Submersible UV sterilizer light?

[SamMule]

My tank is a Red Sea Max250. Trying to plumb in a regular UV sterilizer would be a giant pain in the butt! Is there any reason I couldn't run a submersible UV sterilizer light for ponds in pump chamber #2?
Seems to me that the pump will pull plenty of water past the bulb, and since it's separate from the main display and blacked out, the light won't go anywhere else.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Green killing machine is the only one I know of

 

[DeniseAndy]

Just look for some little ones. I know there are some. Just not sure if they will fit. Good luck.

 

[SamMule]

Little sterilizer? Or light?

 

[DeniseAndy]

Little sterilizer. They have nano ones and inline nano ones. Like 3 or 5 watt.

 

[SamMule]

Don't I need a lot more than that to actually have any effect in a 55g tank?

 

[DeniseAndy]

Sorry, I thought you had a little tank. Yes, they have sizes going up from there. Just find the correct size for your tank and should be fine.

 

[DeniseAndy]

If you are wondering if you can just run a UV light in the back, no. You need a unit.

 

[SamMule]

Yes, that is what I was wondering. With the tank being an AIO, plumbing an external UV sterilizer would really suck.

How is running the sterilizer in the back chamber where the pump draws water through different from putting the bulb in a pipe and running it through that?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding how a UV sterilizer works...

 

[DeniseAndy]

The water going around the bulb requires it to be around it for a certain time. That is why uv sterilizers have a specific gph rate that must be followed to have it work properly. You also, cannot have the water contact the bulb. It will shatter. UV can be quite dangerous.
Best idea is to find a unit that fits in the back chamber. They have them in many sizes. Some have pumps as an all in one unit, so it is drop and go type thing.

 

[SamMule]

Ok. The bulbs I found were made for ponds and definitely safe to submerge. From what I could see, nothing rated for my water volume will fit in the back chamber.

 

[SamMule]

This one may actually fit. There is one in stock r my local petco that I'll go check out today.
Are these effective units? Advertisement says good for up to 100g

 

[SamMule]

Green killing machine is the only one I know of

Oops, forgot to insert quote.

 

[vinsonj]

Did you try the GKM? I'm in your same situation and looking for UV options for my RSM 250....

 

[SamMule]

I did. Got the 25w one. It just fit in the right hand pump chamber. Honestly, I haven't seen any difference other than better water clarity.
However, the inlet and outlet are both at the top, so I feel like it is recirculating a lot of the same water.
I'm going to get some hose and plumb the outlet down by the circulation pump intake to see if that makes a difference.

Would be more room if my ATO sensor wasn't there too, but it fit!

 

[vinsonj]

Oh...you got the big one! Did you remove the right side pump? I bought my RSM 250 used and it didn't come with the stock skimmer, so the only option I had was to go with the Tunze 9004, which is quite a bit smaller.....so I have room in the skimmer section as well (I haven't installed my ATO system yet either, so I have to find a place for it as well)

 

[SamMule]

No, the pump is still there. I would have definitely put it in the skimmer chamber if there was room. Mine still has the original one. That thing is a nightmare to keep adjusted. The air valve is junk. Look at it wrong and it starts boiling over!
How do you like that tunze 9004? I was eyeing that one last week actually.

 

[vinsonj]

It's my first skimmer and I really don't know what I'm doing with it LOL.....when you say boiling over, it's probably what mine is doing all the time (bubbles coming out from the top cover, like a pot boiling over). The manual doesn't provide any details and I haven't found anything on youtube that might help. I don't have any fish in the tank yet, so I was assuming that might be why it's doing it, or because the water level is hardly constant (because I haven't installed the ATO yet). The only other variable would be to adjust the air inlet screw.

 

[vinsonj]

Just went over and adjusted the air valve and I think it's operating normally now (nothing coming out of the top cover, lots of foam only coming from the center tube)....would definitely recommend it if you're looking to upgrade......speaking of which, have you done any other upgrades to yours? I swapped the T5 lights with Arcadia LED replacements and really like them so far (I started with 1 white and 3 blues, but the white was still too intense, so I'm just using the 3 blues right now). The moon lights are absolute crap, so I installed another 3M tape strip of LED's as well.

 

[SamMule]

Check out my build thread. It has the details of my lighting setup.
Yes, the ATO keeping a constant water level will definitely help your skimmer run consistently.