the greatest trick for UV is this above all:
amazon rental technique. decide within 28 days. keep your packaging. clean the tank top to bottom before use. zap a little peroxide along with the UV, co team
if you buy a UV sized correctly for your tank, you have a % chance it will work.
if you buy a UV correctly sized for a pond, your % goes up, massively
its not a permanent install, its to attack something stressing your tank then you can take it offline. id keep for future if it works....not a send back to
amazon. You should buy a UV so oversized the chances are in your favor. all issues regarding bacteria, plankton, all have been factored into the statement. UV doesn't clean off the tank for us
after we clean the entire tank by hand, even removing things and rinsing externally if needed, big work, UV helps by zapping the bits you left in, from reforming.
non holdfast invaders typically have a water transition phase (glass doesn't grow X, X gets on the glass via the water) and UV works directly at this moment, if you get lucky on sizing. most just buy a 9 watt and take the chance. the serious ones use a pond sterilizer like I did
took grandmas ten thousand gallon rating koi pond sterilizer for a month, for a 75 gallon tank, I had no more cyano lol. I just mounted it behind the tank and left it, she wasn't using anymore so ill never know if it would have stayed gone or not.
