***Product review*** AA 24 watt internal UV sterilizer.

[Ben]

I just bought another of these internal UV’s.

This review is on the 24 watt UV sterilizer, the same company makes a smaller 9 watt version. The latter does up to a 200 litre tank while the 24 watt will do up to a 400 litre tank.


As per written on the box:

*this sterilizer emits high intensity short wavelength ultraviolet radiation to kill algae and other harmful germs, resulting crystal clear water

*reduction of all disease causing agents in the aquarium water

*filtration sponge inclusive to filter out dirt particles

*optimum efficiency of UV power due to diagonal water flow inside the housing

*12 volt low voltage design

*approved adaptor inclusive

*submersible. Completely sealed to ensure not water leakage

*save space as this device is completly submersible, together with filtration pump it can be placed within the aquarium. No need to place separately outside the aquarium.

*simple operation, without extra tubing. Simply 1 plug for both sterilizer and filtration

*LED built in control box to indicate lamp replacement
(Replace lamp tube when LED is off)


These are very easy units to assemble only taking 2 minutes to put together.

Pros.

*easy to set up
*good for those without a canister filter and want UV sterilization
* Reasonably priced
*

Cons.
*looks a bit ugly inside of the aquarium
*I have found if the water contains a lot of particles the sponge on the intake will need to be rinsed as much as once per day.


These units gets the Ben's Tick of approval, with a score of 87 out of 100.
If there are any question please ask.

[luckyfish]

Hi
What size tank did you test the unit on & did it work well in makeing the water crystal clear?
Thanks

[Mattzilla]

do you have any pictures of it set up i your tank

great reviews by the way... love your scoring...hahhaa

?? out of 100

that's hilarious

[jim from sydney]

Ben....you can always get a job as product reviewer, LOL........thanks for that review....i have contacted Ben and asked him does this UV unit also kill parasites. The reason i want to know is that i have a problem with pop-eye at the moment but i tend to think that it is not bacterial but a parasite instead as Metro does not work....see this link....

http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=33596#33596

do you know anything about the killing of parasites with this unit?????
Also what is the advantage of this unit as i already have an external canister running????....thanks....Jim.

[Ben]

Here are pics of both the uv's in the tanks to give you an idea.

cheers,

Ben

[Ben]

Thanks Jim and good questions too!

Ultra violet sterilization will kill up to %99 of all bacterial pathogens,parasitic lavae etc that pass through the unit.
As far as your fish with pop eye, i am not sure uv will cure it as it is more of a preventative measure than cure. But it is worth a try.

The advantage of having one of these units it can be moved from tank to tank, meaning if you have it on a tank with all healthy fish and in another tank a pair have spawned and have fry you can easily move it into another tank.

One thing to think of these units are "bold" so i would not recommend them in a nicely planted tank.

With your option you already have a cannister filter so i would look into getting one put onto that.

Hope this helps Jim,

Ben

[Benny]

Some other Pros and Cons... (i received one today, its set up but not in tank yet)

Pro:
There is no quartz sleeve, the water directly passes along the tube, which theoretically means improved UV exposure

Con:
No sleeve could be dodgy...
The steriliser unit is sealed, and you dont buy replacement globes, u buy a replacement steriliser component... according to the literature provided...

Regards, Benny..!!!

On the whole im very happy, i wanna get it started but my sponge has a seriously hydrocarbon smell to it... turps or petrol like smell... cleaning the sponge at the mo

[jim from sydney]

With your option you already have a cannister filter so i would look into getting one put onto that.

Hope this helps Jim,

Ben
Ben...yes thanks helped a lot. One more thing..Do you mean a UV unit to hook up in line with the canister, and can i do that with the one you road tested??? Jim

[Ben]

Hi Jim,
For you i think an inline UV sterilizer would be ideal to hook up on your cannister filter.
I dont have any of the inline UV's.
A good one that i know of and my friend has 2 of them is the turbo twister, but these have to be order from Singapore.

As far as other inline uv's, Lady red will have some good sugestions.


Sorry i could not help you anymore Jim,

Ben

[Ben]

Took a better picture, this is a 4 foot x 14 x 18 tank.
It will give everyone a better idea on what the 24 watt uv will look like inside the tank.


Ben

[Ben]

Just an update.
Benny is right, when replacing the tube it comes in a new Sleeve.
This makes it very easy to change as the old sleeve is replaced for the new one without having to open the unit and replace the globes.

Another great idea!

The new sleeved globes are available resonably priced.
Replacement bulbs 9 watt $15.00 , 24 watt $30.00.

They are available through a sponsor here,
age of aquariums.
http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/category52_1.htm


Ben

[Benny]

also, can check out the manufacturers website (i wish i knew of this bfore buying it, i would have been alot more unsettled about the purchase)...

By that i meant, i had no idea about the history of the brand (i now know they have been around for quite a while from their company history) and i am less concerned about parts becoming unavailable etc.

www.aa-aquarium.com

Regards,
Benny

[jim from sydney]

Ben......see next message....Jim

[jim from sydney]

I just bought another of these internal UV’s.


Ben......just got mine today and have installed it....easy......one Q'n what is the bit of clear tube to do????? it fits over the powerhead that little hole in the top, i didn't fit it yet and have the whole unit below the waterline. Seems to work fine without it.
Is it a air bleeder, and does it need to be fitted, there is no mention at all in the instructions....Jim

[Ben]

Hi Jim,
you are right all that hose does is add some air to the out flowing water.
I dont use it on any of my UV's as it makes a fair amount of noise!
The uv's atre submerged just under the water surface.

cheers,
Ben

[jim from sydney]

Hi Ben....thanks Pal..i will leave it as it is then, nice and easy....Jim

[Benny]

i attactched the hose and a small valve, i like the microbubbles of oxygen in the water, i think the fish do too

[jim from sydney]

i attactched the hose and a small valve, i like the microbubbles of oxygen in the water, i think the fish do too


Hi Benny did it make any difference to the noise??
I think Ben had a bit more noise because of it.

Either way the unit certainly makes a difference the the water clarity.
Man it sparkles...Jim

[Ben]

Yes jim, 24 watts of ultra violet protection and clarity!

What do you think about these units?
I like them very much but i am finding i have to clean the intake sponge at least once per day.

cheers,
Ben

[Benny]

It is noisy, but i can control when i want it to squirt o2 microbubbles or when not to...

[jim from sydney]

Ben.....i find it great...i bought only one to try-out in my 3ft tank...i had some algae on the leaves and that has about gone after 3 days. water also is crystal clear. i am going to buy 2 more 2morrow for my 420 liter tank. i think i will put 2 in there they are cheap enough and that tank does get a little more algea as it gets a bit of direct sunlight. i tried that little tube at the top and you are right it makes too much noise so i took it off again.....Jim

[oscar]

Any chance of getting a lsit of approx. dimensions fo the two units?

I have 3x18x18 & 4x18x18 tanks.

The 24W unit says Ok for up to 400L tank...would this make it too much for the 200+a bit litre tanks i've got? I'm just a bit cautious of using a 9W which places my tanks right on the limit.

Obviously, the smaller one would look better.

I have cannister filters and am considering in-line units, but sounds like this all in one unit is a bot more controlled in terms of water flow and therefore sterilisation. As i have mentioned in another thread...you see the in-line units at 6-8W stating suitability up to 1890L! We're obviously not comparing apples and apples.

[Ben]

Hi Oscar,

the dimensions are:

24 watt is:

35 cm long
7cm wide
sticks out from glass 11 cm

9 watt is

20 cm long
5 cm wide
sticks out from glass 8cm



I would recommend the 24 watt for both size tanks.


do a bit of research as if you have a cannister filter it might be better to connect and inline Uv on them.

I am not sure about inline UV's to be honest as i have 4 of the internal UV's only.

HTH

Ben

[Benny]

also inline ones slow your filtration from the canister....

I didnt want to affect my bio filtration, (2 canisters and air sponge) so i thought the internal was the best of both worlds, high wattage, theres no quartz sleeve, so 100% of the UV light emitted by the tube hits the water, the flow of the powerhead correctly suits the uv, and the price is unbeatbable...

my 350L tank has now 420lph + 24W uv filtration
1620lph of canister filtration (1200lph and 420lph)
and my air driven sponge

Im very satisfied with my setup overall, i also have a 500lph canister going spare that i will add to the tank too....


But the UV for the price is outstanding!

[Benny]

Also i think that the 1890L rated thing is a pond size rating, for controlling algae only, no bacterial elimination

[Ben]

It was time for me to replace the housing of my first UV.

Curiosity got the better of me so i cut up the 24 UV housing to see what was inside!

I thought there would have been a lot more slime/gunk within the housing but it was quite clean (every few months i soak them in bleach)

I took a few photos for everyone to see.

Looking inside the housing it is rather a good design as it is made some what similar to the coralife turbo twister where water spirals around the actual UV light.

[Mulisha]

Looks interesting and will you be able to still use the UV now you have cut the top off it?? :o

Doesn't look that dirsty really :D

[fishgeek]

are these , to me, small units actually sterilising??

uv radiation only penetrates through a very small amount of water and needs a decent contact time(so flow rate) to kill bacterial or viral pathogens
algal cells are much more easily damaged and the internal void of the unit can be larger or the flow rate faster


the uv bulbs are a power compact form? i hvae not seen that before
i have a standard uv flourescent ube so quite a bit larger than your reviewed product
water clarity should not be an indicator of bacterial levels
do wounds on the fish heal quicker?
do egg's in the tank fungus less?

this might indicate steriliser is effective
or better still measure bacterial counts scientifically before and after installation

i know you said the wave length emitted by these lamps,257 and 265nm have been claimed by differing manufacturer's to be the single most effective wavelength(box shws 254? i think)
bactericidal activity only occure with wavelength's between 200-300 nm

i believe you also said the bulb had no quartz sleeve, most bulbs need to reach a certain temperature to emit the correct frequency of light, the sleeve stops passing water from causing fluctuations in temperature and redcuing effectiveness of lamp

prehaps if these lamps are very affordable that maybe telling you something
sorry to be so cynical it is just best to know as much as you can before parting with cash for something tht doesn't do what it says on the box
someone need to make sure all advertising claims are genuine

andrew

[fishgeek]

another i just realised, is the aa on the box because it is battery operated?
it says 12v doesn't it?

it would seem to me that it is likely underpowerd for the claims it is making though i am certainly not an electrician

something i notice in my tanks with and with out uv is that if i leave uneaten food on the bottom of the tank it will go white and fluffy in the non-uv tanks, whilst i never see this in the other tanks

maybe you could run an empty tank with old food in for a visual trial

[piranha-discus]

hello ,
ben as i saw your topic that the replacement tubes for a aa 9 watt and a aa 24 watt uv, how come the price u put in the forum is $15 for the 9 watt and in aquarium products it says $35 and the 24 watt price is different too? whys that? may you let me know more thanks
,ben

[Ben]

As they are relatively a new type of unit i think the price changed.

Here is a link for the correct up to date pricing:

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/category52_1.htm

I bought a 24 watt housing from the above link.

Great product! below is a pic.

Cheers
Ben

[Benny]

are these , to me, small units actually sterilising??


i have a standard uv flourescent ube so quite a bit larger than your reviewed product
andrew

all high quality uv's i have seen use PL types of compact fluro lighting, not a "standard" disco style tube

[samw]

Has anyone tried removing the sponge and blocking the opening with a screen of some sort instead? I don't like the idea of having to clean the sponge daily or even weekly.

[Mulisha]

Hope you can keep the thing open beacuse cleaning a sponge everyday is not what i would like to be doing..

Cheers :lol:

[endless]

How do you know when you need to replace the globes?

[Proteus]

On cheaper type UV units, every 6-9 months.

Higher quality units 9-12 months

And on those with Electronic ballasts (i.e. DeBary & Pentair AquaStep) 12-18 months