DIY UV Sterilizer ?

[Tigerdat]

Check out American Aquarium Products they make a 15 watt UV that would work well on your 70 gallon and it about cost $75 you probably can't build one for that price. You could run it with a small powerhead 150-300 gph
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/index.html

 

[Nights85]

Thanks Joe and everyone interested, The plan is to have one over sized for the job as I might be getting a
bigger tank some time I may not be able to start the project too soon though because I will be moving
sometime very soon but once the move it should definatley come into play.

you can get a UV from the store way cheaper then $120.00 for 75G.

Maybe so but all the ones I had seen were over $200 so I figure not
only will it be fun it will be a lot cheaper I could build a bigger one
without the whopping labor charge.

Check out American Aquarium Products they make a 15 watt UV that would work well on your 70 gallon and it about cost $75 you probably can't build one for that price. You could run it with a small powerhead 150-300 gph
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/index.html

Looks rather decent I supposed but for instance if I were to buy the light for $17 and the ballast for $15 thats
pretty much the whole thing and I spend maybe 2 bucks on pipe..? If what I try to make turns out to
be pricier for whatever reason I'll buy that one but I still think it would be cheaper.

 

[uncwnells]

But another plus about buying one is that you know your not pumping uv rays into your house.

 

[Nights85]

But another plus about buying one is that you know your not pumping uv rays into your house.

How would they be pumped into the tank? :|
it's going to have elbows n such as far as I understand the rays won't
follow the water..

Besides that it would basically be the same design but cost alot
less maybe even look better.

 

[mrunlucky07]

What about the quartz sleeve? I don't think many bulbs are made to be in direct contact with the water.

 

[Nights85]

Well the water wasn't planned to flow over the bulb itself..

I have a few ideas and when I go into officially making it
that's when I'll find out what I need for sure.

 

[mrunlucky07]

I saw you were questioning the effect of using acrylic, which is why I mentioned finding a glass tube. Acrylic is pricey unless you are lucky to scavenge it. I love DIY but would agree with most that premanufactured is hard to beat. The ready to go ones often use a spiral around the light to increase contact time too. I recently picked up a 55w laguna UV, http://cgi.ebay.com/LAGUNA-POWERCLE...yZ134750QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemit It would have been hard to diy for less. For large UV applications DIY has a place though, here is one build:

http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45037

I also noticed the other day petsmart has a 24w UV with powerhead $50 on the shelf at my local store, its $59 online.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2750628&cp=2767036.2769128.3069946

 

[Dr Joe]

What about the quartz sleeve? I don't think many bulbs are made to be in direct contact with the water.

The sleeve is there for...

A) Make changing the bulb convenient.

B) Keep the bulb clean for maximum effect (still have to clean the sleeve).

C) Prevent physical shock (cold water) from breaking the lamp.

D) Keep waste out of the tank should the bulb break.

E) Prevent electrical shock should the bulb break. (all aquarium equipment should be on a GFI anyway).

All that said, everything can be worked around.

 

[Pharaoh]

Go with what you would prefer to do. You could very well be able to make a larger one for a cheaper price. Plus, it is always more fun to build it yourself.