i am seting up a new tank and will be running 2 ac110 on it, i want to use a uv sterilizer but all the ones ive found and looked at have to be in line with the pump return hose does anyone know if i can use one with hob and how big of one i should use on a 58 gallon
can i use a uv sterilizer
- Thread starter joedodge
- Start date
The turbo twist, as well as others I've seen, require a separate pump, so wouldn't be in line with the filter. As for sizes, I'm not sure, but you could check Drs. Foster and Smith to see what size you'd need before going to the LFS. We have one on our 1,000 gallon pond that used to be on our 75 gallon aquarium, and it took longer to clear the water up, but once it got clear, it hasn't been a problem. So, I guess I'm saying that even if it's a little smaller than the manufacturer recommends, I haven't found that it really matters.
Hey Joe… Sorry, me again 
I’ve been using UV lights for over 5 years and have been raising Blue Dempseys for over 3.5 (they are known to be prone to parasitic infection), so I’ve done a lot of ‘experimenting’ and research on them…
Turbo Twist makes a good UV light, I have a couple… Danner makes the best quality UV light I’ve seen, I have a couple of them too…
You can use a powerhead or water pump to push water through them… here’s the thing though…
Any particle that is pushed through the UV light can potentially scuff the quarts sleeve. It is “scratch resistant”, not “scratch proof”. As the sleeve gets even faint little scuffs this deflects the UV rays and reduces the effectiveness of the light. Also, every particle that moves through the light casts a tiny little shadow. I know it doesn’t sound like much but it can have a pretty big impact. We know that parasites require a longer dwell time to be killed, but even with long dwell times if they are given temporary relief from the UV light by passing through these shadows, they can survive the light.
So it is critically important to make sure whatever water you push through the UV, is well filtered. I personally use canister filters with media that removes particles measured by the micron. If you use a water pump or powerhead I suggest you use an elaborate prefilter and clean it often.
As for size and flow rates… This is what I came up with well before any of the manufacturers started advertising anything more than flow rates & sizes to remove green water…
This eradicates parasites as well as clarifies water, kills free floating algae, fungus, bacteria, etc, etc…
1W of UV strength per 10 gal of water in the system…
10 gph per 1W of UV strength…
Which means a 9W UV lamp at 90 gph on (up to) a 90 gal tank…
I’ve been using UV lights for over 5 years and have been raising Blue Dempseys for over 3.5 (they are known to be prone to parasitic infection), so I’ve done a lot of ‘experimenting’ and research on them…
Turbo Twist makes a good UV light, I have a couple… Danner makes the best quality UV light I’ve seen, I have a couple of them too…
You can use a powerhead or water pump to push water through them… here’s the thing though…
Any particle that is pushed through the UV light can potentially scuff the quarts sleeve. It is “scratch resistant”, not “scratch proof”. As the sleeve gets even faint little scuffs this deflects the UV rays and reduces the effectiveness of the light. Also, every particle that moves through the light casts a tiny little shadow. I know it doesn’t sound like much but it can have a pretty big impact. We know that parasites require a longer dwell time to be killed, but even with long dwell times if they are given temporary relief from the UV light by passing through these shadows, they can survive the light.
So it is critically important to make sure whatever water you push through the UV, is well filtered. I personally use canister filters with media that removes particles measured by the micron. If you use a water pump or powerhead I suggest you use an elaborate prefilter and clean it often.
As for size and flow rates… This is what I came up with well before any of the manufacturers started advertising anything more than flow rates & sizes to remove green water…
This eradicates parasites as well as clarifies water, kills free floating algae, fungus, bacteria, etc, etc…
1W of UV strength per 10 gal of water in the system…
10 gph per 1W of UV strength…
Which means a 9W UV lamp at 90 gph on (up to) a 90 gal tank…
ok excelent i have 2 fluval 404s i will prolly use one of those to run a 9 watt sterilizer and then use a ac110 also i would realy like to use a sterilizer for water clarity and parasite purposes as im looking into blue dempseys as a possibility i have a standadrd 75 that might get this project instead of my new 58 gallon
The Fluval 404 is rated at 340 gph...
In my experience most canisters have an actual flow rate of around 50% of what the motor is rated for...
Therefore I would expect the 404 to actually move about 190 gph...
Which is a little over double what I would push through a 9W UV lamp...
Moving water too fast through the UV lamp will reduce it's effectiveness. Based on my experience running a 9W at 190 gph will have no effect on parasites.
If you plan to use the 404 as the powersource for your UV lamp I strongly recommend using a 18~20 W UV lamp...
In my experience most canisters have an actual flow rate of around 50% of what the motor is rated for...
Therefore I would expect the 404 to actually move about 190 gph...
Which is a little over double what I would push through a 9W UV lamp...
Moving water too fast through the UV lamp will reduce it's effectiveness. Based on my experience running a 9W at 190 gph will have no effect on parasites.
If you plan to use the 404 as the powersource for your UV lamp I strongly recommend using a 18~20 W UV lamp...
ok i will step it up to the next size wen i buy the sterilizer for sure and im thinking i will be using my 75 gallon as the 58 is leaking and im a little leary of doing a full reseal job and i think 75 will giv me a lil more room for stocking
i bought the AA brand 24w uv light for one of my 55 gal grow out tanks just because i had green algea problem because we kept forgetting to turn the light off at night, not sayin it is the best but it was only $59 at petsmart and came with the small powerhead. just run it about 3 hours a day and everything is nice and clear.