uv steriliser

[gypsy3]

hi all...saw a uv sterilizer on ebay..brand new, 36w - 85 bucks.seemed a bit cheap to me. has anyone purchased one of these on ebay and if so are they any good?....seller was called guppy1 if thats any help

[Proteus]

SunSun brand.

It is priced cheap for a reason :wink:

[DIY]

I just purchased one, at that price I figured I'd see what it's like. The quality is about what you expect - cheap plastics, silicon used in the joins etc, however the quartz glass tube appears to be reasonable and the unit doesn't leak at all :shock:

I just wanted something cheap to use on the occasional green water outbreak and have used cheap UV units for this successfully before, I haven't had an outbreak since I received this unit but I'm pretty sure it'll work OK when I do.

If you're looking for something to 100% kill nasties in the water then I'd look further and be prepared to pay $$ :wink:

If you do decide to get one, ignore the BS flow rate on the box, based on instructions from better quality units the max flow rate for the 36w to be effective should be something like 1000l/hr to kill nasties, and 2000l/hr for green water at a guess.

[Proteus]

cheap plastics

The 2 units of this brand that I have seen almsot knocked me out with a very overpowering toxic smell from the plastics used. Mind you this was 5 months ago, although the joins were siliconed in meaning if something broke the whole unit is rendered useless (only screw in parts are the end cap and outlet/view points).

I will also add that I dont think it is a quartz sleeve, more than likely just cheap glass as it doesnt have the same look to what is used by Pondmaster, De-Bary and Pentair

[DIY]

I will also add that I dont think it is a quartz sleeve, more than likely just cheap glass as it doesnt have the same look to what is used by Pondmaster, De-Bary and Pentair

Interesting point Proteus, I seem to remember reading somewhere the reason quartz is used, is because normal glass blocks enough of the UV light that it becomes ineffective, or at least reduces the effectivness.

If what I remember reading is right, then I'd like to think it is actually a quartz tube used in the SunSun, but it's probably lower grade and could well reduce the amount of UV light hitting the water. get what you pay for I guess. :roll: