UV sterilizer advice

[brcolli2]

I recently lost most of my fish to marine velvet.  The fish that survived are in a quarantine tank, and are being treated with copper.  I will not be returning the fish to my display tank for 8 weeks.  When I return them I want to make sure that I am giving them the best environment possible.  I know the best way to protect my fish is to quarantine all fish, and I have learned my lesson and will do that from now on.

 

Now my question is, what UV sterilizer would you recommend for my tank.  My display tank is 80 gallons, and my sump is a 40 breeder.  I have about 100 gallons total system volume.  The two sterilizers I am considering are the 25 Watt emperor aquatics smart, or the 25 watt Aqua ultraviolet classic.

 

http://www.aquaultraviolet.com/products/uvsterilizers/classic/25watt

 

http://www.emperoraquatics.com/smart-uv-sterilizers.php#uv-specs

 

Do these seem like they would work for my tank, and does anyone prefer one over the other?  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank You,

 

Brian

[TrueTricia]

I honestly haven't used a UV filter. I remember reading some advice on them somewhere that was anti-UV, but I don't remember the specifics to be honest.

 

That being said, also make sure that any fish you add to your system go through the QT as you mentioned. Make sure to enquire with LFS about their quarantine techniques. Different stores have different policies. I'll leave it up to you to decide which ones are better, worse, etc. Just when making your judgement, think about the lifecycle of the parasites involved. ERC does a great job about providing you the details of their QT procedures on their website.

[LCDRDATA]

One of the important things to consider with a UV sterilizer is the "dwell time" that a given unit of water is exposed to the radiation as it passes through. Simply put, there is an inverse relationship between the flow rate and the net irradiation, and the UV doesn't kill germs instantaneously. Here is a link (look under the "More Information" tab) to the Aqua UV sterilizer I run on my 55 gallon FOWLR (about 70 gallon total volume with sump). You didn't specify whether or not this was a reef tank, but note the different recommended dosage rates. I'd say don't expect this to be a silver bullet, but from your original post it looks like you already know that. Bottom line, a UV sterilizer can help, but can't eliminate the risk. Good luck!

Edited November 20, 2014 by LCDRDATA

[monkiboy]

texted you, sir.

[monkiboy]

also, BRS did a nice video on UV systems if you're set on getting one might as well make sure you are using it properly and maximizing its benefit like jim described above

Edited November 20, 2014 by monkiboy

[brcolli2]

Thanks everyone for the help. Marco just spent about 30 minutes over text helping me out. So awesome of him. Hopefully I can get this corrected.

 

Lcdrdata, how do you like your Aqua uv? I do have a reef tank. That is one thing that has me very confused. Aqua uv recommends a flow rate that allows for 30,000 - 45,000 μw/cm2. Says that anything more will destroy the platonik food source. However, emperor aquatics recommends a flow rate for 180,000 μw/cm2 for Protozoa.

[Ryan S]

I was very happy with my American Aquarium UV. I had it on my 150g reef.  Great product, east to setup, easy to get parts and bulbs as needed.  Great price.  They have loads of information on their website too.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Ryan S

[brcolli2]

Thanks. I will look into the American aquarium uv.

[zygote2k]

+ 100 on the American UV site. Lots of info there.

 

You're gonna have to let your tank run fallow for 12 weeks minimum, preferably 120 days to ensure there's no velvet in any stage still lurking.

[LCDRDATA]

Thanks everyone for the help. Marco just spent about 30 minutes over text helping me out. So awesome of him. Hopefully I can get this corrected.

 

Lcdrdata, how do you like your Aqua uv? I do have a reef tank. That is one thing that has me very confused. Aqua uv recommends a flow rate that allows for 30,000 - 45,000 μw/cm2. Says that anything more will destroy the platonik food source. However, emperor aquatics recommends a flow rate for 180,000 μw/cm2 for Protozoa.

 

I've liked my Aqua UV, and I believe it has helped. That being said, I am running it on a FOWLR, not a reef tank, so my flow is in the range of 75-90,000 μw/cm2. My guess is that 180,000 μw/cm2 is intended to no-kidding sterilize the water (i.e., probability of kill approaching 1.0 for anything in it), which would include any plankton - probably NOT be what you wanted in a reef tank, certainly not over the long term.