UV Sterilizers

[philolsen]

I got a aqua 25 watt uv for my tank and wanted to get some input on how long it should be left on daily and the advantages and disadvantages of its use.

[jiggly75]

I leave mine on 24 hours a day. If you turn it off for a while theres a good chance you could pollute your tank when you turn it back on.

[philolsen]

What about leaving the pump on but turning the bulb off?

[slittle24]

I also leave mine on 24 7.

[Poseidon]

24 7 here too.

[tray262]

Hey can someone talk to me a little about the UV sterilizers. What are the pro's and con's of these things. I've been doing a lot of reading as always about equipment and just want some info on these.

Thanks,

[Poseidon]

You will find to camps on this topic. Some that say they would NEVER run a UV period, and others that would never be WITHOUT it.

I added my UV about 8 months ago, and I really like it. Here are my reasons:
1) Less Algae. I know the UV can't kill existing Bubble, Hair, etc, but it does kill the "spores" in the water column that pass through the unit.
2) Better water clarity. Cleared water = MORE PAR. Enough said.
3) Parasite control. I know that UV will not cure an infection, nor will it eliminate the risk 100%, however if something DOES pass through the unit, then it won't come out the other side.

My biggest sticking point on UV is that it has to be BIG, big enough to kill on one pass, cause you may not get 2 passes. Also it has to be big enough to kill with a reasonable flow rate. My UV is a 57W unit from Aqua Ultraviolet, I can get the minimum required dosage to kill C. Irritans at 1100 GPH! That is impressive, and makes the UV that much more valueable.

The down side to UV is that it kills everything that passes through it.... Well I'll take that, if that is the only negative. ;)

Hope that helps,

[tray262]

Ummkay, lol, I've been looking at the Corilife spiral twist UV's and they seem to be a good Idea compared to some of the other out there. more time in the light type theroy makes plenty good sence to me. Now my bigger concern is heat. I know UV light puts off a good amount of heat, I'm not running a chiller so I may have a problem, in the summer time I'm at like 80d, already, winter I'm a lot better, 76b or so. So did you notice a lot more heat in your water ?

[Poseidon]

Nope.

I have a 90 gallon tank, and about 70 in the sump, so I didn't see any increase at all. BTW, my opinion is to skip the Corallife, get an Aqua UV, they rate their bulbs at end of life, rather then the beginning of life.