had a persistent bacterial bloom in my 210 and I got a jabao 36 watt uv off of amazon for pretty cheap. It cleared it right up, I now run it as a clarifier. There's a 55 watt that's still less than $100, figure out the most effective flow rate and think that should clear up a 400. They have some bigger ones also if you want to spend a little more, either way the flow rate is very important.

 

[Matthias7]

Is there a recommended flow rate from each manufacturer? Sorry I have been in the hobby for a long time but I have not ever ran a uv sterilizer

 

[mgoesma]

I would start will a faster rate and slowly bring it down Intel you achieve you results you are looking for.

 

[lion king]

Goggle effective flow rates for uv sterilizer. It has to do with the volume of water and the wattage of the sterilizer. Most people run the flow way to fast and the contact time is too short to be effective. As an example I have about 170 gallons total volume go through a 36 watt uv at 295 gph.

 

[Waters]

To add to what Lion Kings stated, that is why the smaller UV units are typically no good. You need a large unit which will give you maximum contact time between the light and the water. In a small unit, you would need to slow the water flow WAAAAAY down to kill anything, which will make the unit useless since it will never keep up with anything but the tiniest of tanks.