Uv sterilizers...which one ..9w..18w ..55w.?

[Jason mack]

Ok...so I'm looking for answer about uv sterilizers....I've just watched a video on YouTube where the presenter states that when using a uv sterilizer too kill water borne parasites or pathogens, anything less than 18w is useless....is this a true statement ..?
From what I've read so for it depends on the length of contact time between the water and the uv ...slower flow, longer contact time to rid parasites and faster flow, less contact time for algeas ...this I know is true ...
Now let's say a 9w uv is advertised rated for tanks upto 125g, and a 18w is rated for tanks upto 250g ...so was the guy in the video right ...or would the 9w work as advertised by the manufacturer that it kills pathogens and parasites, I'm curious too your thoughts and or experiences...
Thanks Mack .!

 

[Jason mack]

Bump .!!!

 

[ca1ore]

Well, I’m hardly a UV expert, but in order to get effective parasite control you need slow flow. The smaller the unit, the slower the flow. So at low wattage levels, the flow may be so slow as to be largely pointless. Whether the inflection point is 18 watts I cannot say (and would suspect that the talking head you referenced cannot either). Personally, I’d always err on the side of larger over smaller. I’m running a 110 watt unit on my tank. Just keep in mind that it will heat the water.

 

[Jason mack]

The main reason I've gone for 9w is for the size of the units ...I'd struggle too place a bigger one anywhere in my sump area ...

 

[JDB83]

Well, I’m hardly a UV expert, but in order to get effective parasite control you need slow flow. The smaller the unit, the slower the flow. So at low wattage levels, the flow may be so slow as to be largely pointless. Whether the inflection point is 18 watts I cannot say (and would suspect that the talking head you referenced cannot either). Personally, I’d always err on the side of larger over smaller. I’m running a 110 watt unit on my tank. Just keep in mind that it will heat the water.

What size tank/ total water volume do you have? Just curious cause I'm thinking about adding a UV and wondering the same thing about sizes/wattages

 

[Jason mack]

What size tank/ total water volume do you have? Just curious cause I'm thinking about adding a UV and wondering the same thing about sizes/wattages

My tank is 90g . Ive just bought a coralife turbo twist×3 9w rated for tanks upto 125g..I was impressed by the quality and good reviews it had

 

[ca1ore]

I have a very large system. Main display is 450; total system volume close to 700 gallons. I have a large fish population and latent ich, so an oversized UV is part of keeping the proverbial hounds at bay.

 

[JDB83]

My tank is 90g . Ive just bought a coralife turbo twist×3 9w rated for tanks upto 125g..I was impressed by the quality and good reviews it had

I was looking at the coral life's also I have a 125 dt with a 100 gallon stock tank as a sump probably about 190-200 gallons of water volume I have a bunch of small fish want to add a powder blue but in the past always ended with ich and dying so thought maybe adding a UV would help me keeping them healthy?

 

[stacksoner]

This is a great question. Check out the Pentair UV sterilizer spec sheets: https://pentairaes.com/smart-uv-sterilizers-31295.html

Off the bat, you can begin to understand the world of difference between having a commercial grade uv sterilizer and the turbo twist garbage that peddled to hobbyists. Pentair provides hard stats and guidelines on the germicidal performance of its lineup of uv products at various flow rates. If you're going with a uv sterilizer, do it the right way the first time. The idiots at corallife who make the turbotwist have no idea what their product does and doesn't do. It's also made with a sheet metal outer core, painted over w black plastic paint. The metal eventually gets exposed when you open and close the fixture. It will rust like a b and contaminate your system.

 

[Jason mack]

This is a great question. Check out the Pentair UV sterilizer spec sheets: https://pentairaes.com/smart-uv-sterilizers-31295.html

Off the bat, you can begin to understand the world of difference between having a commercial grade uv sterilizer and the turbo twist garbage that peddled to hobbyists. Pentair provides hard stats and guidelines on the germicidal performance of its lineup of uv products at various flow rates. If you're going with a uv sterilizer, do it the right way the first time. The idiots at corallife who make the turbotwist have no idea what their product does and doesn't do. It's also made with a sheet metal outer core, painted over w black plastic paint. The metal eventually gets exposed when you open and close the fixture. It will rust like a b and contaminate your system.

I've heard about that ..its the reflector ,the company's response was what comes out is the same as what's in gfo and therefore reefsafe ...I've also heard it's best too change the lamps every 6 months ...

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Ok...so I'm looking for answer about uv sterilizers....I've just watched a video on YouTube where the presenter states that when using a uv sterilizer too kill water borne parasites or pathogens, anything less than 18w is useless....is this a true statement ..?
From what I've read so for it depends on the length of contact time between the water and the uv ...slower flow, longer contact time to rid parasites and faster flow, less contact time for algeas ...this I know is true ...
Now let's say a 9w uv is advertised rated for tanks upto 125g, and a 18w is rated for tanks upto 250g ...so was the guy in the video right ...or would the 9w work as advertised by the manufacturer that it kills pathogens and parasites, I'm curious too your thoughts and or experiences...
Thanks Mack .!

Good questions.
There needs to be some basic rules set up that include necessary tank turnover rate per hour through a UV to be effective, & then a wattage based on that flow rate

 

[Scrubber_steve]

@Jason mack thinking about just how effective a UV should be, in regards to removing pelagic bacteria you may have some thoughts to add to this thread?
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/p...terotrophic-aerobic-bacteria-hab-test.525357/

 

[SPR1968]

Hi Jason

The thing with UV/UVC sterilisers is that they tend to be very large, but you really want as much power as you can to be effective and if course it will only kill things that go through it, so floating things in the water column

I’ve used one since I started out and wouldn’t be without it now as a line of potential defense against unwanted problems

9w doesn’t sound that powerful but it’s whatever will fit your system etc. I have the 20w DD version, I would have gone for the larger version , but it’s massive and about 1 metre long and I wanted it within the sump. I had previously a JBL 36w (AKA the rocket launcher) outside the sump but it made me nervous and it was a huge beast

From what I’ve studied it’s all about contact time and if you want to kill of certain parasites, like for example ich, you have to achieve 72000 micro watts/sec and there is a calculation you can do based on the UVC power and the flow rate to achieve this.

The UVC only kills things that pass through it, so of course it’s not 100% effective but it certainly helps, and in reality I can’t see any down side to using one other than changing the bulb every 12 months.


The following is a quote from DD (David Saxby’s company) which I found helpful when researching:

‘’For water clarity we suggest a U.V intensity of 30,000 microwatt's/sec/sq.cm and our U.V sterilisers are designed to deliver this at the quoted flow/contact rate through the unit.
The mistake that many hobbyists make with our and other manufacturers U.V systems is not getting the flow rate right through the UV and connecting any old pump to it.If flow is increased the bacteria/algae or parasites do not get the correct U.V exposure and many happily pass right through the unit.

This is of some interest when trying to kill the white spot parasite as a greater U.V intensity of 72,000 microwatt's/sec/sq.cm is required to kill it. So with this in mind we have to take the standard flow rate of the unit for 30,000 microwatts and divide it by 2.4 to give you a flow rate for 72,000 microwatts exposure time.

So you will need to divide the suggest 500l/hr flow rate by 2.4 giving a new flow rate through the unit of 208 l/hr to kill the white spot. This will give a 0.6 times turn over for a 350l aquarium so it maybe worth going for the 20 watt unit and running it at 416 l/hr giving you over 1x tank turn over an hour but giving the correct kill intensity for white spot.’’