Uv Sterilizer For 360 Gallon

[Mbuloverxxt]

Hey guys. My name is Dillan, I'm new to this forum but have been following it for a very long time. I will be getting my first monster tank in the next week. It will be a 8x3x2 acrylic to house my 8-10" mbu puffer. Filtering the tank I have 4 fx6 filters with biohome ultimate, and pretty similar set up to the youtube video (pimp my fx6). My question for you guys is. What would be the best UV sterilizer for me to use with my fx6 to give optimum sterilization? This is my first step ever into UV sterilizers. Thankyou guys ahead of time so much!

PSA I know some people will say I should sump that size tank, I would if it was an option for me right now. But it isnt and I have these. Fx6's already. happy fishkeeping!

 

[fishhead0103666]

Welcome comrade to mfk, glad to see you.
Man, 23 and already getting his first big boy tank, impressive. Good luck with that.

I can’t talk much about filtration so I’ll leave it to the people that know what they’re doing.

 

[pacu mom]

Here's a definitive article on UV Sterilization. Over the years it has been revised and become more complicated (The Category A,B,C has been added)

UVC Sterilization | How Aquarium & Pond UV Sterilizers Work

Information how a TRUE Aquarium, Pond UV Sterilizer/clarifier work. Category A, B, & C Sterilizers. Affect on green water, disease prevention, & Redox

www.americanaquariumproducts.com

This chart taken from the article is very useful:



Not too many fish keepers attempt Level Two Sterilization but aim for Level One Sterilization. The flow rate of an FX-6 would give you a turnover rate of 1.5 in your 360 gallon tank. Keep in mind that each UV sterilizer has a recommended maximum flow rate. You will need 25-40Watts. If you read the article, the author sells UV sterilizers.

I run a 40W Lifegard Aquatics on my 300 gallon tank. Bulb, ballast and glass sleeve need changing periodically and can get expensive. The unit is also tall and probably wouldn't fit in a stand. I liked what I read about the quartz bulb. I'm going with two 120W UVs on my big tank.

Smart UV 40 Watt (OPEN BOX)

Emperor Aquatics is now Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems. Why does BRS recommend this? When it comes to UV most other companies will recommend a small UV for a large tank which in reality won’t do much more than make your water look a bit clearer. If your ultimate goal is to keep bacteria, protozoa...

www.marinedepot.com

There are lots of UV sterilizers to choose from.

 

[Mbuloverxxt]

Here's a definitive article on UV Sterilization. Over the years it has been revised and become more complicated (The Category A,B,C has been added)

UVC Sterilization | How Aquarium & Pond UV Sterilizers Work

Information how a TRUE Aquarium, Pond UV Sterilizer/clarifier work. Category A, B, & C Sterilizers. Affect on green water, disease prevention, & Redox

www.americanaquariumproducts.com

This chart taken from the article is very useful:

View attachment 1407971

Not too many fish keepers attempt Level Two Sterilization but aim for Level One Sterilization. The flow rate of an FX-6 would give you a turnover rate of 1.5 in your 360 gallon tank. Keep in mind that each UV sterilizer has a recommended maximum flow rate. You will need 25-40Watts. If you read the article, the author sells UV sterilizers.

I run a 40W Lifegard Aquatics on my 300 gallon tank. Bulb, ballast and glass sleeve need changing periodically and can get expensive. The unit is also tall and probably wouldn't fit in a stand. I liked what I read about the quartz bulb. I'm going with two 120W UVs on my big tank.

Smart UV 40 Watt (OPEN BOX)

Emperor Aquatics is now Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems. Why does BRS recommend this? When it comes to UV most other companies will recommend a small UV for a large tank which in reality won’t do much more than make your water look a bit clearer. If your ultimate goal is to keep bacteria, protozoa...

www.marinedepot.com

There are lots of UV sterilizers to choose from.

Thankyou!

 

[Mbuloverxxt]

Welcome comrade to mfk, glad to see you.
Man, 23 and already getting his first big boy tank, impressive. Good luck with that.

I can’t talk much about filtration so I’ll leave it to the people that know what they’re doing.

Thankyou! Been wanting to jump up for a while. Mainly just been in the 125g range haha

 

[Siddons11]

For what reason do you want to use a UV sterilizer? Will the tank be near a window or do you plan on importing a lot of wild fish? Just curious

 

[duanes]

For what reason do you want to use a UV sterilizer? Will the tank be near a window or do you plan on importing a lot of wild fish? Just curious

This would also be my question.
Do you get green water from free floating algae, you want to eliminate because your tank gets sunlight?
Do you add fish without quarantining, so that that you are worried about introduced parasites?
In the case of parasites, and other pathogens a UV only kills what flows thru it, if the wattage is strong enough, and if the pathogen that flows thru it suspended long enough to scrammbleits chromosomes, ( proper detention time) which may be determined by its cell wall density.
As the chart posted earlier shows, there are different UVs for different applications.
If yours is neither of the above, why do you think its needed?

 

[pacu mom]

I realize that your questions are to the OP, but this why we use a UV sterilizer. We had a severe green water problem that the UV sterilizer quickly cleared up. While I freaked out every time my fish sustained a terrible gruesome injury, I realized that they healed very quickly, regenerating parts (lips, tails) that had been sliced off. When I kept bettas, I perused the fish diseases charts and knew what medications to use for pop eye/cloudy eye, fin rot, etc. I had a bunch of medications like Maracyn 2, etc., but haven't kept any meds for years. Nothing new is ever put in the tank to be a potential source of infection to my fish. Besides controlling green water, the UV sterilizer is peace of mind for me. I don't worry about their horrific injuries becoming infected. If I didn't have the UV sterilizer, I think I would scramble to throw some kind of medication into the tank after an injury.









Perhaps my fish are hardy and would have healed anyway. If so, then the UV sterilizer is an emotional crutch for my fish keeping...and I'm OK with that. I don't think that pacu are that hardy, because so many of them die suddenly at a young age (most likely because they were kept in horrendous conditions). At any rate, I need a UV sterilizer on my fish tank, even if my fish may not need it. I view it as a preventive measure similar to our frequent hand washing to lower our risk for coronavirus.

 

[squint]

Here's a definitive article on UV Sterilization. Over the years it has been revised and become more complicated (The Category A,B,C has been added)

UVC Sterilization | How Aquarium & Pond UV Sterilizers Work

Information how a TRUE Aquarium, Pond UV Sterilizer/clarifier work. Category A, B, & C Sterilizers. Affect on green water, disease prevention, & Redox

www.americanaquariumproducts.com

Studies have found that it doesn't take nearly that much UV dosage to kill protozoans.

Studies have also found that in recirculating systems there's a minimum flow rate for optimal microbial inactivation. The lowest flow rates are less effective. After a certain point, higher flow rates were all equally effective.

 

[yzf450motoxrider]

I run one on my system. The thinking is these closed systems have a high bacterial load. Using a UV if setup correctly will reduce bacteria in the water column down to more natural levels. That’s the reason I use one. Right or wrong, idk.