To UV or not UV

[vetteguy53081]

Is that rated or Effective ?

Rated

 

[Freenow54]

From what I’ve been researching this size tank needs as high as 50 watts depending on the installation.

50 rated not effective which would be 25 if UV-C rated

 

[Freenow54]

In your size tank, you might see some long term befits, but I wouldn't expect anything to happen quickly. I have one of these on a 75g, and it's been a slow process to see any effectiveness. The slower the flow, the more effective, but too slow, and you'll overheat the bulb or not turn the tank over quickly enough to have a reactive effect. I've been running this for about a week and haven't seen any real changes, but I'm taking pix every day, and will compare before and after, after a couple of weeks.

like I said need proper effective wattage and flow

 

[Freenow54]

Rated

So yours is the same as mine probably so 25

 

[Freenow54]

I did some research and I see that the wattage and flow to deal with parasites is tremendously different than that required for algae. I’ve seen some UV’s that don’t even clearly state the wattage but will tell you it’s good for 200g+ tank. BRS has a good article with a breakdown of the wattage and flow requirements.

I take BRS with a grain of salt anymore. I used to watch them all the time but you must remember they are trying to sell you stuff . It took me a long time to find the information. Luckily there was a picture of the make and model. Assuming consistency the stated wattage is a little more than double the usable wattage assuming the bulb is UV-C rated

 

[Freenow54]

Makes me wonder why Sicce would advertise 80-250g on a 13w and how it has so many positive reviews. As for flow rate a pump is included with the clarifier

me too

 

[Freenow54]

I use a 6 on my rodi system but it only does 24 gallons a day . Yes not a misprint.

 

[Freenow54]

Remember a UV is part of a solution .

The requirements do differ between algae only and for protozoan and run time for mee is at least 12 hrs a day

Finally a thread where I might get a proper answer. I am asking what you think. If running a UV is running an Algae scrubber the opposite approach ? IE should it be between one or the other ?

 

[Freenow54]

Hi, I don’t mean to hijack the conversation but this triggered a question I’ve had about UV’s. I’ve never used one and my understanding is they sanitize water by killing off anything living in the water it treats.

If that’s right it would kill free floating parasites, bacteria and viruses. Right?

I have seen threads where people running UV’s have serious ick outbreaks. Or where someone with an ich outbreak is recommended to add a UV. But from what I’ve seen reading the threads it doesn’t seem to help with ich or anything else I’ve seen written up. Am I missing something?

For some parasites I have read it only controls them. It depends on what development stage they are in.

 

[lapin]

If running a UV is running an Algae scrubber the opposite approach ? IE should it be between one or the other ?

An algae scrubber is for nutrient reduction.
A UV is run in ponds and tanks to reduce algae in the water column and add clarity to the water column.
They can both be used together.

 

[sheasta]

I honestly have two. One for low flow and one for high flow so I get the best of both worlds. Either don’t do it at all or do it right. I don’t want disease or algae. That being said my tanks only 48 gallon so my two units cost less than most of the single larger units.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Finally a thread where I might get a proper answer. I am asking what you think. If running a UV is running an Algae scrubber the opposite approach ? IE should it be between one or the other ?

Scrubber which I run is opposite and resigned for nitrate reduction
I run both

 

[DietDr.Kelp]

I use one of the Aqua Ultraviolet 57 watt UV sterilizers on an SR80. It's definitely a bit overkill, but it's what I had available. I have not had issues with disease on my fish—can't be 100% sure it's because of the UV, but it's certainly not hurting anything as far as I can tell.

Edit: Mine is running 24/7. I hadn't thought of only running the light for a period of time overnight. Might eventually try this and see if I notice a difference.

 

[Drag80n Reef]

I run my UV sterilizer 24/7 ever since I had a Dino outbreak 1.5 yrs ago

 

[NanoSteam]

I use one of the Aqua Ultraviolet 57 watt UV sterilizers on an SR80. It's definitely a bit overkill, but it's what I had available. I have not had issues with disease on my fish—can't be 100% sure it's because of the UV, but it's certainly not hurting anything as far as I can tell.

Edit: Mine is running 24/7. I hadn't thought of only running the light for a period of time overnight. Might eventually try this and see if I notice a difference.

How do you have this plumbed on your SR80? I was just trying to figure out a UV setup for it.

 

[DietDr.Kelp]

How do you have this plumbed on your SR80? I was just trying to figure out a UV setup for it.

I put a pump in the chamber adjacent to the sock chamber and hard plumbed the UV so it's sitting inside the stand. The output for the UV comes up about 6-7" over towards the middle of the back chamber. My only gripe (and something I'll have to redo eventually) is that I didn't plumb the UV so it's facing so it can be opened towards the front of the tank. It's parallel to the tank right now, which makes it kind of a pain in the butt to work on. An oversight on my end, but something that can be fixed...eventually. haha

 

[NanoSteam]

I put a pump in the chamber adjacent to the sock chamber and hard plumbed the UV so it's sitting inside the stand. The output for the UV comes up about 6-7" over towards the middle of the back chamber. My only gripe (and something I'll have to redo eventually) is that I didn't plumb the UV so it's facing so it can be opened towards the front of the tank. It's parallel to the tank right now, which makes it kind of a pain in the butt to work on. An oversight on my end, but something that can be fixed...eventually. haha

Awesome, thank you! Do you recall which pump you used that fit back there? I'm assuming DC so you can control the flow rate but it has to be strong enough to make that whole entire loop.

 

[winxp_man]

Yes, dose UV as much as humanly possiblé

 

[DietDr.Kelp]

Awesome, thank you! Do you recall which pump you used that fit back there? I'm assuming DC so you can control the flow rate but it has to be strong enough to make that whole entire loop.

Unfortunately, I can't remember which pump I ended up using. I had several laying around, and must have gone with whatever fit back there best—I have spare DC pumps, but whatever I used isn't for whatever reason. Again, must have just been the best fit! Sorry, that's not super helpful.

 

[Freenow54]

Scrubber which I run is opposite and resigned for nitrate reduction
I run both

Thanks to you both I am glad to clear that up.