i would like to put one on my 75g that is heavely stocked and has bad green water problems. would a UV sterilizer be effective. does it have to be inline with a filter or can i just run the water from tank to UV and then back to the tank??
are UV sterilizers really worth it
- Thread starter arowana man
- Start date
yes, UV sterilizers work. I had (about a year ago) recurring green water, for about 6 wks. I got fed up with it, and got an UV. 3 days of use and I haven't seen green water since.
Now of course, the real answer is to find out what is causing it in the first place... usually a small spike in ammonia.
Most are designed to go inline with canister, but I took this idea, and modified it a little to work for the UV I bought and my tank. Same principle though.
Now of course, the real answer is to find out what is causing it in the first place... usually a small spike in ammonia.
Most are designed to go inline with canister, but I took this idea, and modified it a little to work for the UV I bought and my tank. Same principle though.
cool, thats what i was going to do anyway. do u run UV's 24/7 or once a week like a diatom filter?
evercl92, I like that UV DIY idea. I was actually planning to run my TurboTwist Coralife through my canister outlet hose but now that I saw this DIY I'm leaning toward this fix.
Here is a JBJ UV that can be run like a powerhead. It comes in 5watts and 7 watts. I'm currently running a 7watts in my 20gal tank. So far I noticed less white film accumulating on my tank. It's not a must to run these but it can be beneficial if you use one.
Here is a JBJ UV that can be run like a powerhead. It comes in 5watts and 7 watts. I'm currently running a 7watts in my 20gal tank. So far I noticed less white film accumulating on my tank. It's not a must to run these but it can be beneficial if you use one.
You could run it 24/7 or 48/hrs a week. This all depends on you and your tank algae bloom severity. The only wear is the UV light bulb which has a average lifespan of 1 year depending on amount of usage.
arowana man;1386540; said:
I recommend using it when you have an algae bloom or a disease outbreak. Using constantly wastes energy and consumes the usefull bulb life unnecessarilly.
Powering the bulb on puts more wear on the bulb than several hours of running time…
So using a 12 hr on / 12 hr off schedule would be slightly more efficient than 24/7 usage… but will allow clarity to fluctuate. If your using the UVs to reduce/remove risk of parasites I suggest 24/7... For water clarity it makes sense to run them when the tank lights are on (assuming 8~12 hours per day)…
I run mine 24/7...
So using a 12 hr on / 12 hr off schedule would be slightly more efficient than 24/7 usage… but will allow clarity to fluctuate. If your using the UVs to reduce/remove risk of parasites I suggest 24/7... For water clarity it makes sense to run them when the tank lights are on (assuming 8~12 hours per day)…
I run mine 24/7...