Uv Sterilizers And Gph Flow Rates

[Lovecich]

I'm looking at UV sterilizers for my 56 g planted tank. The GPH of the
Penn Plax canister filter I have is 256. The GPH of the UV sterilizers that are affordable tends to max out at 211. Does anybody know if this difference is crucial. Would I be wasting time and money because of the imbalance in the GPH, thus rendering the water flowing through the UV sterilizer too fast to give adequate treatment to the water?

 

[coralbandit]

The faster water passes through the unit the less it is exposed to the UV light .
The extra gallons are worth much if you are using it to kill anything that is a nuisance.
Slow flow is where it is at.

 

[Lovecich]

Thanks coralbandit. That's what I suspected. Guess I'll be looking in the $100+ range rather than the $35-50.

 

[coralbandit]

You could T off you return line possibly to run the UV on a separate slower flow ?
Then you could use a smaller unit .As far as I know only wattage of bulbs is only change on model upgrades?

 

[Cichlidude]

UV lights in canister filters are a gimmick. As stated above the flow rate is too fast. Better to get a separate unit with an adjustable flow rate set on the slowest setting to work.

 

[Lovecich]

You could T off you return line possibly to run the UV on a separate slower flow ?
Then you could use a smaller unit .As far as I know only wattage of bulbs is only change on model upgrades?

Good suggestion but I'm not much of a plumber. I know, it's only fitting a T, but...
I've found a couple of UV sterilizers that run 264 or even more GPH. They cost about twice as much, but I think I'll probably spend the extra since the one I'm looking at takes the $12 bulbs instead of the $30 ones so that makes up part of the cost.