UV Sterilizer

[africandiscus]

Are they worth it. Everywhere you read on the net refers to marine tanks

[Proteus]

for Discus I would strongly recommend one...

UV treatment is extra insurance...

there are several threads about UV treatment in the Equipment forum.

I am about to get a 40+ watt unit for one of my Big Discus tanks (700L) currently I am running 11 watters on my tanks

[africandiscus]

What brand are you looking at?

[Merrilyn]

I also use uvs on two of my tanks. One is an 8 foot grow out tank with up to 40 discus of varying ages. A problem in that tank could set my breeding program back years. The other benefit has been that I no longer have problems with 'green water' as this tank is in a sunroom and always had a problem with too much light. As Proteus stated its more a form of insurance. The second uv is on a 5 ft tank with the more exotic (expensive) pairs.

[africandiscus]

Merrilyn, what brand is it?

How many watts do you require?

[Proteus]

I would suggest 9-11 watts as the minimum.

With UV, bigger is better, but more exposure time is even better still

for instance, if you had a 46w unit with water flowing through at 4500lph, compared with an 11w unit with a flow rate of 750lph, the tank with the 11w unit is the better of the 2.

It comes down to exposure time. I only wish we could get the turbo twist units down here that they have in the U.S. as they force the water to be exposed for a greater amount of time at high flow rates due to the twist channels within the UV housing...

Brands of UV units isnt really a factor, it is more the tube/bulb that is the important factor. I would strongly recommend Philips, as they have a very good line of UV lamps (used in hospitals, aquaculture and other industries that require complete sterilisation of items).

You metioned S... Aquariums in another post, the Atman UV units look good, just replace the included bulb with a REAL bulb and you wont go wrong.

I cant tell you the brand I have at the moment, they are German, and thats about all I know until I read the label again (Philips tube though) :wink:

[Merrilyn]

Not too good on the technical side of things, but it is a 9 watt UV Steriliser sold as a pond uv suitable for a flow rate of up to 4500 lts per hour. At that rate it would only remove algae, but I have it hooked up to the return pipe of an Eheim Pro filter with a flow rate of 600 lts per hour. To kill all the unwanted pathogens in the water you need a longer exposure time to the uv rays, hence the slower flow rate. Can't see the brand name as it's mounted to the wall, but from memory it was about $299 for each. Purchased from a lfs which was also heavy into pond equipment.

[Escher]

Hi Proteus

The Hozelock uv have a "turbulator" gizmo. It makes the water revolve around the globe a few time before exiting. Is this what you mean by "I only wish we could get the turbo twist"? I have a 9w for my pond similar to the one on this link http://members.ozemail.com.au/~kentfish/UVHozelock.htm


Gianluca

[africandiscus]

I have a technical question.

My Eheim canister filter has a flow 1000L per hour. If I connect it to a UV Sterilizer with a flow rate of 4500L/h, would I get the extra benifit because it has a bigger uv bulb than a smaller unit with a lower flow rate and a smaller bulb.

Is there ever a situation where there is too much UV and it destroys all good bacteria?

[africandiscus]

I would like to buy the one in the classifieds. It is an awsome price

http://www.aquaclassifieds.com.au/listing.php?id=46&PHPSESSID=da43799490d5579adf75ee1c8a37f2ba

[Merrilyn]

You cannot over UV and it wont hurt your beneficial bacteria. But you can under UV and not kill the nasties. Your eheim is rated for 1000 lph unimpeded flow (without any media) but your actual flow could be around 600 after the filter has been running for a while and picked up some sludge. Some of our techno experts may be able to give you some more accurate information.

[Proteus]

psx, give Derek a call (regarding that ad) let him know you are from here and he will look after you...

FYI, Derek has the full range of Hozelock UV's, with some on special ATM, he is also going to be assisting Pyro & Myself get PondForums.com off the ground as that is his specialty.

[africandiscus]

Thanks, I will call him tomorrow. I am abit concerned about the differences between a sterilizer and a clarifier.

[africandiscus]

I came across this previous article. No I am really confused. Which is the way to go a UVC or a UVS

http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=929

[Proteus]

basically what it means is most of the UVS's here have the same bulb that the UVC's have, cept they charge a lot more, for no reason...

looking at the light frequencies, they are pretty much the same, unless you want to get into medical sterilisation...

[DiscusMad]

would a uv's over a sump tank work instead of around the pipe????

[Proteus]

No...

it is a special light, and needs direct contact (between quartz glass) and the water.

Plus, looking directly at a UV lamp can SERIOUSLY damage your eye sight... every UV lamp has warnings regarding this.

[flukes]

Could i find a steriliser bulb to fit the Hozelock Cyprio Vorton 9000 Ultra Violet Clarifier (UVC), and would Derek stock these?

Where did you get your phillips bulb from Ro?>

[africandiscus]

I spoke to Derek and bought one. He said once all the discounted ones are gone they are going to full price.

[DeKa]

Hi,

Yes, we stock the bulbs - you'll find them in this category.
http://www.rockaroundtheblock.com.au/categories.asp?cID=17 If you buy 2 or more lamps, you get a futher 7.5% off.

The Vorton 9000 UVC takes the Philips PL-S TUV 11W lamp ($54.50). Freight on the lamps is $4.95

Thanks for your order psx2doctor, we now only have a couple left at $255.
Any questions, call me!

Derek.

[Proteus]

Derek, do you, or can you get 46w tubes???

I can get a unit for next to nothing, but it doesnt have a tube... (I am sure it is 46w maybe 44w)

[DeKa]

We don't carry 46W tubes, I'm sure I can get them.
Is it a PL-S TUV or another type of lamp? Is it Philips brand?

Let me know the exact specs and I'll get back to you.

Derek.

[Proteus]

I will be honest, I have no idea...

I will try and find out the specs of the previous tube... (and maybe the correct wattage might help)

:wink:

[DeKa]

Yes the wattage will help, along with the fitting type ;)
46w doesn't exist in the Philips catalogue...

Derek.