Why are UV sterilizers so,....EXPENSIVE ! ???

[427HISS]

There's not much to a sterilizer, (high tech digital electronics, circuit boards,...etc) so why are they so expensive ? Just because manufactures can, as we buy them anyway ?

I'd like to have one on most of my tanks, but even one for our 125g fowler tank are so high.

 

[Anthony Wood]

Look for a used one on eBay. I got a $400 25W UV filter for $40 then just had to buy the $60-$80 new bulb.

 

[427HISS]

Most of the time, is the bulb the thing that goes bad ? I hate to buy used electronics, but in this case I just might.

What would you say the top three brands ?

Can you direct to a watt/gallon chart that you,....recommend ?

Thanks !

 

[Anthony Wood]

i don't blame you on second hand electronics maybe I just got lucky. There are really only 3 main components the ballast/power supply, bulb and body. Body consists of the outter plastic she'll and an inner glass tube the the bulb is inside of. I would steer clear of anything used with the inner glass sleeve broken. A majority of the time unless someone spills water on the ballast they don't go bad your just looking a new $50 bulb.

That being said no matter what brand you get bulb life ranges will be 6-10 months of continuous use then the bulb is shot. So expect to be buying a new bulb once a year. As far as size just go with the manufacturer recommendations for watt/gallon. You could honestly go a tad bigger then what they recommend you'll never zap the tank clean of all life. Only what goes through the UV will die. So whatever is on or in the rocks and sand never makes it to the sump and into the UV it's safe.

I can't really recommend a brand because I'm not that into UV. I have a Aqua Ultraviolet 2" 25 watt UV sterilizer. If I didn't get it for $40 used and just checked I paid $50 for a new bulb. I wouldn't be running UV because I've not seen any noticeable change in the tank after running it. Just go on bulkreefsupply and look they sell good brands or look on eBay and see what's out there, then google the brand and see if it has good reviews along with the cost of the unit brand new and the cost/availability of parts to see if your getting a good deal that's what I did. Hope that helps!

 

[twilliard]

@brandon429 might have some input on this

 

[Anthony Wood]

Forgot to add the main reason I run UV is to prevent my macro from going asexual and making it into my display.

 

[Ryengoth]

Most of the time, is the bulb the thing that goes bad ? I hate to buy used electronics, but in this case I just might.

What would you say the top three brands ?

Can you direct to a watt/gallon chart that you,....recommend ?

Thanks !

Mercury lamps that produce UV-C wear out fairly quickly depending on usage and intensity. Also, the sealed connectors always have the possibility of being corroded beyond repair from seal leaks. Short wave UV oxidizes lots of materials, not just organics so the construction of the chamber has to withstand hundreds/thousands of hours of being torched. Optics have to be able to allow short wave UV to pass without interfering with the spectrum and also without degrading. Sapphire and quartz crystal is often used for lenses and for open lamp sterilization a TON of wattage is required in order to ensure a percentage of flow at XX.XXXX%. Custom produced sapphire or quartz tubes and lenses are usually required to allow as much UV-C through as possible. The sea water itself will refract the radiation and diminish effectiveness especially if moving. The lamps can be had fairly inexpensively if you want to attempt to construct a water-proof lamp connection and also perform testing to verify that the lamp you chose will actually oxidize a specific amount of organics within a water column flowing at a limited rate. I'd prefer to purchase a UL rated and lab tested sterilizer like from Emperor. It has a custom mfg quartz tube that the lamp sits in so you don't have to worry too much about connection corrision and you can replace the lamp without disconnecting the flow.

https://www.iuva.org/uv-faqs

 

[Brandon42]

I can't say much as too why they are so expensive but if you can find a used one and get a new bulb or with a fairly new bulb you should be in good shape. I picked one up used a couple days ago and it has done wonders for my tank.

This is how bad it was.

After 48 hours using a used uv I picked up for less than $100. I had this.

So used is not always a bad thing with stuff like this.

 

[twilliard]

I can't say much as too why they are so expensive but if you can find a used one and get a new bulb or with a fairly new bulb you should be in good shape. I picked one up used a couple days ago and it has done wonders for my tank.

This is how bad it was.

After 48 hours using a used uv I picked up for less than $100. I had this.

So used is not always a bad thing with stuff like this.

That is awesome!

 

[Ryengoth]

I have pods and algae mat in my sump. I have a SunSun 5W UV pump that I use for periodic cleansing when needed. I don't run a UV lamp 24/7 because I like my pods and bacteria alive in my sump. I have had no reason, so far, to put a sterilizer on my return piping. And, I've had some horrible outbreaks. ugh..

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008AJHUME

 

[brandon429]

Brandon42 yours was the example I was going to link to

we used UV in our lab at a beef processing plant microb lab to begin the strip down of contaminants incoming through the standard water lines and the ro di ones as well (lines ran the water all over the lab) we had multi UVs lab quality maintained and spec'd by a third party that's when I really came to believe in them aside from just those neat pictures above. part of our daily bac sampling not only included surfaces and meat etc, but incoming/outgoing plating for generalized aerobes in the water cast about the plant and we were double checking their 3rd party readings so this data was highly accurate, UV was a tangible and verified via colony count benefit to water clarity and sterility.

So in aquariums I don't bother sizing a uv, I know others do and that's prudent especially when paying $$ good money. If I had a large tank again id only use a pond UV overrated by thousands of gallons for my tank, out of concern a correctly matched one might work a bit slower. if im going to pay for irradiance I like to grossly overdo it, and have. throughout most of the 90s I ran a pond sterilizer meant for ten thousand gallons on my 75 gallon, it worked well for its intended purposes (to cheat cyano out of the system so I didn't have to work legitimately to exclude it)

 

[Brandon42]

Brandon42 yours was the example I was going to link to

we used UV in our lab at a beef processing plant microb lab to begin the strip down of contaminants incoming through the standard water lines and the ro di ones as well (lines ran the water all over the lab) we had multi UVs lab quality maintained and spec'd by a third party that's when I really came to believe in them aside from just those neat pictures above. part of our daily bac sampling not only included surfaces and meat etc, but incoming/outgoing plating for generalized aerobes in the water cast about the plant and we were double checking their 3rd party readings so this data was highly accurate, UV was a tangible and verified via colony count benefit to water clarity and sterility.

So in aquariums I don't bother sizing a uv, I know others do and that's prudent especially when paying $$ good money. If I had a large tank again id only use a pond UV overrated by thousands of gallons for my tank, out of concern a correctly matched one might work a bit slower. if im going to pay for irradiance I like to grossly overdo it, and have. throughout most of the 90s I ran a pond sterilizer meant for ten thousand gallons on my 75 gallon, it worked well for its intended purposes (to cheat cyano out of the system so I didn't have to work legitimately to exclude it)

It's back to 100% clarity too!