Pentair or Aqua Ultra UV?

[Miller535]

So pretty sure temp is not an issue with this uv, I turned it on about 10 am this morning, and now it's almost 530pm. And there is no change on my temp graph

 

[Miller535]

And that's running the jebao dcp 5000 pump at 65%. I will likely end up turning the pump up to close to 100% though

 

[Miller535]

@Badilac , how often do you clean your uv. I'm assuming this would just consist of wiping off the quartz sleeve, and wiping out the inside of the housing.

 

[Miller535]

I want to program my apex that if the UV pump is not running to shut off the power to the UV. I would also like to have the UV wait 5 mins to turn back on after a power outage. Can someone please help me with the programming/statements? Thanks

 

[Badilac]

@Badilac , how often do you clean your uv. I'm assuming this would just consist of wiping off the quartz sleeve, and wiping out the inside of the housing.

I cleaned it after 6 months and it really didn't need it so my going for a year this time. I guess it all depends on how dirty the water is going through it.

 

[Miller535]

I cleaned it after 6 months and it really didn't need it so my going for a year this time. I guess it all depends on how dirty the water is going through it.

I run filter socks 100% of the time, so I am assuming mine will not get dirty fast.

 

[Malcontent]

I want to program my apex that if the UV pump is not running to shut off the power to the UV. I would also like to have the UV wait 5 mins to turn back on after a power outage. Can someone please help me with the programming/statements?

I would leave the UV on at all costs. If there's water in the housing it shouldn't overheat even if it's static.

Mercury vapor lamps have a restrike time of around 10 minutes. I would set the delay after power interruption for 15+ minutes.

 

[piranhaman00]

I would leave the UV on at all costs. If there's water in the housing it shouldn't overheat even if it's static.

Mercury vapor lamps have a restrike time of around 10 minutes. I would set the delay after power interruption for 15+ minutes.

Yes it will, this is why UVs have min flow. Water has to be flowing through it at all times,.

 

[Jonathan Iu]

Just bought a Pentair 50w HO from aquacave. Plumbed it. Connected it but it didn’t turn on. Looks like a faulty ballast. Disappointed as BRS was pushing them.

UV Sterilizer Questions

I will start with the easy question ,, can I hook it up the way I want ,, I am sure that I can ,, but is it alright to do it this way ,, what I would like is to not tie it into my return line ,, put a pump into my sump tank ,, run water thru the sterilizer ,, let it empty back into the sump...

lareefclub.com

 

[Badilac]

Just bought a Pentair 50w HO from aquacave. Plumbed it. Connected it but it didn’t turn on. Looks like a faulty ballast. Disappointed as BRS was pushing them.

UV Sterilizer Questions

I will start with the easy question ,, can I hook it up the way I want ,, I am sure that I can ,, but is it alright to do it this way ,, what I would like is to not tie it into my return line ,, put a pump into my sump tank ,, run water thru the sterilizer ,, let it empty back into the sump...

lareefclub.com

Not the first time that’s happened with Pentair. Not saying it’s not a good unit, just not all of them work right.

 

[Jonathan Iu]

The ballast says “made in China”. Can’t say I’m surprised that it doesn’t work. American companies should really pay extra attention in checking the quality of anything that’s made there .

 

[Miller535]

After 5 days of running, it is still early to say much about the UV. A few things I have noticed, the first is the color of the stuff in the neck of my skimmer is a very different color then normal. Thicker and almost a dark yellow with maybe a slight red/brown color to it. Maybe this is my skimmer skimming out the things the UV is kiining, or maybe it's the dinos dying from other things I have done, or maybe a combination? I do not know. But I think it worth mentioning. second, I do not see any stringy algae in the tank. The glass is mostly clean, but does has some film algae on it, which I think is a good thing. The one bad thing, what I THINK is cyano is starting to cover my rocks. Sand bed is staying clean, and glass is other then film. but the rocks are not. All in all, I would say the UV has definitely had a impact. Especially on the sand bed.

 

[Miller535]

Another thing I can point out after running the UV, is that before the UV I had various algae all over the sand, and when I would stop the pumps to do a water change it had a bit of a smell. It did not bother me too much, but it bothered my wife and daughter a lot. On sunday I asked my wife if she smelled it at all and she said no. So there you go, wife confirmed. lol

 

[ReefingwithO]

I know I'm late to the thread but I would choose The Aqua UV over the Pentair strictly because of my experience with the support. My Pentair 18 Watt UV was leaking and it took more than a month of back and forth, manager approvals, higher-level approvals for them to send me $3 retail worth of gaskets and o-rings. Stuff which I had on hand anyway.

Then they refused to replace the power supply which was rusted, accused me of not installing it correctly, said they reviewed my unit and I installed it incorrectly even though I didn't send them the unit, or any photos or videos - basically they tried everything to not send $3 worth of o-rings and gaskets.

It was a comedy show from start to finish.

 

[Miller535]

I know I'm late to the thread but I would choose The Aqua UV over the Pentair strictly because of my experience with the support. My Pentair 18 Watt UV was leaking and it took more than a month of back and forth, manager approvals, higher-level approvals for them to send me $3 retail worth of gaskets and o-rings. Stuff which I had on hand anyway.

Then they refused to replace the power supply which was rusted, accused me of not installing it correctly, said they reviewed my unit and I installed it incorrectly even though I didn't send them the unit, or any photos or videos - basically they tried everything to not send $3 worth of o-rings and gaskets.

It was a comedy show from start to finish.

That stinks. It is definitely preferencial to go with a company with good customer support.

 

[Jonathan Iu]

I received my 50w HO UV as recommended by BRS but it didn’t work. Must be something wrong with the bulb or the ballast. Most probably the ballast since it’s well documented they had some failing. They ask me to check with voltmeter but this costs mote than a new ballast. Beginning to regret my choice now.

 

[Miller535]

I received my 50w HO UV as recommended by BRS but it didn’t work. Must be something wrong with the bulb or the ballast. Most probably the ballast since it’s well documented they had some failing. They ask me to check with voltmeter but this costs mote than a new ballast. Beginning to regret my choice now.

BRS asked you to do that? or Pentair did?

 

[Jonathan Iu]

BRS asked you to do that? or Pentair did?

Pentair

 

[Miller535]

Pentair

Being that this is a brand new unit, I find that to be BS. They should have just sent you a new power supply and had you mail back the one you have.

 

[Jonathan Iu]

Being that this is a brand new unit, I find that to be crap. They should have just sent you a new power supply and had you mail back the one you have.

Agreed. I have plumbed in the steriliser since Thursday and it’s sitting next to my tank like a huge black paperweight. It will be probably easier and quicker if I just bought a new lamp and power supply ( $ 180). I have a feeling it’s going to take a long time to get this resolved if I have to depend on their customer service department.