Experimenting with US Sterilizer

[Pickle_soup]

So...I am a huge skeptic when it comes to UV sterilizers. I do not think they serve much purpose in tanks. They definitely do not eradicate ich and I am not happy with 'managing' ich in my tank. I want it gone. As far as I know, I am completely ich-free and have been for the last 8 years. But I lost all my fish except for two tangs when I downgraded from 220 to 125 gal tank this summer. The tank didn't come on time (Thank you Truvu) and I went on vacation. I had someone try to maintain the fish in bins (construction workers got rid of the 220 for me when I was gone, so I put everything in bins), and ammonia did it. Anyway, I am adding fish currently, waiting for my next batch from the good doc Reef. Although I am a skeptic, I am not too stubborn, and I had some discussions with people who stand by sterilizers, so I am willing to try things before. I had a Lifegard 40-watt UV unit previously, but it definitely did nothing for ich. At the same time, I was a noob and probably plumbed poorly. Man do I talk a lot without saying much...
Fast forward to today. About 11 hours ago I installed a 40-watt Aqua unit and I am running it on a dedicated Varios-4 pump on full blast, so roughly 1000 gph. So far I cannot tell of its impact on my tank, the lights are still off. At this point, I am aiming to clean up the water as I am fighting a nasty dino outbreak (this is what happens when you play with your tank too much and leave it too clean). I draw water from the drain section near my socks, and sterilized water empties into the return pump section of the sump. The UV itself is placed on the floor behind the stand in a horizontal position.
I will keep a weekly update on what I am noticing in regard to the UV sterilizer. I welcome any input and suggestions, but I will be slow to make adjustments. I want to give 72 hrs for each adjustment to see how it plays out.

*Currently I have a PB and Yellow Tang, both adults in addition to a coral beauty, juvie Heni, Royal Gramma, Lawnmower blenny (Thank you Blue Zoo for the gift), and an Orchid dottyback.

 

[sc50964]

Most UV sterilizers are designed to be mounted vertically to avoid air getting trapped inside. Trapping air can cause things to heat up and damage the UV.

 

[Tcook]

I have one on my 120 and it does a fairly good job at clarifying the water. It won’t eradicate ich especially since there is a substrate bound phase. IIRC there was a study showing that the typical setup would take 1000 years before every drop of water passed through the UV chamber.

 

[Pickle_soup]

Most UV sterilizers are designed to be mounted vertically to avoid air getting trapped inside. Trapping air can cause things to heat up and damage the UV.

I have water flowing from the top per good folks at BRStv to negate that issue and I also tilted the return upwards a bit to help move any air in case there is some there. Would be nice to have see-thru sterilizers to see what's actually is happening there, probably not a good idea thou.

 

[Pickle_soup]

I have one on my 120 and it does a fairly good job at clarifying the water. It won’t eradicate ich especially since there is a substrate bound phase. IIRC there was a study showing that the typical setup would take 1000 years before every drop of water passed through the UV chamber.

dang, someone has too much time on their hands. I will put it in my will for future generations to keep a journal on my uv unit.

 

[Pickle_soup]

Most UV sterilizers are designed to be mounted vertically to avoid air getting trapped inside. Trapping air can cause things to heat up and damage the UV.

thank you!

 

[Pickle_soup]

@sc50964 Do you think a small tilt of 2 inches is sufficient?

 

[sc50964]

I have water flowing from the top per good folks at BRStv to negate that issue and I also tilted the return upwards a bit to help move any air in case there is some there. Would be nice to have see-thru sterilizers to see what's actually is happening there, probably not a good idea thou.

BRS does produce some good videos on UVs or just equipment in general. I have adapted the ugly but easy in-tank close loop system scheme.

 

[Waters]

I won't run a tank without one....helps in a lot of ways with very little maintenance. There is a reason most coral farms, zoos, etc run them

 

[Pickle_soup]

BRS does produce some good videos on UVs or just equipment in general. I have adapted the ugly but easy in-tank close loop system scheme.

I will check it out. I am not married to the current set up, it was just the easiest for someone with two left hands.

 

[The_Paradox]

IIRC there was a study showing that the typical setup would take 1000 years before every drop of water passed through the UV chamber.

I would love to see their math.

 

[Pickle_soup]

I would love to see their math.

 

[CoralB]

UV lights are highly useful in clarifying the water column . Whether they can or cannot irradiate ick is a mute point since if it does , it would and can only affect what is in the water passing through / by the UV light . It would not affect substrate, glass , etc.

 

[Pickle_soup]

Any thoughts on the flow rate of my unit for algae and bacteria? I am running 1000 gph through a 36-inch 40-watt sterilizer.

 

[sc50964]

UV lights are highly useful in clarifying the water column . Whether they can or cannot irradiate ick is a moot point since if it does , it would and can only affect what is in the water passing through / by the UV light . It would not affect substrate, glass , etc.

How about its effectiveness to manage or prevent bacterial infection?

 

[The_Paradox]

Any thoughts on the flow rate of my unit for algae and bacteria? I am running 1000 gph through a 36-inch 40-watt sterilizer.

All about total dose. Does not really matter.

 

[CoralB]

I have water flowing from the top per good folks at BRStv to negate that issue and I also tilted the return upwards a bit to help move any air in case there is some there. Would be nice to have see-thru sterilizers to see what's actually is happening there, probably not a good idea thou.

If it was see thru , it would blind you

 

[The_Paradox]

If it was see thru , it would blind you

They could make them out of glass with a dichroic filter but don’t think masses want to pay thousands for a housing so a few people can watch water flow through a pipe

 

[CoralB]

Any thoughts on the flow rate of my unit for algae and bacteria? I am running 1000 gph through a 36-inch 40-watt sterilizer.

Slow the flow down to between 200gph and 250 gph The longer the contact with the bulb the better it’s efficiency. I run mine off a manifold so that I can control the flow in the UV and not changing the normal flow of the tank

 

[sc50964]

Any thoughts on the flow rate of my unit for algae and bacteria? I am running 1000 gph through a 36-inch 40-watt sterilizer.

Seems to make sense

All about total dose. Does not really matter.

i did quite a bit of research when I installed my aqua UV 25w and decided that 400GPH was the right number but can’t find that source now. A little google search on Humblefish yields the following. Should be useful!