UV Sterilizers, which unit to choose and why?

[Badilac]

Heat is great news. 90W vs the 1200 watts I run sounds good to me.

Maybe where you are. If I run no UV and all DC pumps I don’t need a heater or chiller. Needing 1200w of heaters is crazy!

 

[K7BMG]

Maybe where you are. If I run no UV and all DC pumps I don’t need a heater or chiller. Needing 1200w of heaters is crazy!

Ha Ha
well that's Reno and my shop.
The shop nor my office has no heating or air conditioning.
so I am subjected to ambient temperatures.
The tank is in my office the sump out in the shop.
The shop is a metal building with no insulation.

 

[xionggotstyle]

Update, So I picked up a pentiar 80 watt. Unfortunately the shipper didnt package the Quartz sleeve or UV bulb well. Both got damaged...SMDH....Anyways I got a partial refund and ordered a new quartz sleeve and 80 watt UV bulb. This Unit is massive. I'm serious It is HUMONGOUS. Looks like the unit itself an could probably hold a few gallons of water. I'm debating how i want to mount this thing. If i do it vertically, then Less mess of water when I have to clean the quartz sleeve or change out the bulb. Decisions, Decisions.......

 

[smokin'reefer]

thanks for the write up.
Where did you find parts for the 55 watt 3" unit?
I would like to purchase this unit but would feel better if I knew where service parts were available before purchase.

 

[Badilac]

thanks for the write up.
Where did you find parts for the 55 watt 3" unit?
I would like to purchase this unit but would feel better if I knew where service parts were available before purchase.

Every 55watt part is here

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Lifegard Pro-Max UV Sterilizer Replacement Parts

The chart below for reference numbers and part numbers. PART NUMBER DESCRIPTION REFERENCE # UVPM1, 2″ NUT PVC PLASTIC 3″ or 5″ Diameter 1 UVPM2, UV End Cap PVC Clear Plastic 3" or 5" Diameter 2 UVPM3, 2" O-Ring Rubber 3" or 5" Diameter (Set of 4) 3 UVPM4A, Housing Bolt Stainless Steel (Set of...

www.aquaticed.com

 

[Futuretotm]

@Badilac

Thank you for this article. I ended up buying the 90watt pro max for my 140gallon 525xl.
I hear folks stating to run them part time to avoid chillers. I thought UV was supposed to be run 24/7?

heres mine in the cabinet, barely fits, and this is with the floor board removed

The one downside to the pro max is those bolts. Can't run this in your sump underwater due to that metal vs other brands.

 

[Badilac]

@Badilac

I thought UV was supposed to be run 24/7?

Some people are doing that but I only suggest running it 24/7 for the best results.

 

[MarineREEFpassion]

@Badilac
I’ve had Pentair A couple times, their not able to go into the water either and sand with Aqua UV. Only the cheaper brands like, green killing machine and maybe a couple others are able to go into the water.
Thank you for this article. I ended up buying the 90watt pro max for my 140gallon 525xl.
I hear folks stating to run them part time to avoid chillers. I thought UV was supposed to be run 24/7?

heres mine in the cabinet, barely fits, and this is with the floor board removed

The one downside to the pro max is those bolts. Can't run this in your sump underwater due to that metal vs other brands.

 

[jaxteller007]

I was basically gifted a like new AuqaUV 40 watt. I'm looking for the right pump for it. I chatted with Aqua UV online and they said the 967 gph is what I need. But when looking at the chart they provide it says thats for marine tanks (no live rock) We have live rock, a coral and then all fish. Possibly adding another coral soon. For reef tanks they recommend faster gph so you don't kill your bacteria and phytoplankton. Does what we have qualify as reef? Should I find an adjustable pump that will go faster and use 960 at first to kill any parasites and then run it faster to not kill the good stuff?

 

[MarineREEFpassion]

I was basically gifted a like new AuqaUV 40 watt. I'm looking for the right pump for it. I chatted with Aqua UV online and they said the 967 gph is what I need. But when looking at the chart they provide it says thats for marine tanks (no live rock) We have live rock, a coral and then all fish. Possibly adding another coral soon. For reef tanks they recommend faster gph so you don't kill your bacteria and phytoplankton. Does what we have qualify as reef? Should I find an adjustable pump that will go faster and use 960 at first to kill any parasites and then run it faster to not kill the good stuff?

It’s a difficult thing these UV lights. Each manufacturer has their own guidelines, but their just that, a starting point. I would get the bulb that the manufacturer suggest to get for it. The flow, your pump will be what determines the flow that your looking for. Make sure to get a big enough one to get your flow where you need it. And yes your going to want the higher end of flow so you target more of the bacterial end and not the pest side which is a lower flow, and yes will kill of some good bacteria, but the majority will be in your life rock and substrate. I would suggest to get a good flow meter, like the Apex FMK, if you have Neptune system or you can always do the old school trick and just get a 1 or 5 gallon container and do the math to see how quick it fills up. And when your setting up your UV try to get as few fittings in as you can cause each one will cut your flow down from your UV. There’s lots to these than people think. Their far from a plug and play and will require monitoring to get them fine tuned and where you’ll need them. Watch some BRS videos on UV lights. They have a few good ones and definitely help.
I hope all that info lol will help. Good luck and read up on good pumps.

 

[jaxteller007]

It’s a difficult thing these UV lights. Each manufacturer has their own guidelines, but their just that, a starting point. I would get the bulb that the manufacturer suggest to get for it. The flow, your pump will be what determines the flow that your looking for. Make sure to get a big enough one to get your flow where you need it. And yes your going to want the higher end of flow so you target more of the bacterial end and not the pest side which is a lower flow, and yes will kill of some good bacteria, but the majority will be in your life rock and substrate. I would suggest to get a good flow meter, like the Apex FMK, if you have Neptune system or you can always do the old school trick and just get a 1 or 5 gallon container and do the math to see how quick it fills up. And when your setting up your UV try to get as few fittings in as you can cause each one will cut your flow down from your UV. There’s lots to these than people think. Their far from a plug and play and will require monitoring to get them fine tuned and where you’ll need them. Watch some BRA videos on UV lights. They have a few good ones and definitely help.
I hope all that info lol will help. Good luck and read up on good pumps.

It's got a bulb with about 3 months life left in it and a brand new bulb so we are good on that part. It's all about trying to get the pump now really. I'm hopefully going to find an affordable one that has a controller so it's easier to get an idea of the flow rate. Thanks for all the info!

 

[MarineREEFpassion]

It's got a bulb with about 3 months life left in it and a brand new bulb so we are good on that part. It's all about trying to get the pump now really. I'm hopefully going to find an affordable one that has a controller so it's easier to get an idea of the flow rate. Thanks for all the info!

Jabeo has a lot of good DC pumps that won’t break the bank. Also Maxspect aren’t bad for price, I have a 2700 GPH pump that was about $240, and the eFlux controllable DC pump isn’t bad. I have all of the above and they all work great! I have a Jabeo 20000 that has a max flow of 5700 GPH with 32’ max head pressure, it was $190 if I remember right for my UV light, and I have the eFlux that has a 3170 GPH max flow rate at 27’ head pressure, it was about $250 for my return pump.

 

[jaxteller007]

How tight should the barbs be on these things? like all the way flush to the body or what? First test run there was slow drips coming out of both but i could tell they were super loose so I'm tightening them up.

 

[jaxteller007]

Jabeo has a lot of good DC pumps that won’t break the bank. Also Maxspect aren’t bad for price, I have a 2700 GPH pump that was about $240, and the eFlux controllable DC pump isn’t bad. I have all of the above and they all work great! I have a Jabeo 20000 that has a max flow of 5700 GPH with 32’ max head pressure, it was $190 if I remember right for my UV light, and I have the eFlux that has a 3170 GPH max flow rate at 27’ head pressure, it was about $250 for my return pump.

So the barbs aren't leaking now but I'm getting a real slow drip out the quick release tee on the intake side. I hand tightened it some but it still leaked a little. I'm thinking i may need to take it off and re-install it to make sure it's on straight and the o-ring is properly seated and not broke? But I don't really have time tonight. Have some stuff to get done. Just not going to run it tonight and work on it tomorrow.
#reefsquad

 

[MarineREEFpassion]

How tight should the barbs be on these things? like all the way flush to the body or what? First test run there was slow drips coming out of both but i could tell they were super loose so I'm tightening them up.

It’s best to get them as far up as you can, but at least half way with a good tight clamp should do the trick. Can you hard plumb it? It’s a lot better hard plumbed.

 

[Clarksski]

@Badilac
Good info in your post... I'm thinking of getting the lifeguard 90w for my Red Sea 525xl. Total water volume 139G. I want it to mainly kill Protozoa. Do you think the 90w is to big for my tank? Thanks

 

[Badilac]

@Badilac
Good info in your post... I'm thinking of getting the lifeguard 90w for my Red Sea 525xl. Total water volume 139G. I want it to mainly kill Protozoa. Do you think the 90w is to big for my tank? Thanks

Glad the article was helpful. I ran the 90 on a similar size tank and I had to add a chiller as the temp slowly started increasing day by day. Now a lot of this has to do with what other equipment you will be running and how much heat it generates. You may be able to run fans, or if you aren't running a lot of power hungry equipment you may be ok. So in short I would say its a 50/50 if you will need a chiller. If you get it just be prepared to add a chiller or other cooling methods if nessecary.

 

[MarineREEFpassion]

@Badilac
Good info in your post... I'm thinking of getting the lifeguard 90w for my Red Sea 525xl. Total water volume 139G. I want it to mainly kill Protozoa. Do you think the 90w is to big for my tank? Thanks

Depends. The bigger the UV the more GPH it will need to do the same job a smaller one that’s closer to your volume needed. I have the 55 W amalgam bulb HO model For my 150DT, and I believe it’s rated up to 300 gallons.

 

[MarineREEFpassion]

Glad the article was helpful. I ran the 90 on a similar size tank and I had to add a chiller as the temp slowly started increasing day by day. Now a lot of this has to do with what other equipment you will be running and how much heat it generates. You may be able to run fans, or if you aren't running a lot of power hungry equipment you may be ok. So in short I would say its a 50/50 if you will need a chiller. If you get it just be prepared to add a chiller or other cooling methods if nessecary.

Great point, specially if you run the pump at a slowly rate for parasites it will have more contact time to the bulbs hence more heat as well.

 

[SixtyFeetUnder]

I’m running an Aqua UV 57 on my waterbox 220 (realistically just over 200g of water volume) and the clarity difference within 1 day was shocking. I’m a believer if for nothing else than keeping water super clear and nuisance algae down.