I used to get all paranoid whenever my fish were cut or scraped up--which is all the time. Their little injuries heal fast, and I credit the UV sterilizer for keeping the pathogens down in the tank.
Advice needed on a UV sterilizer
- Thread starter EMac
- Start date
pacu mom;3788592; said:The flow rate through the UV sterilizer is critical. The larger the UV sterilizer, the faster the flow rate can be for maximum effectiveness. On our 300 gallon tank, we are running a 40 Watt sterilizer. The recommended flow rate for the unit is about the flow rate for the FX-5 we use for redundant filtration.....So we connected the UV sterilizer to the return line of the FX-5. We let the FX-5 push the water through the UV sterilizer and return it to the tank.
If you want to save yourself some hassle, get a UV sterilizer with a recommended flow rate that matches your FX-5, and use your FX-5.
With floor-to-ceiling picture windows and two skylights, our tank is in sunlight. We quickly developed a green water problem.
The green water quickly cleared up with the UV sterilizer
Pentair Aquatics UV sterilizer connected to the FX-5
That's a great setup Pacu mom, I might do the same with my 3rd FX5. Great idea
When we eventually set up the big tank, we'll do the same thing--connect a UV sterilizer to the return line of one of our filters. As long as we match pump flow rates, it should work just fine.
Keep in mind when the manufacturer states a max flow rate for a UV unit they are referencing the maximum amount of water you can push through the unit without the unit leaking... it has nothing to do with efficiency...
Since UV lights serve a wide range of purposes, manufacturers can get away with making some pretty wild claims...
Since UV lights serve a wide range of purposes, manufacturers can get away with making some pretty wild claims...
Since UV lights serve a wide range of purposes, manufacturers can get away with making some pretty wild claims...[/QUOTE]
Nutcase can you expand on what wide range of purposes means ?
thanks
Nutcase can you expand on what wide range of purposes means ?
thanks
pacu mom;3788592; said:The flow rate through the UV sterilizer is critical. The larger the UV sterilizer, the faster the flow rate can be for maximum effectiveness. On our 300 gallon tank, we are running a 40 Watt sterilizer. The recommended flow rate for the unit is about the flow rate for the FX-5 we use for redundant filtration.....So we connected the UV sterilizer to the return line of the FX-5. We let the FX-5 push the water through the UV sterilizer and return it to the tank.
If you want to save yourself some hassle, get a UV sterilizer with a recommended flow rate that matches your FX-5, and use your FX-5.
With floor-to-ceiling picture windows and two skylights, our tank is in sunlight. We quickly developed a green water problem.
The green water quickly cleared up with the UV sterilizer
Pentair Aquatics UV sterilizer connected to the FX-5
Can i just ask how long it took for your water to go from green to crystal clear using that 40Watt UV filter???
crr;3801777; said:
Nutcase can you expand on what wide range of purposes means ?
thanks[/QUOTE]
You could push push 750~1,000 gph through a 9 W UV light and it will remove green water conditions, but will do nothing to eradicate parasites...
You could use a 9W UV light to remove green water conditions from a 500 ~ 1,000 gal tank, but this will not be able to give ample protection against parasites...
Thus a manufacturer can suggest "Effective at up to 1,000 gph" and "Effective on up to 1,000 gal tanks"... which is true if your simply trying to remove greenwater, but is completely untrue if you are trying to protect yourself againt parasites...
