UV Sterilizer, is there a difference?

[Chris_P]

I am upgrading A lot of equipment and want to make sure I do it correctly the first time. I am upgrading to a 60g glass cube aquarium with a built in overflow box, and I will have a sump for the first time. I wanted to purchase a UV sterilizer and went to ebay, I noticed many inexpensive sterilizers mfg. by JEBO (36 watt for $76.00) is there a big difference in quality between sterilizer to sterilizer, or is it safe to say that they will all work pretty effectively? I also will possibly be purchasing a new protein skimmer will a "cleanup venturi with an hx4500 pump up to 125g for $105.00 be sufficient, or should I be looking at a different manufacturer? Thanks for your help!!

[The R/C Man]

Hi Chris!

Well speaking off the top of my head, (oh no!) I would say that a UV sterilizer should be about the same as any other. Probably because it is not marked for Aquarium use it is 1/3 the price. Just make sure you stay below the recommended water flow for the model. I am planning to add one to my 375 gallon reef but only on a timer set for a couple hours twice a week. It may even be fairly useless. The idea is to kill pathogens but it will also kill beneficial organisms such as plankton. Hence the couple hours twice week. It is more of a keep things in check process and as a protection against a phytoplankton take over.

As for the skimmer what is the Brand Name? Skimmers are the heart of your filtration removing the dissolved organics completely from the water column before they have a chance to break down. Don't skimp on this one. Purchase something good.

http://www.austinoceans.com/

http://www.proteinskimmer.com/

[Poseidon]

Aqua Ultraviolet has much higher flow rates, and longer bulb life then any other UV sterilizers. I use a 57 watt version, and I LOVE IT!

I disagree with Greg on the occasional use thing though, I run mine 24/7.

[The R/C Man]

Yeah Mike, there is definitely a lot of debate out on that one. Maybe someone will do a study of the water with and without a UV sterilizer to see if the pros out way the cons. Such as how many benificial organsims being fried compaired to problematic ones. I do know that along with protein skimmers removing phytoplangton UV will do the same. So maybe having both on a tank with clams may be an issue. Maybe one day I will set up an experiment to help decifer this. (don't hold your breath) Until then we will just have to assume...

[greenbean36191]

I don't know of any studies that made comparsisons between death of good vs. bad organisms, but there are a lot of studies out there about how effective UV sterilizers are at killing pathogens. Pretty much all of them have found that they aren't very effective on recirculating systems. I would asssume that if they don't do much to the bad stuff they don't really do much to the good stuff either.

[The R/C Man]

You are absolutely correct about the pathogens which is why they the sterilizers are incorporated into aquarium systems. I am however a little confused about them not beeing effective on a recurculating system. You would think that the more the same water passed through the sterilizer the cleaner it would be..... Just a thought.... ouch! thinking hurts!

[jsheffel]

On a system with a sump, if the sump had a seperate compartment for incoming water from the main tank, and you drew the water going to the UV sterilizer from that first compartment and exhausted the "irradiated" water into the second compartment (presumably the refugium section), would that minimize the destruction of beneficial organisms (and perhaps even provide them with a food source from the dead pathogens)?

[The R/C Man]

Ummmm, eerrrr. Had to think about that for sec. I would think that because the organisms that would end up in the sterilizer are suspened in the water column it wouldn't matter where the water was pulled from or returned to because it would all eventually be turned over......

[Mr.Firemouth]

HI all,
I am going to try to answer this and not confuse anyone. I have worked in a water filtration plant before and no a little about water treatment in the millions of gallons, so let's see if I can help.

1)I noticed many inexpensive sterilizers mfg. by JEBO (36 watt for $76.00) is there a big difference in quality between sterilizer to sterilizer, or is it safe to say that they will all work pretty effectively?
A) Yes, there is a difference. One thing that is very important is to have a quartz sleeve. 4 months after service without a quartz sleeve and the plastic in most sterilizers is becoming very opaque which limits the effectiveness of theU.V. light. The quartz sleeves do not have this problem. Higher end sterilizers also are generally more dependable with longer bulb life and better ballast. If you are going to invest in a sterilizer I recommend the higher wattage models.

2) I am planning to add one to my 375 gallon reef but only on a timer set for a couple hours twice a week. It may even be fairly useless. The idea is to kill pathogens but it will also kill beneficial organisms such as plankton. Hence the couple hours twice week. It is more of a keep things in check process and as a protection against a phytoplankton take over.

A) Unless you are using a phytoplankton reactor that adds plankton continuosly to the system the plankton in the system is negligable. Therefore the plankton destroyed won't out way the benefits of the pathogens destroyed. I would run the sterilizer 24hr/day.

3)Aqua Ultraviolet has much higher flow rates, and longer bulb life then any other UV sterilizers. I use a 57 watt version, and I LOVE IT!
A) The flow rate=duration or dwell time that the organism will be exposed to the light. It is important then to match the flow to the U.V. rating from the manufacturer. Slower flow is o.k. but higher flow past the factory specs would be a waste. This is a reminder to anyone purchasing a U.V.

4)On a system with a sump, if the sump had a seperate compartment for incoming water from the main tank, and you drew the water going to the UV sterilizer from that first compartment and exhausted the "irradiated" water into the second compartment (presumably the refugium section), would that minimize the destruction of beneficial organisms (and perhaps even provide them with a food source from the dead pathogens)?
A) U.V. are designed for total tank volume to pass thru reaction chamber. This means they are engineered to be plumbed in a fashion so that all water that is pumped passes thru the reaction chamber before re-entering the main tank. Any diversion of this design would be lowering the efficiency of the U.V. to do its job.

Now to change the subject a little, Bob Goemans book secrets of protien skimming should be read.

[The R/C Man]

I am planning to have a handful of Crocea and Maxima in the tank. Phytoplankton will be added daily from a homegrown culturing station.....

[greenbean36191]

I am however a little confused about them not beeing effective on a recurculating system. You would think that the more the same water passed through the sterilizer the cleaner it would be..... Just a thought.... ouch! thinking hurts!

They're effective on single pass and flow through systems, where the dirty incoming water and clean outgoing water don't mix. All of the water and everything in it has to pass through the unit. In recirculating systems like our tanks they aren't as effective because you're cleaning a small portion of the water and then mixing it right back into the dirty water. On paper, it looks like the entire tank volume should be flowing through the sterilizer in a given time period, but in reality not everything in the water will really pass through.