UV Sterilizer
- Thread starter Charles99
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moonpod
Premium Member
Well on the pro side, they probably help with water clarity and disease suppression provided you get a large enough unit and the appropriate flow through the unit.
On the con side, they essentially represent that much added heat (whatever the wattage is), and if you don't have the right size and flow they probably don't do much.
Additionally, b/c they are heat sources you can get calcium deposits on the inside of the units that basically block the uv output. There are units with wipers to deal with that.
On the con side, they essentially represent that much added heat (whatever the wattage is), and if you don't have the right size and flow they probably don't do much.
Additionally, b/c they are heat sources you can get calcium deposits on the inside of the units that basically block the uv output. There are units with wipers to deal with that.
kypatriot
Premium Member
I have a 40w Rainbow Lifeguard on my 135g. It raises my temp from 78 to 79.5. It's been on there for about 8 months, and I've cleaned it twice now.
It did have some calcium that was settled in the bottom of the canister (looked like my Purple Up collected there or something).
I think it helps with the water quality, because when I first hooked it up, my skimmer went crazy for a few days, then slowed down a bunch. I also had a couple fish battles (a tomato clown and flame angel declared all-out war), and they never got infected from their injuries.
I've been happy with mine. I do plan to put it on a timer this summer, so that it is only on during the coolest parts of the day (my tank has no sump, so adequate evaporation is hard for me)
It did have some calcium that was settled in the bottom of the canister (looked like my Purple Up collected there or something).
I think it helps with the water quality, because when I first hooked it up, my skimmer went crazy for a few days, then slowed down a bunch. I also had a couple fish battles (a tomato clown and flame angel declared all-out war), and they never got infected from their injuries.
I've been happy with mine. I do plan to put it on a timer this summer, so that it is only on during the coolest parts of the day (my tank has no sump, so adequate evaporation is hard for me)
wishntoboutside
professional snow flake
cons they may kill your pods. another thing to maintain changing bulb out every 9 months. heats up the water. i have seen 3 so far rusting from the inside out. hmm not sure why posibly bad install.
pros
keep your water a lil clearer, may help with parsites and such, probably great for fish and shark systems. not my preference for a reef. cool gadget to show your freinds.
and yes depending on how placed this will effect your flow rates with elbows and such
pros
keep your water a lil clearer, may help with parsites and such, probably great for fish and shark systems. not my preference for a reef. cool gadget to show your freinds.
and yes depending on how placed this will effect your flow rates with elbows and such
moonpod
Premium Member
Of course the UV and Ozone can kill the phyto. The thing is generally if you dose live DTs or the reefnutrition stuff, you can dose it in your sump/fuge (where a lot of it gets consumed by pods et al) before it goes through the UV and it doesn't last long in the tank anyways. If you dose say, the liquid life stuff, it's dead anyways.
It's all a balance. Be judicious. Try to avoid needing one. Probably better on FOWLR or less reefy type setups vs reefs, but certainly people with very nice reefs use 'em as well.
It's all a balance. Be judicious. Try to avoid needing one. Probably better on FOWLR or less reefy type setups vs reefs, but certainly people with very nice reefs use 'em as well.
bergzy
New member
i have used uv...got 'okay' water clarity.
i have used ozone with 'great' water clarity.
but since going full zeovit...water clarity has become 'transparent' to best describe the water.
my orp has gone from 390 with ozone to 415 w/o ozone and full zeo.
imo...
healthy fish=disease resistant fish
besides added heat (which should not be an issue with a properly set up system), increase in electricity use (with todays cost...every little bit adds up), good results with another piece of equipment to maintain...i do not use it for some of those reasons...
the main reason is that it is counter productive on MY (read: my system and not others) zeo system but also for the reasons listed above.
i am coming to revelation that there are no uv sterilizers or ozone generators in nature to zap pathogens...my developing hypothesis is the starting on the same line as good host/bad host way of thinking. have a well balanced system established with good hosts...this will in turn 'outcompete' resources and the bad host can not get a foot hold.
light is a part of nature, water motion is a part of nature, temp stability etc are all found in nature and we have to try to replicate these in a captive environment. these parameters are different than 'zapping' nasties with ozone or uv.
the only thing 'unnatural' on my system is a skimmer. i dont see a lot of those in natural reef systems.
i have used ozone with 'great' water clarity.
but since going full zeovit...water clarity has become 'transparent' to best describe the water.
my orp has gone from 390 with ozone to 415 w/o ozone and full zeo.
imo...
healthy fish=disease resistant fish
besides added heat (which should not be an issue with a properly set up system), increase in electricity use (with todays cost...every little bit adds up), good results with another piece of equipment to maintain...i do not use it for some of those reasons...
the main reason is that it is counter productive on MY (read: my system and not others) zeo system but also for the reasons listed above.
i am coming to revelation that there are no uv sterilizers or ozone generators in nature to zap pathogens...my developing hypothesis is the starting on the same line as good host/bad host way of thinking. have a well balanced system established with good hosts...this will in turn 'outcompete' resources and the bad host can not get a foot hold.
light is a part of nature, water motion is a part of nature, temp stability etc are all found in nature and we have to try to replicate these in a captive environment. these parameters are different than 'zapping' nasties with ozone or uv.
the only thing 'unnatural' on my system is a skimmer. i dont see a lot of those in natural reef systems.
tankslave
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7409698#post7409698 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bergzy
i am coming to revelation that there are no uv sterilizers or ozone generators in nature to zap pathogens...
light is a part of nature, water motion is a part of nature, temp stability etc are all found in nature and we have to try to replicate these in a captive environment. these parameters are different than 'zapping' nasties with ozone or uv.
the only thing 'unnatural' on my system is a skimmer. i dont see a lot of those in natural reef systems.
hmm. How about the sun? Ever been close to a lightening storm? you'll know what ozone smells like... How many pathogens get killed by this, well, its hard to say quantitatively. UV sterilizers do produce some amount of ozone in the water, as some of the dissolved oxygen gets irradiated.
The skimmer just simulates what the rest of the ocean does for a coral reef. That's what all our equipment aims to do, in one form or another.
There isnt much natural about keeping such high biological densities in a five foot long box, IMO.
bergzy
New member
the sun does put out ultraviolet radiation...but, the water prevents most of it from penetrating down and hurting the corals. that's why you get 'more' sunburnt by the side of a pool rather than say...oh, running around an airshow in the san francisco area with a friend that loves it , you went along with him but now cant leave cuz you didnt drive so you are stuck out there the whole day without sunscreen...just a hypothetical situation!
as for ozone, after a lightening storm, i am aware of it produced in small or large quantities after a lightening thunder storm...but that happens above the water surface as it is an atmospheric phenomenon.
you're correct in saying that it is unnatural fto shove a ton of stuff in a five foot box. i never said that it was. what i am saying is that i havent seen anything in nature that zaps stuff...literally zaps it underwater. that is what i am saying...it doesnt occur underwater. and as unnatural as it is...i am not going to be the first person to put a half of grain of sand in my 350g system to remotely replicate 'nature'.
the ocean is not like a skimmer cuz when you empty the collection cup and dump it down the drain...you are not having a true closed system. the Earth and it's oceans etc are in the big picture a 'closed' system. there is no big collection cup located in the Indian Ocean where God can come an empty wastes onto Jupiter or something.
gotta head off to the office!
tankslave
New member
Well, you're mixing up reflection and absorption. You get sunburned due to UV reflection on the surface. This has nothing to do with the absorption spectrum of water:
as you can see, the UV range passes through almost as easily as the deep blues. Water absorbs mostly in the red and IR range.
Not saying that this is a major sterilization effect, but UV does penetrate quite deep, hence why corals produce UV protective compounts, and so do phytoplankton...
kypatriot
Premium Member
God just doesn't empty the cups - they are at places like piers. (they smell just like the stuff in the cups)
And His top off system is awesome - channel the evaporated water so that it collects together, picks up the minerals and trace elements it needs with barely any salt, and back in it goes.
