uv sterilizer
- Thread starter JDC
- Start date
Having used a number of UV lights on a number of tanks over the course of 5+ years... and after raising/breeding fish known to be susceptible to parasitic infection in UV'ed tanks...
I recommend using the formula of:
1W of UV strength per 10 US Gallons of water in your system...
At a flow rate of 10 US GPH per 1 W of UV strength...
Therefore... for a 135 gallon tank... a 13.5 UV light with a flow rate of 135 gph...
I would round that up to a 15W or 18W UV light... at 150 or 180 gph respectively...
I have used a Turbo Twist 18W UV light powered by a Magnum 350 w/ micron cartridge for quite some time and have been very happy with this combination.
So be it the Magnum 350's motor is rated at 350 gph but after factoring in the reduction in flow rate caused by media, head pressure, diameter of tubing, etc, etc, I find this (and most) canisters to function at about 50% their motors max flow rate.
I also highly suggest using a UV light in line after a filter, not a pump/powerhead. Any particles that are pushed through the UV housing will cast a shadow within the UV and therefore reduce it's effectiveness. Particles may also scratch the quartz sleeve (which is scratch resistant, not scratch proof) and these scratches will also reduce the effectiveness of the UV.
Also as a final note, I have raised many fish in tanks with UV lights and later transferred them into tanks without UV light and have seen zero evidence that being raised in a UV’ed tank in any way inhibited their immune systems development. This is a misconception that is commonly thrown around with no evidence or science behind it…
I recommend using the formula of:
1W of UV strength per 10 US Gallons of water in your system...
At a flow rate of 10 US GPH per 1 W of UV strength...
Therefore... for a 135 gallon tank... a 13.5 UV light with a flow rate of 135 gph...
I would round that up to a 15W or 18W UV light... at 150 or 180 gph respectively...
I have used a Turbo Twist 18W UV light powered by a Magnum 350 w/ micron cartridge for quite some time and have been very happy with this combination.
So be it the Magnum 350's motor is rated at 350 gph but after factoring in the reduction in flow rate caused by media, head pressure, diameter of tubing, etc, etc, I find this (and most) canisters to function at about 50% their motors max flow rate.
I also highly suggest using a UV light in line after a filter, not a pump/powerhead. Any particles that are pushed through the UV housing will cast a shadow within the UV and therefore reduce it's effectiveness. Particles may also scratch the quartz sleeve (which is scratch resistant, not scratch proof) and these scratches will also reduce the effectiveness of the UV.
Also as a final note, I have raised many fish in tanks with UV lights and later transferred them into tanks without UV light and have seen zero evidence that being raised in a UV’ed tank in any way inhibited their immune systems development. This is a misconception that is commonly thrown around with no evidence or science behind it…
nc_nutcase;3268352; said:
1W of UV strength per 10 US Gallons of water in your system...?
At a flow rate of 10 US GPH per 1 W of UV strength...?
Wow sounds good? how does stocking levels effect this formula?
What about flow rates greater than 10 US GPH.. How do you figure in dwell time and what type of pathogens your treating? Bacteria? Parasites?
Algae?
Wouldn't dwell time or GPH be the deciding factor on a UV? here a chart I pulled off of a web site...
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=435
I do not see how stocking levels would really affect the use of UV lights. They do not remove fish waste nor the byproducts of fish waste. You will still have to have mechanical & bio filtration as usual and will still have to do water changes as usual. The UV light will simply reduce/remove the risk of parasitic infection and make the water clearer.
Flow rate decides dwell time... the slower the water flows through the UV housing the longer the water 'dwells' in the UV housing...
If you use flow rates higher than 10 US GPH then you will have a shorter dwell time and your UV light will be less affective...
I mentioned that I came up with this formula while working with fish that were susceptible to parasitic infections (Blue Dempseys) but I did fail to clearly state: the formulas I suggested were to eradicate parasites as well as be effective against bacteria, fungus, algae and to clarify water...
Yes dwell time or gph is a major factor here... which is why 1 of the 2 formulas I suggested are about nothing other than gph (US GPH means United States Gallon Per Hour, as opposed to a United Kingdom Gallon)
I started working with UV lights several years before any manufacturer offered a chart such as the one you linked to. I will not say that chart is wrong, but I will say that I have learned to take everything the manufacturers tell me with a grain of salt as they have ulterior motives. The formulas I came up with have worked great for me over several years and are what I use to prevent my Blue Dempseys from dying of parasitic infections and I've never once (to my knowledge) lost one for such reasons when using UV's at this capacity.
Feel free to ask any further questions and I'll do my best to answer them...
Flow rate decides dwell time... the slower the water flows through the UV housing the longer the water 'dwells' in the UV housing...
If you use flow rates higher than 10 US GPH then you will have a shorter dwell time and your UV light will be less affective...
I mentioned that I came up with this formula while working with fish that were susceptible to parasitic infections (Blue Dempseys) but I did fail to clearly state: the formulas I suggested were to eradicate parasites as well as be effective against bacteria, fungus, algae and to clarify water...
Yes dwell time or gph is a major factor here... which is why 1 of the 2 formulas I suggested are about nothing other than gph (US GPH means United States Gallon Per Hour, as opposed to a United Kingdom Gallon)
I started working with UV lights several years before any manufacturer offered a chart such as the one you linked to. I will not say that chart is wrong, but I will say that I have learned to take everything the manufacturers tell me with a grain of salt as they have ulterior motives. The formulas I came up with have worked great for me over several years and are what I use to prevent my Blue Dempseys from dying of parasitic infections and I've never once (to my knowledge) lost one for such reasons when using UV's at this capacity.
Feel free to ask any further questions and I'll do my best to answer them...
I'm in no position to question nc_nutcase on his methodology, which looks to be very well reasoned (I calculate my UVs to be running at 10-15 WPG) . . . I will just say that I totally agree with running the UV filter in-line on the filter return. the light will run cleaner and be more effective
I have kept only the one EBJD - - he is in fact the reason I bought my first UV - - and now that I am running UVs on both my tanks, there has been no doubt a decline in illness and an improvement in overall tank health.
I have kept only the one EBJD - - he is in fact the reason I bought my first UV - - and now that I am running UVs on both my tanks, there has been no doubt a decline in illness and an improvement in overall tank health.
Werd adding an 18 watt turbo twist to my bichir tank was the best thing I ever did for it. Although a 9 watt may have been sufficient. I highly reccomend the turbo twist a very nice innovative UVSab_Fan;3331228; said:
Oh and I followed nutcase's directions on water flow to a T and my fish are very happy. nc_nutcase;3268352; said:
I am going to place a 36 watt UV just before the water returns to the tank. I also intend to include a refillable cartridge filter for carbon to use as needed. It looks like I may be able to use a reusable three micron filter just before the UV. At the heart of the system for the new tank are two Eheim 2028's.
I can either have two overflows, one for each of the eheim's, with the UV on one and the refillable carbon cartridge filter on the other, or I can have one overflow for both Eheim's operating in parallel with the carbon filter, micron filter, and the UV in series.
I also have to decide whether to use a single reusable three micron cartridge filter or two separate micron filters, a reusable five micron filter followed by a disposable one micron filter. The reusable three micron cartridge costs about $25.00.
What do you think?
ive read a lot about turbo twists. all ive heard is they have a tendency to leak. in my opinion the aqua uv with the wiper is one of the best out there. i have a 15w on my 135 on a ehiem 2080. aqua rates the 15w up to 700gph. i installed a gph meter and i keep it around 250gph. that puts me 16gpm. i called aqua and they recommeded between 10-20 for a sterilizer.i also run a emperor 400 filter cause i needed some extra filtration for some sensitive fish.
i probalby couldve upgraded to a 25 w and ran the filter at high setings(400gph) but wouldve ended up with the same gpm. but with the filter on high the current is so strong some of the fish cant even fight threw it.
aquaventions.. you did say the size of your tank.
i probalby couldve upgraded to a 25 w and ran the filter at high setings(400gph) but wouldve ended up with the same gpm. but with the filter on high the current is so strong some of the fish cant even fight threw it.
aquaventions.. you did say the size of your tank.