UV bulb ratings?

[EnderG60]

So we have plenty of info on sizing UV's for reefs based on radiation rates measured in μw/cm². And setting the flow to kill algea or slow enough to kill parasites. We use the manufacturers ratings on the bulbs and flow rates but what about replacement bulbs?

I dont think anyone buys the name brand bulbs for replacements as they are 2-3x the price of cheaper ones available. But is it worth the savings?

So for halide bulbs we had sanjay's metal halide comparison for color and par but has anyone rated UV bulbs?

 

[slief]

So we have plenty of info on sizing UV's for reefs based on radiation rates measured in μw/cm². And setting the flow to kill algea or slow enough to kill parasites. We use the manufacturers ratings on the bulbs and flow rates but what about replacement bulbs?

I dont think anyone buys the name brand bulbs for replacements as they are 2-3x the price of cheaper ones available. But is it worth the savings?

So for halide bulbs we had sanjay's metal halide comparison for color and par but has anyone rated UV bulbs?

I always buy the AquaUV brand bulbs. Cheap copies are just that. AquaUV makes their own bulbs and their bulbs are tested to be at 90% of their efficiency at 1 year. I replace them once a year with a new pair of 57 watt AquaUV bulbs. I spent good money to have a great 114 watt UV Sterilzer. Why would I compromise the quality by using a cheap inferior bulb? There is a reason why AquaUV is the most respected UV Sterilzer manufacturer in the world. No point in pinching pennies at the expense of my tank.

 

[EnderG60]

But any 3rd party rating measurements for any of them?

 

[slief]

But any 3rd party rating measurements for any of them?

Huh?? Not understanding what you are asking. Most 3rd party bulbs are going to be cheap chinese bulbs. I wouldn't trust their ratings anyway. If you are going to go through the exercise of adding a UV and want it to be effective, you do it right. If you go through the expense of adding a quality UV, why compromise the most important part of the UV? Bulbs aren't that expensive and you only have to buy them once a year or so with AquaUV. I have far to much invested in my system, corals and livestock to cut corners on my bulbs and wouldn't even waste my time for a once a year expense.

 

[EnderG60]

I want to know if anyone has done a comparison by actually rating the output of different brands and wattages of UV bulbs. Similar to the way Sanjay tested the PAR levels of different matal halide bulb and ballast combinations.

 

[slief]

I want to know if anyone has done a comparison by actually rating the output of different brands and wattages of UV bulbs. Similar to the way Sanjay tested the PAR levels of different matal halide bulb and ballast combinations.

I'd be really surprised if you find anybody here that has the capability of testing UV Sterilzer bulbs in that capacity. It requires very specialized equipment and a PAR meter wouldn't do it. I can however tell you that those that spend the money on a quality UV like AquaUV, use the manufacturer bulbs. I've yet to run into anybody running after market bulbs in those UV's.

 

[EnderG60]

You keep saying that but with no proof I fail to see the worth of saying "just spend the money on a brand name bulb", which is why Im asking if anyone anywhere has done any testing. Its not that hard. Its simple a light sensor tuned to UV-B and UV-C wavelengths, which you combine with area of the sensor to get your radiation rating.

EDIT:actually found a UV sensor and its cheaper than most PAR sensors.....the Solarmeter Model 5.7 Sensitive Total UV Meter
http://www.lessemf.com/ionizing.html

LSE, which makes most UV replacement bulbs gives ratings on some of them, but without ratings on the brand name ones, there is no way to compare.

In a world where the exact same bulb can be rebranded and resold at 3x the price, and when you have multiple bulbs on a large system to replace this can add up. Its an expensive hobby, and I will spend money where its warranted, Im not sold this is yet.

Until I can find some way to compare them, Im sorry but "everyone just does this" is not going to cut it for an argument.

 

[slief]

You keep saying that but with no proof I fail to see the worth of saying "just spend the money on a brand name bulb", which is why Im asking if anyone anywhere has done any testing. Its not that hard. Its simple a light sensor tuned to UV-B and UV-C wavelengths, which you combine with area of the sensor to get your radiation rating.

EDIT:actually found a UV sensor and its cheaper than most PAR sensors.....the Solarmeter Model 5.7 Sensitive Total UV Meter
http://www.lessemf.com/ionizing.html

LSE, which makes most UV replacement bulbs gives ratings on some of them, but without ratings on the brand name ones, there is no way to compare.

In a world where the exact same bulb can be rebranded and resold at 3x the price, and when you have multiple bulbs on a large system to replace this can add up. Its an expensive hobby, and I will spend money where its warranted, Im not sold this is yet.

Until I can find some way to compare them, Im sorry but "everyone just does this" is not going to cut it for an argument.

The test would be a bit more complex than just testing the output similar as you would do with a PAR meter. In fact, PAR meters don't even tell the whole story with aquarium lighting and have limited use. You would need to meaure both the wavelength and the output over over the course of time. Most bulbs are rated to around 1000 hours. AquaUV for example are rated to 10,000 hours. After 12 months they are said to still produce 90% of their power output. While I certainly can't verify that, I can tell you that I've never had an AquaUV bulb fail in a years time. On the other hand, I have rarely seen a Coralife UV bulb last a year. I had another popular brand of UV sterilzers from Europe and those bulbs seem to degrade much faster than the EquaUV's as well. The other factor goes beyond just wavelength. Power output similar to PAR within the given wattage would also be a factor since the UV Sterizers sterizations rates are based on flow rates. Those flow rates for a given model are based on the effectiveness or power of the UV bulb and contact time. Point being is that you can't just take a meter and compare two bulbs. Instead it would need to be done over a course of time to determine the degradation as well as wavelength changes over the course of time. I don't see many people doing this kind of testing over a $30 or $70 bulb unless there is a substantial amount of volume.

For me, it just wouldn't be worth it to switch anyway. I've dealt with inferior UV units over the years that used inexpensive bulbs. I've even owned other brands that used generic bulbs. I switched to AquaUV because my experience wasn't great with the cheaper units. Not only did the bulbs fail (dead) much sooner but the ends of the working bulbs turned black which would decrease contact time. As such, I see no reason to spend good money on a quality UV sterilzer and then cut corners by using a bulb that could end up being questionable.

Regardless, if you find any pertinent test results, I would love to see them so please post them here.