uv

[sydney]

How big of a uv do I need for a 210 with 10 fish

[YBeNormal]

I'd go with and 80w. drsfostersmith has them on sale right now: $399.99 $299.99

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...mp;pcatid=11472

[jamesbuf]

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...mp;pcatid=11472

 

I wouldn't go lower than a 40watt unit for that size tank. That max flow for parasite control is wrong though. I wouldn't run more than 800gph through the unit to maximize exposure.

 

edit: or go with the 80watt unit like Bob suggested. Whichever one is in your budget.

[treesprite]

With UV is bigger necessarily always better?

[jamesbuf]

With UV is bigger necessarily always better?

 

 

Yes it is. You need enough coverage to keep free floating ich levels at a minimum in your tank. You'll be wasting your money if you don't get a unit strong enough. Look at this sizing chart to confirm.

http://www.aquaultraviolet.com/instruction...oletuvchart.pdf

From everything that I've read, you need 90K worth of exposure to kill ich. If you run too much through an undersized unit, you're wasting your money because you're not getting enough exposure to kill the ich. are making your water clearer because you're killing the free floating algae, but not protozoa (ich). There is a reason why everyone with a UV sterilizer swears by them, because they work, but only if you get the right size for your tank.

[treesprite]

I need to get a second one. I have only a 9w which was fine before I got the bigger tank (supposedly good for 75... with my sump I have 95). Actually right now it's on the qt with the tang, which is fine because my tank has been disease-free for many years, but I need to move the tang in there and that puts me at risk without adequate equipment.

Edited January 27, 2008 by treesprite

[Kengar]

the off-the-cuff bigger-is-better reply is overly simple. size depends on flow-rate, and wanting to optimize -- not maximize -- exposure for the flow rate you are putting through the unit., For example, I have a 156, but I only use a 15 watt Aqua UV sterilizer. That is because part of my return flow T-s off to feed my skimmer with about 1/3 of the return pump output (with skimmer return to the sump), then the remainder of that branches off two ways to supply the left and right returns on my tank. Only one of those two left/right branch flows goes through the sterilizer on its way back to the tank. Guesstimating the head pressure my system was operating under and the flow I could get out of the pump under such head pressure, then assuming 1/3 of the flow was going through the sterilizer, gave me the flow rate to size the sterilizer to. Using the Aqua UV sizing guide then told me to use 15 watt sterilizer for that amount of flow so as to get beneficial exposure without nuking everything in the water. If you put all system flow through a sterilizer, then size to the system flow you are running; if you are using, for example, a power head in the sump to pass flow through the sterilizer then back to the sump (not very effective, I might add), then size to the power head.

 

This brings me to the issue of relying on sterilizer to control ich; it doesn't eradicate it. Ich has several stages in its life cycle, only one of which is free-floating. While some of the ich is in that stage, other ich organisms will be on fish, and others will be on substrate. Even if you killed off all free-swimming ich in any given pass through the system, there will still be ich in the tank to get your fishies unless you prevent introduction by quarantining religiously. (I didn't and learned the hard way; ultimately I pulled all fish and left tank fallow for seven weeks to get rid of it.) So why, then, do I use sterilizer? Because it can't hurt; clarifier; zap some nasties; etc., but I don't trust it as the one and only one ich prophylactic.

Edited January 28, 2008 by Kengar

[davjbeas]

I did research before i purchased a UV sterilizer.

The key was to know how much flow there was going to be through the unit.

My return pump from the sump is a mag 7 which i figured was going to push 500 gallons or so per hour.

I planned to put the unit before my chiller.

The 57 watt unit was the right wattage for the flow I was going to have for the protozoan kill rate.

I am running the unit 24/7.

The unit i got has a built in wiper which you pull to remove any buildup on the quartz sleeve.

Build up on the sleeve will decrease the amount of UV radiation that passes into the water going through the unit.

 

David B.

[Kengar]

I have a wiper unit, too. I had to open up the unit to get it off line to replace the UV bulb and saw that, lo and behold, the quart sleeve was 3/4 covered with scale that couldn't be removed. I think it's because I turned off return pump a couple times for several hours while doing major tank cleaning without remembering to turn off the UV, which caused the UV to cook the water in the unit and bake on the scale. It also ruined the rubber O-ring in the wiper blade (half melted it). So, I need to replace the wiper blade unit ($13 part, so no biggie) and the quartz sleeve ($54, so somewhat biggie :( ) to get the unit effective again. Moral of the story: if you turn off flow through UV for more than a few minutes, make sure you turn off the UV light, too.

 

(if you're doing 500 gph through a 57 watt unit, you are way overcooking your water, doing about 180,000 exposure units (twice the max). see the chart under this link: http://www.enkoi.com/pdf/uvnowipelr.pdf

Edited January 28, 2008 by Kengar

[davjbeas]

I really needed to hear that.

When doing work, water changes I will remember to turn off uv unit.

 

Thanks,

 

David

[flowerseller]

That's a calcium build up and the black is from cooking whether left plugged in when not flowing or not.

IMO, this is all normal and will happen on any UV unit you buy.

I wrap it in paper towels soaked in vinegar and pour a tad more several times and keep it moist with vinegar.

It then comes off really easy and the quartz sleeve is returned to use in about 30-45mins.

Make sure to dry the inside very well.

 

Kengar's examples is why I never recommend wiper units, at least in marine environments.

History tells us they routineely leak and could ultimately be a source of micro bubbles, they don't, and wont prevent Ca build up on the sleeve and you pay a bunch more for the unit to begin with.

My current CurrentUSA gamma is trouble free (including all seals) after 4.5 years. I do replace the bulb yearly and service the sleeve at about every 6 months.

[Kengar]

That's a calcium build up and the black is from cooking whether left plugged in when not flowing or not.

IMO, this is all normal and will happen on any UV unit you buy.

I wrap it in paper towels soaked in vinegar and pour a tad more several times and keep it moist with vinegar.

It then comes off really easy and the quartz sleeve is returned to use in about 30-45mins.

Make sure to dry the inside very well.

 

Kengar's examples is why I never recommend wiper units, at least in marine environments.

History tells us they routineely leak and could ultimately be a source of micro bubbles, they don't, and wont prevent Ca build up on the sleeve and you pay a bunch more for the unit to begin with.

My current CurrentUSA gamma is trouble free (including all seals) after 4.5 years. I do replace the bulb yearly and service the sleeve at about every 6 months.

 

I disagree in part. there was some exposed glass, in a circumferential extent (about 25%, arcuately speaking) corresponding to the same circumferential extent of rubber wiper o-ring that was not melted away. I'll wipe far more regularly and remember to turn off light when water is not flowing and report back in six months.

[flowerseller]

If drain back allowed your unit to not remain full, I'd replumb it so it remains full in power off situations.

Wipe everyday if you like and you'll most likely still have the Ca build up since it is a heat source and Ca does form there . The wiper is not designed for that purpose.

[jamesbuf]

the off-the-cuff bigger-is-better reply is overly simple. size depends on flow-rate, and wanting to optimize -- not maximize -- exposure for the flow rate you are putting through the unit., For example, I have a 156, but I only use a 15 watt Aqua UV sterilizer. That is because part of my return flow T-s off to feed my skimmer with about 1/3 of the return pump output (with skimmer return to the sump), then the remainder of that branches off two ways to supply the left and right returns on my tank. Only one of those two left/right branch flows goes through the sterilizer on its way back to the tank. Guesstimating the head pressure my system was operating under and the flow I could get out of the pump under such head pressure, then assuming 1/3 of the flow was going through the sterilizer, gave me the flow rate to size the sterilizer to. Using the Aqua UV sizing guide then told me to use 15 watt sterilizer for that amount of flow so as to get beneficial exposure without nuking everything in the water. If you put all system flow through a sterilizer, then size to the system flow you are running; if you are using, for example, a power head in the sump to pass flow through the sterilizer then back to the sump (not very effective, I might add), then size to the power head.

 

This brings me to the issue of relying on sterilizer to control ich; it doesn't eradicate it. Ich has several stages in its life cycle, only one of which is free-floating. While some of the ich is in that stage, other ich organisms will be on fish, and others will be on substrate. Even if you killed off all free-swimming ich in any given pass through the system, there will still be ich in the tank to get your fishies unless you prevent introduction by quarantining religiously. (I didn't and learned the hard way; ultimately I pulled all fish and left tank fallow for seven weeks to get rid of it.) So why, then, do I use sterilizer? Because it can't hurt; clarifier; zap some nasties; etc., but I don't trust it as the one and only one ich prophylactic.

 

 

Did you have your UV sterilizer hooked up during your first large ich outbreak?

[flowerseller]

 

 

Did you have your UV sterilizer hooked up during your first large ich outbreak?

there's actually alot of good well published info in that post.

Some of the thinking has changed with newer equipment and the fact that all smart reefers has a buch more current in their tanks these days.This keeps that part of the life cycle in the column and available to be passed through the unit itself.

I've seen many people who have added UV after seeing and out break and never lost a fish.

I've also seen tanks get very light cases if ich and it litterly went into remission without UV.

Why risk it with the money and heart you have invested?

UV will help and any hurt is clearly outweighted

[Kengar]

If drain back allowed your unit to not remain full, I'd replumb it so it remains full in power off situations.

Wipe everyday if you like and you'll most likely still have the Ca build up since it is a heat source and Ca does form there . The wiper is not designed for that purpose.

 

 

 

configuration of the plumbing is such that unit does, in fact, remain full of water when pumps are shut off. Your post is informative and gives me cause to keep an eye on it. You may be right re calcium building up. As noted, I'll monitor it and report back.

[Kengar]

Did you have your UV sterilizer hooked up during your first large ich outbreak?

 

A: Huh?

B: There was one presentation of ich, not multiple presentations.

C: One fish, which had not been quarantined/prophylactically handled, presented; there was not a system-wide "outbreak."

D: Sterilizer has been on the system since inception.

 

Getting back to the original post, where do you plan to install the sterilizer in relation to the rest of the plumbins? All flow going through it? Partial flow? Dedicated pump into/out of the sump? Something else? Botom line is that the unit should be sized to match the amount of flow you are putting through it. I hopen this helps.

 

Ken