fishchick

Does any use one with a 75 gall tank or in that range , i don't know anything about them, but i know that after reading about them that my tank gets dirty bad , and i plan to get one ! I don't want the big ones , but the ones that will go inside tank right ? any input

outlaw

What kind of dirty are you talking about? If it's just fish poo and algae build up, cleaning it should take care of that without spending money on a UV setup.

What is all in the tank and what do you use for filtering? What do you do for cleanings?

Found an article about UV Sterilizers. http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/bco...aa120197UV.htm. It does say Saltwater, but a lot of it pertains to Freshwater as well. Especially when it talks about killing free floating micro-organizms, algae, and some diseases (as long as free floating).

Found another article- http://www.aquariumpros.com/articles/sterilprocon.shtml

And a FISHLORE post- Pros and cons of UV filters

J J Indy

From what I have seen and read (not a whole lot) the UV sterilizers attach to the return of a canister filter or sump type filter but these both have to be strong enough to force the water through the sterilizer and not all of them are. I have read some on these because it seems to be a good investment on larger tanks but may prove to be to expensive for the smaller tanks to get all of the benefits.

fishchick

I have two filters on the back of the tank , and i use some conditioners when i do water change ! and do add some other things for alagae if needed !

pepetj

I use a 18W UV Sterilizer in a 145gal tank. When replacing the UV lamp next February I will likely place a 11 or 13W lamp in it.

Neat results in algae control. Water is crystal clear in this tank.

Mine is a new design marketed by Resun (Resun UV-05) that works submerged in the tank (or sump) and uses an airpump to work. I adjust the airflow in order to get desired results.

However most units work in-line. You have to make sure that you get a model that has good reviews since there are some brands out there that don't do the work at all. Other reputable brands, make sure you can only get the replacement UV lamp from them, and they usually sell it for more than market value. You will need to replace your UV lamp every six months. If your unit comes with a quartz sleeve (not all models use one) you will need to carefully clean it every time you replace the UV lamp, using a pillow to support it so you don't brake it (these are quite expensive replacements if you can find them)

Things to inspect in any UV sterilizer you may purchase at a LFS:
a) The interior gap -quartz sleeve to interior wall- for water flow should not exceed 3mm (1/8"), a wider gap will make the unit useless, no matter what the manufacturer claims. MEASURE IT.

There are several ways of making this work, below I describe the two most widely used, in my limited knowledge.

Thing you must do:
1. Calculate the water flow range you need for your purposes so you could determine which powerhead/water pump will work best for you:

Algae control: 40-50GPH per Watt
Bacterial and Fungal control: 20-30GPH per Watt
Parasite control: 5-10GPH per Watt (sometimes even lower, almost impossible to achieve in aquarium tanks)

I made this calculations considering algae control with a UV sterilizer for a 75 gal tank.

All the info is in the following article by Carl Strohmeyer

http://www.americanaquariumproducts....ilization.html


For a 75gal tank, any UV sterilizer with a 5 to 15W UV lamp should do the work.
If you get a 5W unit, multiply 5W x 40-50GPH/1W = 200-250GPH
If you get a 7W unit, multiply 7W x 40-50GPH/1W = 280-350GPH
If you get a 9W unit, multiply 9W x 40-50GPH/1W = 360-450GPH
If you get a 11W unit, multiply 11W x 40-50GPH/1W = 440-550GPH
If you get a 13W unit, multiply 13W x 40-50GPH/1W = 520-650GPH
If you get a 15W unit, multiply 18W x 40-50GPH/1W = 720-900GPH

The ideal set is the one that combines the LOWEST Watts per Gallon with the HIGHEST turnover rate. However, your turnover rate should not go below the minimum of 1.5 times your tank volume per hour.

75galx1.5/1hour = 112.5GPH. Note that all of the turnover rates (flow) are higher than this minimal value in our previous calculations.

I would aim at 5-9W UV unit in a 75gal tank.


2. Installation:
a) suitable powerhead or waterpump AND a waterflow meter, or
b) a T valve AND a waterflow meter

Use option a) if you want to run/control your unit independently from the filtration system (This way when you service your filter your UV keeps on running). This works as HOB: powerhead inside the tank connects to the UV outside the tank, output of the UV connects back to the tank.

Use option b) if you want to run/control your UV unit dependently from your filtration system. You will need a canister or a wet/dry filter to go this way.

Pepe
Santo Domingo