Uv sterilizer
- Thread starter bandos507
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Brian Kim
Color My Reef
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NeptuneGarden
Active Member
No such thing. you want good or cheap ? ... pick one.
Good UV's are not "affordable".
Do you really need one ? algae problems, bacteria blooms, pests ?
If you really want to "sterilize" the water you have to go BIG and slow the flow down through it.
I'm a big fan of UV, but it has to be done right, or it's just a waste of time and money.
Emperor Aquatics is the only brand worth buying. BRS sells them
W.Lim Products also makes a top notch unit. ( I like Lim's because he puts a union on the main sleeve allowing the input and output to be rotated in different directions and the main interior chamber can be accessed and cleaned easily )
Good UV's are not "affordable".
Do you really need one ? algae problems, bacteria blooms, pests ?
If you really want to "sterilize" the water you have to go BIG and slow the flow down through it.
I'm a big fan of UV, but it has to be done right, or it's just a waste of time and money.
Emperor Aquatics is the only brand worth buying. BRS sells them
W.Lim Products also makes a top notch unit. ( I like Lim's because he puts a union on the main sleeve allowing the input and output to be rotated in different directions and the main interior chamber can be accessed and cleaned easily )
Brian Kim
Color My Reef
You do realize he is talking about an AIO 29 biocube, right?
NeptuneGarden
Active Member
Makes no difference. An aquarium is an aquarium, same rules apply when it comes to "properly" installing a UV.
Those little Petsmart/Amazon 5-8watt UV's are useless for anything beyond killing green water algae .... and if you have green water problems than you have bigger issues that need to be addressed with your water quality
Brian Kim
Color My Reef
It's pretty simple
1) he has a small AIO that can not accommodate what you are suggesting
2) something is better than nothing.
3) He's never mentioned anything about green water problems as far as I know
Retro Reefer
Slow and steady wins the race!
The coralife UV unit will work just fine on your tank, I had a bacterial bloom in my Biocube for over 3 weeks that I just couldn't get rid of, my water was very cloudy and I had tried everything to clear it up with no luck.. 24 hrs after installing the BC UV unit in my tank my water was crystal clear.. It obviously isn't the best UV system on the market but it does work and for your small volume of water and the low total cost involved in the coralife UV system IMO it's the perfect choice.
Brian Kim
Color My Reef
Thanks for your input...I also had similar result as yours a while back when I used to own a biocube 29
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NeptuneGarden
Active Member
And you guys confirmed my opinion as well.
That small 8 watt Amazon UV is good for correcting blooms and green water - which are symptoms of bigger water chemistry problems - which means you're putting a band-aid on an infection.
If you want a true "sterilizer" than a 25w Emperor Aquatic running at about 50gph through it will do it. Not cheap at about $300.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/emperor-aquatics-smart-uv-lite-25-watt.html
Everything else is band-aid crap made for people keeping 10 gallon neon tetra tanks and a waste of money.
That small 8 watt Amazon UV is good for correcting blooms and green water - which are symptoms of bigger water chemistry problems - which means you're putting a band-aid on an infection.
If you want a true "sterilizer" than a 25w Emperor Aquatic running at about 50gph through it will do it. Not cheap at about $300.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/emperor-aquatics-smart-uv-lite-25-watt.html
Everything else is band-aid crap made for people keeping 10 gallon neon tetra tanks and a waste of money.
Waters
"...in perfect isolation, here behind my wall."
A lot of what Neptune is saying is true. UV is effective based on length of contact time between the light and the water, water clarity, and strength of the bulb. If the UV unit is small, the water pumping through it has to be slowed WAY down, which makes the unit pretty ineffective, regardless of the tank size. I guess if the tank is extremely small you could get a way with slowing the water down, which will allow the water to remain in contact with the UV light long enough to make a difference. The issue becomes the UV keeping up with the demands of the tank since the water is being treated extremely slowly.
