UV question

[beach bum]

Hi all, any UV experts out there?

I was thinking about adding a uv to my 85g fo, just for general water quality improvement. For those that run UV, is it your intention to kill parasites/bacteria for disease prevention? I simply can't afford a larger model that I would believe strong enough for that purpose. Is it a waste of money to pick up something like a 36w unit? This is largest that CSL makes, would be this have any benefit other than algae control?

What is a good - !hobbyist available! - unit that would be effective against disease organisms and algae? Ideally something I could use on a larger setup eventually, in the neighborhood of 180g.

Am I wasting time thinking about this at all?

thanks people,
Chris

[Spanky]

is it your intention to kill parasites/bacteria for disease prevention?

Si, all of the above. Improved water quality too.

. Is it a waste of money to pick up something like a 36w unit?

Can't offer anything on CSL. I know nothing about them. Call their tech. support and ask them the flow rate for killing parasites in salt water.

What is a good - !hobbyist available! - unit that would be effective against disease organisms and algae?

All units are available to everyone. That's like hobby grade skimmers vs commercial grade skimmers. There really is no such thing. I like Emperor > http://www.emperoraquatics.com/ which I know you can buy through > http://www.aquaticeco.com/aquatic1v1/index.icl and probably a lot of on line stores.

Ideally something I could use on a larger setup eventually, in the neighborhood of 180g.

Chris, you understand that flow/exposure rates/dwell times are different for different things. Algae being one of the easiest to kill. Best thing is check with the manufacturer and get their flow rate for killing salt water ick, everything else will fall under that rate.

Try to turn your system over 4-5 times per hour, that would be ideal. Anything less will vary from taking longer to have the effect you want to not working at all.

Am I wasting time thinking about this at all?

Obviously I don't think so > LOOK HERE

HTH
Jerel

[Wrasse Man]

Oh, look, more pics of Jerel's tank.

Once we get moved into the new place, I will be setting up a UV as well. I had one before on my Discus tank, and there was a noticable difference. I was just told over and over again that UV is bad in a reef. Actually it was some discussions with Jerel that convinced me otherwise.

What brand is good? I couldn't honestly tell you. I know that I have seem some monsters for sale at Premium Aquatics, if I remember correclty they were along the lines of 100-120watts. Maybe not 'hobiest', but they should get the job done.

[Spanky]

If you guys have time, here's one of my favorite UV threads.

> UV Thread

[beach bum]

Do I have the time? I surf TRT don't I?

Thanks Jerel, I think I am understanding better. One more question. That thread discusses mostly new additions, qurantine, etc... But, given a fully stocked tank with no new additions, would the UV be necessary/helpful? How would its role change in that type of scenario?

[Spanky]

But, given a fully stocked tank with no new additions, would the UV be necessary/helpful?

Again it's just water quality issues. Raising redox, lowering/controlling bacterial levels, burning off doc's and some dom's, makes you simmer work better.
A lot of people don't know that UV's give off a small amount of ozone in the immediate vicinity of the bulb. This will help oxidize a lot of things you want out.

So, even in a fully stocked tank, you would never add just one more thing??

Jerel

[beach bum]

So, even in a fully stocked tank, you would never add just one more thing??

Speaking facetiously goes without sayingof course...

but if I ...

one day...

got some...

control...

it might happen! (or not )


I think I will be getting a 36w unit, flow rates are given by the mfr as between 100-500gph. I will find out what they (CSL) have to say about flow rate for killing crypto. In any case I doubt that will be at a rate 4x my tank volume. Its 85g with about 65 gallons of 'actual water'. Now there is a funny term I should be measuring the actual return from the sterilizer rather than the powerhead's output rating though, right?

[Spanky]

Control, control, I must have control.

NOT

The easiest way to measure flow, is take a gal jug and time how long it takes to fill it. From that you can figure out gph.

If they can't give you a exact flow rate and a chart allowing for bulb degradation, go with another manf.

Regular NO bulbs will degrade a lot faster than HO bulbs, but both still degrade. If you want a bulb to last you for a year, then size it according to how the bulb is rated at the end of one year.
Actually, I would go with a HO unit.

HTH
Jerel

[beach bum]

I bought the CSL 36w model. My LFS had it soooo cheap, cheaper by a decent margin than anywhere online. I think it was mismarked, I'm so bad!


Anyway, they rate this thing on the spec sheet as handling up to 400g tanks! With a recommended flowrate between 100-500 gph, quite a range. So I tried it last night with four different powerhead combinations (what a PITA), and I had to use the largest one I own, an aquaclear 802, to get an actual output of approx. 115-120 gph. This ph is rated at 400gph at 0ft of head. FYI it pumped out 1.8 gallons in 60 seconds.

I tried to call CSL this morning but "all operators are busy"! So I will have to call again tomorrow.

will let you know what I find.

[beach bum]

I just talked to a technical guy at custom sea life and he said that it will handle crypto at 300gph. Which is good news given the size of my tank, I hope he is right. I also asked him about bulbs and he said that they used to use a 25w HO bulb, but with the new models (which is what mine is) they put in a 36w power compact for longer bulb life, said the bulb was rated for 8000hrs. translates into 10 1/2 to 11 months.

He was a nice guy, but was shocked a little when I told him that the output from the unit using an AC 802 was only 110-120gph. I don't really want to go buy a huge pump to put in my tank, guess I have to though, I'd really like to get it to 300gph.
(shouldn't have sold that mag7 last month ) oh well.

Thanks for your help Jerel! I definitely appreciate it.

chris

[FLHT]

May I get in on this conversation?
I am currently re-doing my 55 gal. reef
with a 20 gal. sump, and I
was thinking about a UV sterilizer.
I don't quite ubderstand how they work.
Do they need powerhead on them? Do
they just sit in a sump and push the water
through the unit?
fhlt

[Spanky]

Chris, that's nothing but good news. The units using the power compacts will burn a hole. <jk> They are powerful. You might look for a pressure rated pump.

FLHT
They work like any inline filter and need a pump to move the water through them. Oh, and you can't submerge them in the sump.
Kind of like a closed loop with the UV in the middle.
Ours is hooked up so that all the overflow goes through the UV before it falls into the sump.

HTH
Jerel

[FLHT]

Tnx Spanky,
Let me ask you another question. If part of my
overflow goes into my skimmer before it goes into
the sump can I hook up a UV to the overflow also?
Or would I have to use a pump on either my UV or
skimmer?
flht

[Spanky]

FLHT

It would probably be easier to measure flow through the unit if it's on it's own dedicated pump/system. If you think you could get an accurate measurement of flow doing it that way, it would work too. Remember, adjusting flow rates is the biggest trick to using one.

HTH
Jerel

[dark horge]

I'm thinking it's way overdue: an article on uhmmm..
"UV prophylaxy in Reef Aquaria", from a certain sleep-deprived Floridian

How about it, ey?



Principle of operation;
Consequences for various 'systems';
The bugs we seek to kill;
Care & Maintenance for UV;
ad infinitum...

The TRT LIbrary could sure use it.