UV sterilization....what are you using?

[pacu mom]

A UV sterilizer is peace of mind for me. I used to freak out every time my fish got injured. My fish heal quickly..don't know if they are just hardy, or it's the UV sterilizer. I have no fish medications and rely on the UV sterilizer to do its job in keeping pathogens at bay, and thereby promoting healing.

 

[slippery slimecoat]

OK, I'll show you, but don't judge...I got the "Green Killing Mahcine"...LOL

When I was still cycling my ~260G a year ago, I had the worse algae/bacteria bloom and I did not have the patience to wait. Even with mass water changes two weeks and no change.

I gave in and purchased two of these. I let it run for 4-5 days straight and it cleared up my tank completely! Since then, I just put them on a timer and both are still in my sump (see in second picture)

I'm sure there are many "better ones", but I like the fact that I was able to put both in my sump chamber and plug in - no additional plumbing and pumps required. It was literally plug and play. The best part was it worked and I've kept ever since.

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From the bit I've read up on UV's, you can get away with smaller cheaper units if your just looking for water clarification. It's when you're looking for a true level of sterilization that you need to start looking more closely at the unit you choose. At least that was my understanding from what I've read in different articles.

 

[DN328]

From the bit I've read up on UV's, you can get away with smaller cheaper units if your just looking for water clarification. It's when you're looking for a true level of sterilization that you need to start looking more closely at the unit you choose. At least that was my understanding from what I've read in different articles.

That's what I understand as well in terms of killing parasites. Although my goal was clear up the water, in the back of my mind thought about the additional benefit. I think it needs to be a minimum of wattage to kill parasites.

 

[DN328]

I want to say 24w minimum, but someone more knowledgeable can correct this.

 

[boldtogether]

I want to say 24w minimum, but someone more knowledgeable can correct this.

I do believe it has more to do with contact time than anything...but a higher wattage allows higher flow. If you have a smaller system, you can kill pathogens with low wattage UV-C..

A UV sterilizer is peace of mind for me. I used to freak out every time my fish got injured. My fish heal quickly..don't know if they are just hardy, or it's the UV sterilizer. I have no fish medications and rely on the UV sterilizer to do its job in keeping pathogens at bay, and thereby promoting healing.

I have experienced the same thing. I really do believe the sterilization is what has keptmy fish from getting sick. A recent bout of bacterial something or other infecting my largest Clown Loach happened only a few water changes afre my UV sterilizer died....up til that piont, it had been lliterally years since anything even remotely like that happened....maybe coincidence....but I have put off getting a replacement thinking that maybe I had been relying on or put faith into UV to much. Now, I am back in the market...
I treated the CL successfully in a hospital tank and returned him to the main to only have the infection return. Something is in my tank/water and it has, like I said, been years since I had to deal with anything like this.

 

[boldtogether]

I want to say 24w minimum, but someone more knowledgeable can correct this.

You can use a smaller wattage UV sterilizer with a slower flow. I had a Laguna pond sterilizer rated for algae control of a 1000g pond...and it was only a 9w...I fed it 180-200 gph flow...only a third of its rated flow. The key to sterilization is exposure time to the UV radiation.

 

[DN328]

Thanks. Dont know how I got the minimum watts to kill parasites or bacteria. Agreed on the contact time based on how much light.

 

[DMD123]

I have been using a 36W turbotwist for a while now and it works excellent to keep green water in check. The construction of it is another matter. Ive had the unit blow a bulb new. I mean blown. It leaked out the gas out of the tube and it must have burned because the inside of the quartz tube was a burnt brown. Also Ive had the plastic barbed fitting crack and leak so I ended up gluing the plastic together to fix. It works but is deeply flawed when it comes to durability.

 

[rodger]

If you do some research online, there are plenty of resources to figure out what you really need. It involves some math that includes letters, though. I'm a full fledged retard and I figured it out thanks to the calculator on my phone.
Shut up. My grandson is a retard so I am allowed to say it.

 

[rodger]

If you do some research online, there are plenty of resources to figure out what you really need. It involves some math that includes letters, though. I'm a full fledged retard and I figured it out thanks to the calculator on my phone.
Shut up. My grandson is a retard so I am allowed to say it.

And nothing in this entire world makes me happier than having him spend the weekend with us.