This vid may change my mind on the Aqua UV.
Haha. This old vid almost made me not buy the aqua uv i have now. I needed the compactness of the design so ended up still grtting the newer version of this anyways. Too bad the guy in video didnt have a chance to actually use the product before his review. Water will definitely swirl in endcap areas and mix with other water which enquals more dwell time = good thing. Not like its just full of stagnant air. I should take a pic, since i have clear tubing u can see the light glowing sbout 4 inches up the inlet and outlet tubes so water defiently getting good contact with uv light even BEFORE it gets to main body of unit.
I'm sure there r many great brands you can choose that will work great. I just didnt want this video from someone that has never operated this unit to steer you away. I think u are on the right path just to get a UV sterilizer, so good job. I have run them on and off for years and drastic noticeable difference positively in my tanks when have on. Even just keeping one handy to run durring any diesease / algea / etc. problem is well worth it IMHO.