UV sterilizers...are they good?

[Mattzilla]

does anyone here use one? i don't know too much about them but a friend of mine told me they kill all the nasties like parasites and stuff in the water. is this true?? do they kill beneficial bacteria??

i would like to hear some peoples personale opinions and experiences with them.

thanks

matt

[discusdude]

They will not kill benificial bacteria. They can only kill free floating bacteria. They are alright, but may lower your fishes imunity system. They are in line, water is pumped externally through them, which means you need either a cannister filter or a sump setup.

Alistair

[Proteus]

I am considering getting one on my next Discus tank, have it hooked up on the return line from the sump...

I have heard more good than bad about them, apart from that I cant really go into specifics...

[SLS]

Hey guys,

Discus really are as tough as nails, often when we have problems it is usually associated with water quality or mis diagnosed disease.

We refer to U.V. sterilizers as 'insurance policies' for your prized loved ones.

They do more than just kill nasties, they also prevent algae and give you great water clarity. They don't hurt the good bacteria, because they connect to the return side of the filter. Also ensuring the good bacteria stay in your filter, where they should be.

Connect one to your tank and you'll see the difference overnight.

Happy fish keeping,

George.

[Mattzilla]

ok so you attach it to the return hose coming from your canister filter...i have a canister filter so that would be fine.
i also have a air driver sponge filter inside my tank...will the UV steraliser effect that at all????

i think i will get one as i believe that keeping discus is all about keeping water, and if i can make the water better then my discus will benefit from it

thanks

matt

[Proteus]

The sponge filter wont affect anything at all...

only the water that passes through the canister will be treated...

well worth it, especially now after what George has mentioned...

Why not give SLS a buzz and see what they can get...

[Fishpimpin73]

I am gonna give George a BIG UPS!!!

He pretty much hit the nail on the head.

U.V. is AWESOME for ANY TANK!!!

On top of the fact that it blasts the hell out of any little nasties that try to infest the system. The decreased chances of algea is a HUGE BONUS!

There has been some VERY intense study done on U.V. units and almost all of the info is positive.
The ONLY drawback that I know of is that ( sometimes ) adding a sterilization unit to an exsisting ( established, older ) tank does have some residual impact on the system. It has been known to cause some havoc until the sys re-balances without the instance of the (harmful/beneficial) grubbies that the unit is removing.

Also, be VERY careful as to which U.V. unit you purchase.
Some of them can be almost IMPOSSIBLE to buy parts for ( BULBS ) and if/when you DO find them. Some companies that supply the parts will NOT sell them individually and it could cost you a pretty penny to get them.

HTH

Pimpin

[Mattzilla]

i'm still not convinced...i have had a few reports on other forums that say that they are not really worth it....

maybe if SLS can offer a good bargain i might be convinced....

matt

[Mattzilla]

hey george..from SLS

i tried to email SLS and it got sent back...said it couldn't find any sls.com...

i want to know if you sell water storage barrels...100-200litres...and for hom much.

are you able to offer me a good bargain on a UV steraliser as well??

cheers mate

please email me or leave a message here

mattpATswiftdsl.com.au

thanks

[Pyroman]

you actually have to spell it out... slipperylittlesuckers.com

[Proteus]

Matt, use the email link in SLS's profile here, I tried to send something though to the sls email and it came back (they are looking into it).

Matt if you are referring to comments made on another local forum, the facts are so out of whack it is not funny, but each to there own... remember we are talking about the King of the Aquarium here, not some regular Tropical fish, or Cichlid (not that there is anything wrong with any of them), so inline with a strict water quality regime, a UV sterilizer is a bonus, and has been stated before, added insurance.

maybe it might make things cheaper if 2 were purchased at the same time... I am considering throwing one on my 4ft Discus tank.

[Mattzilla]

yeah i used the email link.... must have buggered up somehwere along the line

proteus...weave your magic and see what sort of price you can get....though i am still in two minds about getting one

cheers
matt

[Proteus]

The magic wand is in the hands of George and company...

give them a call, or why not drop in... you will be blown away when you see 1/2 a wall of Discus tanks....

[kevkoi]

Slippery Little Suckers email add: georgef@austarmetro.com.au

Most UV sterilisers we carry atm do large volumes of water.. ie 4000L is a small UV unit. Most of these are designed for ponds or large fishroom setups.

We are looking at getting in some smaller sized UV sterlisers that would do a couple hundred litres of water which would be better suited to the average hobbyist.

U can oversize your UVC but u cannot undersize it.

kev

[kevkoi]

GOOD NEWS!.... We're in the process of aquiring some small compact UVC for tanks (instead of ponds and fish rooms!). I believe they will be 9W UVC and can handle up to a 600L tank (More than enough for standard tanks, unless u're getting a HUGE tank!).... We're trying to negotiate a price so that we can sell these for under $100.

Bear in mind, most UV steriliser light bulbs (which will need to be replaced yearly) cost about $70 each!!

kev

[Mattzilla]

there is a cheap on here....

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/prod448.htm

is that one any good???

[Mattzilla]

or more here at

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/category51_1.htm

matt

[Proteus]

They look ok, although I do not have any experience with them as such...

maybe wait and see what SLS can get...

[kevkoi]

WE have a 9W UVC at $99.95.
Pick up at SLS... we have stock.

kev

[Proteus]

9W... what litreage/gallonage is that good for???

[Mattzilla]

and do you stock replacement bulbs? cost?

[flukes]

I was wondering if the wattage actaully increases the effeciencey, or do you go by the litres. The reason i asked was because i saw 2 seperate units,
1. 9 watts - does up to 600ltres
2. 6 watts - does up to 1890ltres

For a 6ft tank which do you think would be more effective??

Does the watts really matter or just the ltrs/ph ?

Can you have too much sterilisation??

What is the average amount of ltrs that should be sterilised per hr?? Does it have it own pump or does it just use the filter to push it through??

Cheers
Scott

[Proteus]

Scott, they just attach to the return line, so they run off the main filtration pump...

HTH

[flukes]

so the only power is to run the light??

Also do you know aboutthe watts vs ltrs per hour?

[Proteus]

That I am not to sure about... sorry

[flukes]

Kev will know,

[Proteus]

Kev???

I am thinking about getting one today as my Female Snakeskin has not been well for over a week now, she isnt getting any worse, but is not improving... looks like stress, as the water is spot on... so a UV might help things along...

[SLS]

Hey Guy's,

The U.V's are specific to Manufactures Recommendations..... :roll:

Our's states to 600l tank.

Flow rates are also determined by the Manufactures Recommendations... :roll:

The reason is, every U.V is differrent from one another, internal diameter, wattage of tube, and length of unit. And, all of this depends on the flow rate. Are they specified for ponds or aquariums :!:

It creates alot of grey area's :?

Basically you get what you pay for.

For anthing upto 200Ltr, this $99.95 U.V. will protect your tank. For tanks upto 400Ltr we suggest our $299.95 U.V. for systems upto 2000Ltr we suggest a good german U.V. for $650. There are also larger units available for even bigger systems.

Hope this helps,

George :D

[DiscusMan]

Guys i have been researching UV's a bit recently.

I have been put onto these people

Wedeco AVP
Magowar Rd Girraween NSW 2145
ph: (02) 9631 4455

They are makers of UV gear that gets install in places like ocean outfalls off of cronulla here in Sydney.

They have a couple of units that are very suitable and very very well priced. Give them a call. The units i have got price on was a 30 watt unit that was selling for around $470, good for 1000 litres. The next one up was a 40Watt unit. This was around the $560 these are GST Exclusive and please don't qoute my prices they are just a guide as to what you are looking at.

A bit about these units. They are full metal construction. Stainless steel outsides and easily removable globes like the ones the LFS sells. They can be supplied with monitor boxes that will make an audible alarm if it bulbs fails etc, but htis is about $200 more from what i was told. I

My views are that the LFS models are made out of PVC or plastic of some kind and i just dont see value for money in spending $1000 for a good quality imported model when we have a local guy in Australia that makes them out of Stainless steel. I would suggest that everyone do more homework in their own country when they are looking at UV. It is used so many other places than in aquariums.

This company makes units that treat 15000litres/SECOND in NZ so they now what they are doing as well. You can check all this out at the web site

http://www.wedeco.com.au/

Hope this helps

DiscusMan

Edit - Fixed the price adn wattage of lower model adn added the litres it could do maximum

[flukes]

Yeah but do they do as little as 150-200ltr?? many companes in australia make Uv sterilisers but its getting one small enough for a tank. These models you meantioned might be good for 6-8ft but what about your 3-4ftrs.??

Cheers
Scott

[DiscusMan]

I beleive that you cant over UV your water. But you can under UV it by reducing the effectiveness of the UV.

If you buy one that is bigger than you need the globes will last longer. A 9Watt unit will need it;s globe replaced once a year. A 25 watt unit will need it done say ever 2year or 2.5 years to still be strong enough. So you get your money back in longer globe life. It also future proofs your setup. What if you buy more tanks or a bigger tank. You'll have to go and buy another unit then replace both tubes once a year. The units are also very strongly built. A cheap Chinese built unit may not last as long but that is for you to decide. Price or quality. A 9 watt unit will do 200 litres Max as told to me by george at SLS.

Hey in the end you buy to your budget. Someone asked about UV i put up some information.

Hope someone finds this useful. I certainly was happy when i was told about it.

DiscusMan

[Proteus]

note: UV = Extra Insurance

:wink:

[kevkoi]

ERrr, I don't quite agree with the idea that the bigger the UV, the less often you have to change it. Unless there are certain mechanisms put in to prolong the life of the electronic mechanism (remote ballast for instance), the bulb should be changed every 12-18months. The longer u leave it the higher the chance that the UV is not working optimally and the bigger your risk are. It is not about replacing the bulb when it is blown or does not emit light anymore. It needs to be replace because it is no longer effective at what it is designed to do, even though it seems to us that there is still 'light'.

A large uv globe for say a 250W may cost quite a bit more than say a 9W. It may sometimes cost up to $70 to replace a light globe on a top of the range UVC.... where as, with the smaller cheaper units, the light globes may cost less than $10ea.

At the end of the day it is what u intend for it to do. If you are looking at putting a UV on a 3-4ft display tank, a small one will do fine. If you are trying to put it on a centralised system of 20000L... be realistic, the little 9w won't do. The choices are out there.

kev

kev

[DiscusMan]

As i said in the start of my initial response. I have been researching this, and i still am. I always like to get a better idea of something from the makers or a technical document on the subject.

After you reply it prompted me to go and research what this "Usable life" is. I was figuring it was sort of like a depleting supply of UV over time. I based my views the larger light will last longer due this much higher concentration of UV emissions, and therefore the levels we actually need to kill what we want is in the end,what we require. If we need say 50us and we initially are getting 150us then great we are really kicking some parasite a**e. after so many hours the UV production drops due to normal globe usage. After so many hours the output level would be say 100us. Yes this globe may be past its "Usable life" for the level it is rated at, but for us mere keepers of water it is still above our 50us we need.

Check out this link to a person talking about the UV globes in sun tanning tables.

http://www.cosmedico.com/north_am/product/pdf/lamp_life.pdf

I would like to get it clear what Usable life is compared to what we want the life to be. Manufactures rate globes based on a Percentage of UV output from the initial. In the case of the tanning globes it 70%. but it is still producing UV after this.

clusion.

The smaller one will need the globe replaced more than the larger unit - In the same size tank. :lol:

DiscusMan

[Proteus]

well I am digging this one up as I am about to go out and buy a UV unit.

not for my Discus tank (that will come later) but for my 180g (750L) community tank. After losing 8 of my 10 Clown Loaches, 3 CAE's and a few others, I am going all out to solve this mystery.

Over 200% of the water has been changed in the past week (not in one hit mind you), several gravel vac's, all levels checked, and do you think I have a clue what is wrong...

NO... so, time for some extra insurance...

will advise how things go.

[Proteus]

BTW, here is a good link with some valuable information...

UV Sterilizers: Which one is right for you? (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?dept_id=0&siteid=6&acatid=425&aid=440)

:wink:

[Proteus]

FYI,

I have had the UV hooked up to the tank (6x2x2 Community) now for 4 days.

The fish look great, and I will be totally honest with this, I have NEVER seen my water this clear...

Thinking of hooking a few more up now, aside from the algae and parasite reduction/elimination side of things, the water clarity is unbelievable.

[Mattzilla]

i have heard that they are great but as soon as you you put the fish in another tank that doesn't have uv they get sick pretty quick. what i mean is once they get used to super clean water they can never go back. i may be wrong though as i have never had any personal experience. keep us posted as i have been considering getting one for a while now

[Proteus]

aside from the benefits such as no algae, and protazoa extermination, etc, I have never seen water so clear.

to look through 6ft of water at one end of a 700L tank and have no particles, colour, tinting etc, is proof enough for me...

[Merrilyn]

Water clarity coupled with peace of mind. Can't beat that combination. :mrgreen:

[Proteus]

Just an update...

I am extremely happy with what the 11w unit is doing its thing on the 6x2x2 tank, plus was considering buying another for the new 5x2x2, so I went all out.

The 5x2x2 will get the 11w UV unit, and the 6x2x2 is about to get a new slighty higher capacity UV unit... all 36watts of it...

:wink:

[Davo]

Proteus,

What brand is your 11w UV?

Dave.

[Proteus]

ummmm, sadly I cant read German...

it has a box with KEMA EUR in it???

otherwise all German (oh, it has a Pirelli cable)

it wasnt cheap, and it came with a Philips TUV tube...

sorry I cant help any furter than that

[Cichlabxr]

Have a read of this. Just to confuse the issue a little morehttp://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/popup.techTalkDetail/ttid/80

[Proteus]

We suggest oversizing the UV sterilizer by at least 40 percent to be sure of getting the killing power required when the lamp has aged. We suggest changing lamps at six month intervals.

Hence the term, "Bigger is Better"...

I must say I was surprised when I opened up the 11w unit... The quartz sleeve was crystal clear, and the usual burn impression at the base of the UV bulb was minimal (I have found with cheaper brands the tube gets a burn (hazing) at the base after some time). I guess it is worth paying the extra and getting a good Philips (or similar) TUV tube.

[Bronx19]

Interesting thread.

I have never considered using a steraliser before.

How effective are they at preventing algal growth?

I assume they eliminate all nutrients aswell as organisms?

[weird]

I attached one to a fresh tank ... they are not magic against algae ... I still needed my algae eaters.

[Proteus]

FYI, UVC's & UVS's should never be attached to a fresh tank, as it will afect the cycling process.

The tank should be seeded with a good bio load.

UV's will get rid of 100% particle and suspended algae, it wont have any affect an surface algae as that is a result of high phosphates or too much photo-synthesis (light)

[weird]

Sorry was not fresh fresh, when I say fresh ... I say that the filters were from a fully cycled tank ... but the actual tank itself was algae free ... but when I moved the fish over ... algae built up quite quickly even with the UV sterilizer ... so I think you get great clear water but algae can still grow on your glass and plants etc.

[Proteus]

You will probably find the reason is enemy number one... Light coming in through a window, or your overhead tank lights are the wrong spectrum.

Any tank that even gets a glimer of sunlight, or direct light from outside is a candidate for lots of algae.

[weird]

Your probably right Ro, the house I am renting has the most stoopid blinds that let light in no matter what I do ... I have sinced moved the tank with its back to the window. Most changes I make are like altogether ... move tank, put in plants and BN ... so it is hard to say what is the overall factor that made a difference . I like to contribute it to the BN ... they are abit more animate than the UV sterilizer and also I think they understand what I am saying <fish make you weird ... lol>